www.backpacker.com ~ May 30, 2025 ~ Stasia Callaghan In the 50 years since the National Trails System Act was passed, more than 50,000 miles of trail have been designated. It is, as President Johnson envisioned, a network where “old and young alike can participate.” And it created something he probably couldn’t have imagined: a community of thru-hikers, section hikers, weekend […]

www.audubon.org ~ By Haley Paul  Annual state budget needs to include funding that protects Arizona’s lands and waters- $250,000 from the General Fund for the Arizona Trail: The Arizona Trail spans 800 miles from the Utah border south to the border with Mexico, crossing important habitats for birds like Coopers Hawks and American Goshawks. The Trail is open to non-motorized […]

KVOA (April 14, 2025) by Zachary Johnson Over the weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents successfully rescued two U.S. citizens stranded in the remote deserts of Southern Arizona. On Saturday, Tucson Sector BORSTAR agents, alongside the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a hiker near the Superstition Mountains who reported a potentially broken ankle. A rescue team aboard Pinal Air 1 […]

Newsbreak (April 1, 2025) by John Goodman In the southern stretch of Arizona, where the desert climbs into forested mountains and saguaros give way to sycamores, you’ll find the Sky Islands—an archipelago of peaks rising from the Sonoran lowlands like green ships in a sea of ochre. It’s a strange and wonderful geography: a mix of sky-high wilderness and borderland […]

Singletracks (March 12, 2025) by Greg Heil Arizona is littered with thousands of miles of fantastic singletrack. Here are 5 of the best mountain bike trails to explore. Thousands of miles of narrow, rocky, sandy singletrack trails lace the state of Arizona from north to south and east to west. Arizona has it all: from rugged backcountry trails to urban […]

USA Today (March 11, 2025) by Dave Stamboulis Once the snow melts and the spring blooms start, it’s the perfect time to get out on the trails. The U.S. boasts a wealth of spectacular natural beauty and protected national parks and wilderness areas, including the National Scenic Trails. Part of the National Trails System, which comprises almost 25,000 miles, they link […]

Backpacker (March 11, 2025) by Nathan Pipenberg With the busy summer season around the corner, there’s one prevailing sentiment among those who look after the nation’s trails: uncertainty. After news of mass firings and funding cuts at federal agencies like the National Park Service, many hikers and other outdoors recreationists held out hope that nonprofits, conservation corps, and volunteers would […]

Tucson Sentinel (Mar 9, 2025) by Alysa Horton Arizona national parks and forests are already feeling a strain on resources after President Donald Trump’s executive order for a federal hiring freeze and extensive firings. Grand Canyon National Park, one of the state’s 22 national park sites, reported wait times being twice as long as usual just a week after the National […]

Phoenix New Times (March 6, 2025) by Alysa Horton Arizona national parks and forests are already feeling a strain on resources after President Donald Trump’s executive order for a federal hiring freeze and extensive firings. Grand Canyon National Park, one of the state’s 22 national park sites, reported wait times being twice as long as usual just a week after the National […]

Substack (March 5, 2025) by Greg Runge On March 4, 2025, former President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, and among the topics he touched on was the supposed unfairness of transgender athletes in women’s sports. In his speech, transcribed by The Associated Press, he cited an example of a cycling record that he claimed was proof of the […]

Cronkite News (March 5, 2025) by Alysa Horton Arizona National parks and forests are already feeling a strain on resources after President Donald Trump’s executive order for a federal hiring freeze and extensive firings. Grand Canyon National Park, one of the state’s 22 national park sites, reported wait times being twice as long as usual just a week after the National […]

Cronkite News (March 5, 2025) by Emily Fox-Million The trails in Arizona are full of people enjoying our public lands. We look at how the National Park and Forest Service layoffs are impacting tourism in our state.  Watch the video here.

