The Daily Sun Ask A Ranger Sabrina: When winter grips the high snowy north, hikers seeking warmer trails look to the desert climate of southern Arizona. My recommended hike features stunning views, Sonoran Desert flora and a lush riparian corridor along the Gila River Canyons Passage of the Arizona Trail. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

The Daily Sun The Arizona Trail Association’s Seeds of Stewardship program has announced the receipt of a grant from Recreational Equipment Inc. to launch Gear Girls, a girls-only club that uses mountain biking, trail work and snowsports to build confidence, outdoor competence, character and community in young women grades 4-8. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]  

The Daily Sun Jack Welch We parked on the corner of Izabel and Sixth Avenue and used the Sego Lily section of our urban trail system to climb up to the Arizona Trail on McMillan Mesa. Don Carter and I lead walks from the Adult Center and had decided to view the partial eclipse of the sun from that elevated […]

Payson Roundup Alexis Bechman It is the largest trails project in Arizona history, running the length of the state from Mexico to Utah, and planners are now working to preserve and protect the Arizona Trail and make it a destination in Rim Country. The 800-mile trail passes just west of Payson, hugging the rugged Mazatzal Mountains to the south, past […]

The Daily Sun Emory Cowan The 800-mile-long Arizona Trail that spans the length of the state is getting a new level of management. It will come in the form of a comprehensive plan aimed at better protecting and preserving the trail’s resources, whether they are located on federal, state, county, municipal or private land. Federal agencies released an initial draft […]

The Daily Sun Natural Restorations, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the Arizona Trail Association, works to remove trash, graffiti and anything foreign to the environment from outdoor recreation and wilderness areas across the state. The organization provides hands-on service learning opportunities for youth and adult volunteers and also provides contract work to military veterans on a five-member Dedicated Restoration Team. […]

Navajo-Hopi Observer Stan Bindell One joy of going to Jacob Lake in the past was the lake where you could go fishing or take a quick swim. Or at least it used to be. One of the reasons my hiking buddy, grandson Nick Basham, wanted to go the north rim of the Grand Canyon was to enjoy the lake. The […]

KJZZ Stina Sieg The U.S. Forest Service is looking for input on a long-distance trail that runs through the rugged center of the state. The Arizona Trail spans 800 miles, from Mexico to Utah. The Arizona Trail was completed in 2011, and now the forest service is creating a comprehensive plan for its future. [To read the rest of this […]

TrailMeister.com Ride along with TrailMeister as we venture out from the Picketpost Trailhead onto the Arizona Trail with members of the East Valley Back Country Horsemen, Arizona Horse Council, and the Superstition Horsemen’s Association. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

The Daily Sun Andrea Michaels East of the Buffalo Park parking lot, along a path that stretches south to Mexico and north to Utah, there stands a large metal trailhead tribute to Dale Shewalter. Dale was the Flagstaff visionary, teacher, geologist, cyclist, equestrian, hiker, runner, and adventurer whose persistence and leadership in pursuit of his vision produced a gem among […]

The Daily Sun There’s a wealth of new map and app tools designed to enhance your enjoyment and ease of hiking the trails of the Coconino National Forest (CNF) and local passages of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZNST). This season the Interpretive Partnership will feature several CNF trails and AZNST passages in our columns and on our public hikes. […]

Outdoor Industry Association Shauna Farnell If you’ve ever visited Arizona’s Sonoran Desert or Ironwood Forest, you know they’re magical landscapes. They are part of the area marking the globe’s only home for the saguaro cactus. Each unique in its stoic pose, saguaros arms can take 100 years or more to grow. The Native American Tohono O’odham tribe believes every saguaro […]

Huffington Post James Orndorf Tucked far away from the noise of the world, adjacent to very little and convenient to almost nothing (an enviable amount of nothing and very little), the Coronado National Memorial sits along the border with Mexico in southeastern Arizona, just over 200 miles from Phoenix. The site was designated the Coronado International Memorial on August 18, […]

Seward City News Kelley Lane The Arizona National Scenic Trail had been on our radar since 2014, when I met a fellow hiker who had completed it a few years earlier. “You’ll have to rent a car partway through, buy water and then drive around to cache it for yourself,” said Brian Adams, who was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail […]

