Want to know the condition of your favorite passage before you go on a hike or ride? On this page you will find trail updates for all of the Arizona Trail passages, in one place. The specific passage updates are also on each individual passage page.
The Yaqui Fire is burning within Coronado National Memorial, impacting Passage 1 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The fire started on May 14 within an area where contractors are building border barriers for the Department of Homeland Security. The fire is being held at 56 acres and wildland firefighters are monitoring the situation closely. On May 15, Coronado National […]
Read moreBeginning October 15, 2026, a section of the North Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park will close to all public access for critical pipeline rehabilitation work on the Transcanyon Waterline. The closure area will be between Redwall Bridge (2.5 miles north of Manzanita Rest Area) and the northern end of Cottonwood Campground. This hard closure will remain in place […]
Read moreArizona Republic (April 22, 2026) by Joan Meiners One week before Earth Day, on April 15, the Department of Homeland Security convened a Zoom call with the Arizona Trail Association to explain that the agency had ordered the southernmost mile of the Arizona National Scenic Trail closed so that contractors could blast and grade the earth through Coronado National Memorial […]
Read moreAZPM (April 18, 2026) by Angela Gervasi A segment of the Arizona Trail is now closed to the public as border fence construction continues along the state’s southeastern edge. In a social media post Monday, the National Park Service said the closure was necessary to “ensure visitor safety” amid construction and blasting activity in the area. The closure, which applies […]
Read moreGearJunkie (April 14, 2026) by Mary Andino The 800-mile Arizona Trail (AZT) is a premier thru-hike. It’s one of only 11 specially designated National Scenic Trails, and hundreds of people complete it every year. Now, however, it will be obstructed, and hikers will be unable to traverse its entire length. Recent border wall construction has blocked access to the final mile […]
Read moreBeginning Monday, April 13, the Arizona National Scenic Trail is closed between the southern terminus at Border Monument 102 and the Joe’s Canyon Trail junction at mile 1.0. Due to construction activities associated with Dept. of Homeland Security’s border wall within Coronado National Memorial, the southernmost mile of the AZT is closed until further notice (likely through the end of […]
Read moreArizona Highways (Mar 28, 2026) Photo of the Day Photographer: Lance Goehring Photo Image Description: A view from the Arizona Trail along the Gila River, near Kearny.
Read moreThe Coronado National Forest, Pima County, and Arizona Trail Association have announced a temporary detour of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) near the community of Summerhaven due to a construction project at the Marshall Gulch Trailhead. This detour will go into effect immediately and will remain in place until August 1, 2026. This impacts AZT Passages 11 (Santa Catalina […]
Read moreSingletracks (Feb 26, 2026) by Greg Heil A new trail-building approach on the Arizona Trail puts indigenous consultation first — and the results are reshaping how singletrack gets built on ancestral lands. The Arizona Trail Association (ATA has been steadily chipping away at the 120 miles of dirt roads that once interrupted the 800-mile Arizona Trail, replacing them with purpose-built singletrack. Over […]
Read moreSFGATE (FEb 18, 2026) by Amanda Heidt It was a cool, breezy morning in early December when Myles Traphagen, the borderlands program coordinator for the conservation nonprofit Wildlands Network, joined a handful of people atop Coronado Peak in Arizona. Less than a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border, the mountain lies within Coronado National Memorial, a 5,000-acre stub of public land marking […]
Read moreSingletracks (Feb 18, 2026) by Greg Heil “I won’t rest until [the Arizona Trail] is an 800-mile trail between Mexico and Utah,” said Matthew Nelson, Executive Director of the Arizona Trail Association (AZTA). “So there’s about 80 miles right now that are co-located with dirt roads.” That 80-mile number used to be much higher. Over the past 10 years, Nelson estimates that […]
Read moreStarting March 15, Grand Canyon National Park will be issuing walk-up permits for AZT thru-hikers at Bright Angel Campground. Here are the walk-up permit procedures, specifically for AZT thru-hikers: Head to the South Rim Backcountry Information Center, located within Grand Canyon Village. If it is March 15 or later, inform the Ranger that you are thru-hiking the AZT and would […]
Read moreYouTube (Feb 8, 2026) by Eric Hanson The Arizona Trail is one of the most iconic long trails in the country, as it runs 800 miles from The US – Mexico border up to Utah. For any thru-hiker, hiking the Grand Canyon State is an incredible achievement. But as of January 2026, construction resumed along the border in the Huachuca […]
Read moreIn November 2025, contractors for the Department of Homeland Security installed concertina wire at the U.S./Mexico border at the southern terminus of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. This prevents trail users from accessing Border Monument 102 — the traditional “start” or “finish” of the AZT. In the interest of safety, please do not attempt to cross the wire for a […]
Read moreThe Dragon Bravo Fire has forced 25.5 miles of the Arizona Trail to close from the Clear Creek Trail junction just north of Phantom Ranch to the Kaibab Plateau Trailhead at the Park/Forest boundary along Forest Road 610. Highway 67 is closed south of the Kaibab National Forest/Grand Canyon National Park boundary. Please avoid the AZT within Grand Canyon National […]
Read moreThe Coconino National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations near Flagstaff, and they estimate work to begin on Tuesday, November 4 and continue throughout the week as weather conditions allow. Prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires. This will impact segments of Passages 33 (Flagstaff Urban Route) and 34 […]
Read moreThe Tonto National Forest is advising thru-hikers and visitors to avoid camping near drainages recently impacted by the Washington Fire along Passage 26 (Highline). This includes 2 miles between Chase Creek (AZT mile 477.1) and the two drainages to the east (mile 479.0). Beware of flash floods, debris flows and other hazards downstream of burned areas!
