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.
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
Getting there
Sycamore Basin access. About 1 h 42 min drive (38 mi, 25 of them unpaved) from Cottonwood. 34.93775, -112.15246 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:08 a.m., the sun rises at 6:33 a.m. and sets at 5:55 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:20 p.m. (MST) — 11 h 22 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 32.4-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 29 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Overland Road Historic Trail — 21.3 mi