Arizona trails · Sycamore Basin

Sycamore Basin

A 16.2-mile out-and-back in Arizona, with 490 ft of climbing. Reaches Sycamore Tank and other lake destinations. Managed by U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

16.2 mi

Elevation gain

490 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

25%

Steepest mile

+455 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

2.1 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

yes

Horses

yes

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,571 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Sycamore Tank (lake)
Cross D Tank (lake)
Rafael Tank (lake)
Lost Arrow Head Tank (lake)
Dutch Kid Tank (lake)
Taylor Basin Tank (lake)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Sycamore Basin access. 34.93775, -112.15246 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:34 a.m., the sun rises at 6:00 a.m. and sets at 6:56 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:22 p.m. (MST) — 12 h 56 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 32.4-mile round trip takes roughly 12 h 29 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 6:29 p.m. — 27 min before sunset.