Read moreArizona Republic (July 27, 2025) by Greg Burton As the Dragon Bravo Fire climbed toward Grand Canyon Lodge, I tried to remember how many times I’d stood beside it. Was it five or six? I visited the North Rim as a boy, took my kids there and returned after they moved away. The lodge was both way station and gateway […]
Read moreArizona Republic (June 21, 2025) Click here for a gallery of images of California condors and where to see them in the wild, including along the Arizona Trail near Vermilion Cliffs National Monument!
Read moreArizona Republic (June 20, 2025) by Raphael Romero Ruiz U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded more than $309 million to Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. to build 27 miles of border wall in Arizona’s Tucson Sector. This is the second contract for border wall construction awarded since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The new project will use […]
Read moreArizona Daily Sun (June 11, 2025) by Sam McLaughlin Little America Hotel is in the process of rebuilding the fence line around its 530-acre property and will soon be closing off access to unauthorized but long-established social trails that crisscross the forested land. Tony O’Brien, vice president of operations for parent company Grand America Hotels and Resorts, said the change […]
Read moreTucson Sentinel (June 5, 2025) by Paul Ingram As the Trump administration plans to erect 35 miles of new border barriers, environmentalists gathered last weekend in a Southern Arizona hamlet to trade food and songs during a bi-national “border happening.” Under the shade of large, decades-old cottonwood trees, a man from the nearby village of Santa Cruz, Sonora, played a […]
Read morethetrek.co~ MAY 20TH : GOOD ZEN Part 9: Oracle to Kearney: The Prometheus of Poo Much of the land after Oracle is a flat expanse between mountains. A good place for music, audiobooks, or conversation. The trail flew by for once, and with Mt. Lemmon a recent memory, Ice Cream and I were grateful to have some cruisy ground to […]
Read moreIn response to recent concerns about gastrointestinal illness along the Arizona Trail and potential causes being the Gila River and Remote Rainwater Collector, the ATA took water samples to a local laboratory for analysis. Results can be found here: Gila River – Passage 16 Rainwater Collector – Passage 17 The only alarming result is the presence of E. coli in […]
Read moreVisit Arizona (April 21, 2025) As the city where Pluto was discovered, Flagstaff is famous for its dark skies. And as this episode of “Arizona Revealed” shows, it’s also beloved as a four-season destination where the changing seasons set life’s cadence. Featuring the Arizona Trail, Lowell Observatory, Museum of Northern Arizona, and Arizona Nordic Village, click here to watch this […]
Read moreNorovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes acute gastrointestinal illness and has recently affected hikers and bikers along certain sections of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT), particularly around Kearny, Superior and Roosevelt. This advisory is intended to help trail users understand the risk and take proper precautions. What is Norovirus? Norovirus spreads easily through contaminated food, water, surfaces, […]
Read moreGrand Canyon National Park has officially confirmed that walk-up backcountry permits will be available for spring thru-hikers in 2025 with the following date ranges: April 1 – May 14: Sites will only be available at Cottonwood Campground May 15 – June 11: Sites will also be made available at Bright Angel Campground If you are arriving before or after these […]
Read moreAll Phantom Ranch operations are closed from January 2 to March 30, 2025, for the installation of new water and electric lines for the Transcanyon Waterline Project. Hikers can still access the North Kaibab Trail, however, the bypass route around Phantom Ranch may change. Please follow all closure signs and be aware that water will only be available at Boat […]
Read moreKNAU (Jan 7, 2025) by KNAU Staff The non-profit Flagstaff Biking Organization and the Coconino National Forest say a new recreational trail has connected one the city’s most popular parks with forested areas. The realignment of the Lower Oldham Trail is part of the Arizona National Scenic Trail that extends from Utah to Mexico. The gravel path links Buffalo Park […]
Read moreOn September 26-29, 2024, the Arizona Trail Veterans Engagement and Trail Stewardship (VETS) program volunteered to do trail work on Passage 32 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The event focused on building new connections within the veteran community while giving back to a the cross-state trail. Participants worked together to improve the trail from Little Elden to Weatherford Trailhead […]
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