Payson Roundup Connie Cockrell The stretch of the Arizona Trail between the Pine Creek trailhead and the Oak Springs trailhead offers a dose of fall color – including groves of maple. The trees have probably lost most of their leaves by now, but it’s still a spectacular hike – with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. [To read the rest of […]

Competitor.com Doug Williams Michael Versteeg was aware of the 800-plus miles he’d have to run, the mountains he’d have to climb and the lonely stretches of wilderness ahead. As he set out on Oct. 3 in his quest to set a speed record on the Arizona Trail, Versteeg had taken stock of all the obstacles. The Arizona Trail is a […]

Cronkite News Michael Boylan “I don’t envy myself for going through that,” ultra-runner Michael Versteeg said with a laugh. “That” would be his successful attempt at completing the 800-mile Arizona Trail, which stretches from Utah down to Mexico, faster than it has ever been done on foot. While most in Arizona were fast asleep on the morning of Oct. 19, […]

The Daily Sun Myles Schrag “Currently done with 456 miles after 9 days. I’ve slipped from my ideal circumstance pace but am still just above my realistic and happy pace of 50 miles a day…”. This is how Michael Versteeg characterized his speed on social media Oct. 11, just past the halfway mark of a journey that would lead him […]

Singletracks Nancy Anderson The 800 mile-long Arizona Trail spans the state, from Mexico north to Utah. It was conceived in the 1970s, by Dale Shewalter who, in 1985, walked it to check out the possibilities. Over the next 30 years, his concept became a reality and has gained National Scenic Trail status. The many people and entities who worked so […]

Backpacker Magazine Elisabeth Kwak-Heffernan As an official Arizona Trail Steward for the past four years, Chad Hummer roamed the Mazatzal Wilderness’s roughest terrain, checking route conditions and water availability for the Arizona Trail Association. But the born-and-raised desert dweller was already hooked on the Mazatzal’s magic. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Cronkite News Michael Boylan Running 800 miles may seem like insanity to some people, but Michael Versteeg knew he’d get around to trying it one day. “The Arizona Trail, I mean even before I started running, had always been a bucket-list item of mine,” Versteeg said. That day has arrived as the 31-year-old Arizona native and ultra-runner gears up to […]

Babbitt Times Review According to endurance runner Ian Torrence, trail running has become increasingly popular as athletes head to the woods to cover ground instead of city streets. This weekend, Sept. 24 and 25, more than 125 people are signed up to run the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line 100-mile solo ultra, the 100-mile relay, and the 55K. [To […]

Arizona Daily Star Emily Bregel The San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmental groups have filed two related lawsuits against the U.S. Forest Service and Tonto National Forest supervisor Neil Bosworth, objecting to approval of a mining company’s plans to start preliminary activities on its proposed mine waste site. Resolution Copper Mining, a subsidiary of mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP […]

The Lumberjack Isaac Dudley Many war veterans experience anger, isolation and guilt after returning home from combat. On Sept. 11, the Arizona Trail Association premiered the award-winning documentary Almost Sunrise. The documentary follows two Iraq war veterans, Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, on their search for inner peace. Almost Sunrise follows Voss and Anderson as they walk across the country […]

Arizona Public Media Tony Paniagua Arizona is one of the few states that has a national scenic trail, and Tucson resident Sirena Dufault discovered it by serendipity. After getting hit by a car in the 1990s, Dufault developed fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition that also caused her depression and fatigue. In an effort to improve her life, she started to […]

Green Living Magazine Michael Cohen There are many ways in which individuals can fight for conservation. Adopting sustainable policies at work, lobbying local politicians to pass green initiatives, or spreading helpful information can help tremendously. However, one of the best ways to create a positive impact on the local environment is simply to get out and volunteer. [To read the […]

Arizona Daily Sun Jack Welch On Saturday, Sept. 10, the celebration for the Arizona Trail Association will be held in Buffalo Park from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This event is sponsored in part by the Arizona Lottery and will appeal to anyone interested in the great outdoors. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

PRNewsWire Cox Conserves Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land named Shawn Redfield as Arizonas 2016 Cox Conserves Hero. The program is sponsored locally by Desert Botanical Garden, and as Redfield’s nonprofit of choice, Arizona Trail Association, will receive $10,000 on his behalf. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

azcentral.com Mare Czinar This pleasant stroll links a short, lesser-known route with two of Flagstaff’s most popular trails. Offering a back door into a heavily used recreational corridor, Skunk Canyon Trail is a sleepy little gem accessible off Lake Mary Road that shares dirt with the Flagstaff Loop Trail and the Arizona Trail. [To read the rest of this article, […]

azcentral.com Mare Czinar Passage 28 of the Arizona Trail traverses some of the state’s most scenic territory. Packed with history and ever-changing exposure to creek- and canyon-riddled terrain, the 16.1-mile trek is a summertime favorite especially among hikers who like to camp. The route passes near several popular Mogollon Rim campgrounds including Moqui, Blue Ridge and Rock Crossing and there […]