KJZZ | By Ginia McFarland Published February 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM MST The U.S. Forest Service laid off 10% of its workforce. The state relies on the Forest Service for maintenance of trails, fighting wildfires and access to public lands throughout Arizona. Read More.

CNN.com New Video: Federal employees from different agencies who were impacted by DOGE’s massive cuts spoke to CNN and CNN affiliates on how the effort to reshape the US government will affect not only workers, but everyday Americans.

Sierra Sun Times (February 24, 2025) Last week, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks signed on to a letter joining 247 organizations opposing bills which would effectively repeal the Antiquities Act of 1906. Dear Senators and Members of Congress, On behalf of the 247 undersigned organizations and our millions of members across the country, we write to strongly urge […]

WENY News (February 24, 2025) by Hanna Park and Rafael Romo Federal employees are raising alarms over Elon Musk’s push to reshape the US government, an effort now compounded by a weekend directive for workers to justify their jobs in writing. The mounting pressure has left many in the federal workforce feeling vulnerable. Latisha Thompson, a clinical social worker with […]

www.outsideonline.com – Grayson Haver Currin – Nov 13, 2022 In less than 800 miles, the Arizona Trail offers a steady string of stunning landscapes, uncanny animals, and changing circumstances. If your time is limited, it’s the national scenic trail to try. Read more.

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Thousands of U.S. Forest Service workers across the country have been fired as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed 2,000 probationary positions were cut. Read more and watch the video.

Surrounding the Grand Canyon, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument encompasses roughly one million acres of breathtaking landscapes and contains unique ecosystems that support a range of wildlife and vegetation. The monument is one of America’s newest so the infrastructure surrounding trails and camping is still developing. National monuments often boast less development than […]

Tucson’s Red Ridge Trail is recovering from fire, and Nate Hills shows us how it’s coming along. It’s Friday, and why work when you can be checking out BikeMag.com and watching mountain bike videos? Nate Hills helps us out by dropping fresh footage of himself riding his new Yeti SB160 with U.S. 24 Hour National Champion Josh Tostado as they […]

Adventure on SI (January 22, 2025) by Emma Grace There’s plenty of ways to enjoy the U.S.’s beautiful national parks–on foot, by car, or even by bike. Biking is one of the best ways to take in the views without whizzing by in a car or slogging away on foot. It’s the perfect, Goldilocks zone of travel to see the […]

Hometown Focus (January 2, 2025) by Lee Iverson My winter home lies near the Arizona Trail, a fact I had paid little attention to until I recognized the trail markers on my hikes in the Tucson area. The Arizona National Scenic Trail, the AZT for short, is an 800 plus mile path from Mexico to Utah and is one of […]

By Lee Iverson ~ www.hometownfocus.us My winter home lies near the Arizona Trail, a fact I had paid little attention to until I recognized the trail markers on my hikes in the Tucson area. The Arizona National Scenic Trail, the AZT for short, is an 800 plus mile path from Mexico to Utah and is one of 11 National Scenic […]

December 23, 2024 ~ momentummag.com  Written by: Ron Johnson Bikepacking is an amazing fusion of bicycle touring and minimalist camping, which has gained immense popularity in North America. The continent offers diverse landscapes, from rugged mountains and dense forests to expansive deserts and scenic coastlines. For those seeking epic adventures, here are eight of our favourite bikepacking routes, each offering […]

By Andrew Coulson ~ northumberlandgazette.co.uk A teenager and his father from Morpeth recently completed one of the hardest long-distance mountain bike races in the world. The Arizona Trail Race traverses the complete state of Arizona in the USA, from the Mexican Border to the Utah State Line. Read the complete story here.

RUN/Outside Online (December 10, 2024) by David Gleisner If you want to set a fastest known time on the 817-mile Arizona Trail, you have to start fast. At least, that’s what both Nick Fowler and Georgia Porter proved this fall. On October 28, they independently set out from the Utah-Arizona border and started their trek south with the goal of […]