AZ Central (August 29, 2019) by Mare Czinar

You can’t get there from here,” my hiking partner told a confused pair of trekkers who asked us for directions to an Arizona Trail junction.

He gently kicked my shin to signal he was joking as the couple fumbled with a map. Waiting a beat to satisfy his warped sense of humor, my pal continued, “Just kidding, of course you can get there from here. This is Flagstaff.”

With hundreds of miles of national forest trails and city pathways, there are dozens of ways to access the 800-mile Arizona Trail that swings through the northern Arizona city.

The state-traversing route draws hikers, bikers and equestrians from all over the world to this Arizona Trail gateway community, a city or town that embraces and gives ongoing support to the trail and its users.

In addition to deep-forest trailheads and popular campgrounds, the Arizona Trail may also be reached via the Flagstaff Urban Trails System. With over 50 miles of trails in place and plans for 80 more, the network of paved walkways, repurposed dirt roads and single-track paths make walking off a busy city street into a quiet forest as effortless as moving from room-to-room in your home.

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