Your National Forests The Arizona Trail begins in the Huachuca Mountains on the Mexican border and then bisects the state lengthwise for 807 miles until reaching the Vermillion Cliffs on the Utah border. The route traverses arid mountsins, deserts, scablands and the Grand Canyon, before entering the deep pine forests of the Mogollon Rim. [To read the rest of this […]

Arizona Daily Sun Corina Vanek A group of eight middle and high school students accompanied by four adults braved a trip on bicycles on the Arizona Trail from Snowbowl to the Grand Canyon earlier this month. “The purpose of the program is that we want the future of the Arizona Trail to be ensured,” said Sabrina Carlson, the Northern Arizona […]

Outside Online Aaron Gulley Jen and I are not people who sit still much. Less than a week after we picked up Artemis, we hatched our first adventure: head-to-head journeys across Arizona. Earlier in the winter, I’d briefly contemplated racing the 750-mile length of the Arizona Trail. The ride involves humping everything you need (clothes, camping equipment, food, water) over […]

Gore-Tex Blog Austin Aslan “If I die out there, you’re not responsible,” I told my wife, Clare. “Jeez,” she answered. Our hatchback flew over the high red desert north of the Grand Canyon. The face of Vermilion Cliffs flickered as a fierce storm lingered above the Kaibab Plateau. Our daughter and son, 10 and 6, were enduring a school night […]

Payson Roundup Connie Cockrell Sometimes a hike leader needs to check out a hike before deciding if it’s appropriate for the hiking group. May, Friday the 13th, was just such a day. I had been wondering why we never did the Arizona Trail from the Pine Trailhead to Oak Springs. It seemed like a no-brainer — lots of parking at […]

Bikepackers Magazine Lindsay Arne “I started riding about 6 years ago. I became frustrated by my early attempts at riding. I took a few months off from practicing and once I started again it just clicked in my brain. From there I was able to ride proficiently quite quickly. I didn’t love unicycling right away, but overtime it became a […]

bikemag.com Kurt Refsnider Winding across the rugged and wild landscape of Arizona, the Arizona Trail spans 750 miles from Mexico to Utah. Arizona is not flat and covered in iconic saguaro cacti as is commonly envisioned. The route begins in semiarid grasslands and mountains before descending into the low Sonoran Desert. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Bikepackers Magazine Neil Beltchenko Last month I took on one of the longest bikepacking races in the world. Not only is it one of the longest singletrack races, but because of its difficulty, climate, and overall length, it is an extremely demanding course. I have written many trip reports, but I wanted to find a different way to relay my […]

Crested Butte News Than Acuff Team Griggs Orthopedics rider Neil Beltchenko is back at it. This time, he decided to take on the Arizona Trail Race (ATR), a self-supported bike race, a.k.a. bike packing, crossing the state of Arizona from south to north. Beltchenko covered the 750 mile–long course in a time of six days, 12 hours and 28 minutes […]

Arizona Daily Star Emery Cowan The Arizona Trail, completed in 2011, winds 800 miles from the state’s northern line to the Arizona-Mexico border. While parts near Flagstaff are generally well signed and easy to follow, many of the trail’s more remote stretches are so overgrown by vegetation that the path nearly disappears. [To read the rest of this article, click […]

Sierra Vista Herald Dana Cole It’s April 2, and a lone horse and rider stand at the Arizona Trail where it starts in Cochise County at the border with Mexico. The rider pauses to gaze at a sign marking the trail’s southernmost point before snapping a quick photo. She then turns the horse and the two tackle a steep, rocky […]

The Guardian Chris Townsend The desert terrain of the US south-west is a tough but rewarding place for walkers. One glorious trail runs some 810 miles, through the heart of Arizona from Mexico to Utah. En route, the Arizona Trail passes through deserts, canyons, forests and mountains. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Adventure Journal Brendan Leonard You can probably name The Big Three long-distance trails in the U.S. by their acronyms: the AT, the PCT, and the CDT. They’re all thousands of miles, life-list items, and personal-paradigm-shifters. But you don’t have to walk for half a year to have a formative experience (although it’s probably nice) – there are plenty of tremendous […]