KVOA.com Alyx Dote A high school senior hiked 800 miles alone to raise money for charity. Brady Maghran, 17, is a student at BASIS Oro Valley. As part of his senior project, he hiked the Arizona Trail by himself to benefit the Southern Arizona Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

LakePowellLife.com Mike Reilley The Page Library recently hosted a talk about the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The speaker was Sirena Dufault, a writer, public speaker and a woman who often speaks about the trail throughout Arizona. Her appearance was part of the Glen Canyon Lecture Series. A native of the Midwest, Dufault captivated her audience with stories about specific historic […]

Payson Roundup A woman had to be carried off the Arizona Trail last week after she fell and broke her leg at a low-water crossing. The 70-year-old woman was hiking the Arizona Trail Thursday, April 27, approximately four miles north of the Rim Road (Forest Service Road 300), 13 miles east of State Route 87, when she slipped on wet […]

CopperArea.com Mila Besich-Lira Over the past decade more and more attention has been given to the Arizona Trail. The 800 mile trail that travels from Arizona’s southern border with Mexico goes through the entire Copper Corridor before it makes it way through northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon before it reaches the Utah border. As the popularity of the trail […]

Sierra Magazine Jason Mark To the north, at the edge of sight, there’s a giant wall of rock stretching east to west across the horizon, a ridge erupting out of the otherwise unbroken sweep of ponderosa pine forest. From my vantage, it looks like an impenetrable cliff. But I’ve got a map, so I know better. [To read the rest […]

Payson Roundup Randy Cockrell A note of thanks right up front: While out with the Payson Packers each Tuesday, I sometimes find myself hiking a portion of the Arizona National Scenic Trail, (AZT). Created and maintained by the Arizona Trail Association (ATA), this 800-mile beauty spans the entire length of the state from the U.S.-Mexico border to Utah. Here’s a […]

azcentral.com Gerry Kaufhold Kearny, which is 85 miles southeast of Phoenix along State Route 177 south of Superior, is a gateway community for the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Hikers love that Old Time Pizza in Kearny actually delivers to the trailhead. Gary Birkett, the proprietor of Old Time Pizza, is an avid hiker and a fanatical Chicago Cubs fan. On […]

Sierra Vista Herald Newly installed signs share Sierra Vista’s status as a gateway to the Arizona Trail, inspiring residents and visitors alike to explore this key outdoor recreation asset that begins at the international border with Mexico and meanders over 800 miles north to Utah. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Backpacker Magazine “Hike your own hike” is fine advice, but there are still a few other tenets among the thru-hiker tribe worth following. Here’s one: Don’t miss ancient ruins. Just as it’s understood that Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a must-see off the CDT, so it is with the Salado cliff dwellings at Tonto National Monument off the 800-mile […]

CopperArea.com John Hernandez Mountain Vista 4th graders have been doing some classwork in the outdoors along the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Not only have they been learning about nature and the environment but the students have been working, picking up garbage and widening the trail. This is part of the Arizona Trail Association’s project “Seeds of Stewardship” program. [To read […]

KJZZ Lauren Gilger In the running world, there are marathoners and then there are ultra-runners. That means people who run races longer than the 26.2 miles of a marathon. They run 50K races … 100 milers … trail races … and from rim-to-rim across the Grand Canyon. And now, a Prescott man has completed a record-breaking run of the Arizona […]

Visit Phoenix Suzanne Wright From its origins at the Coronado National Memorial near the U.S.-Mexico border to its terminus at the Utah line, the 800-mile long Arizona National Scenic Trail spans the entire north-south length of the state. The variety of scenery and elevation is staggering. Completed in 2011, the trail passes through the Huachuca, Santa Rita, Rincon and Catalina […]

Partnership for the National Trails System Increased community awareness, volunteer recruitment, financial support, and in-kind goods and services are just a few of the benefits that fostering strong business partnerships can offer trails. For organizations to be successful in building those bridges, first establishing strong ties with trail communities is critical to identifying potential relationships, approaching businesses, and retaining their […]

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, […]