AZ Trail News

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 […]

Lake Powell News Josh Alexander At the Arizona Trail Day Celebration, hosted by Into the Grand on Saturday (3/12), Page received three new street signs cementing the city’s connection with the trail. Even though the weather was overcast, the mood was sunny as hiking enthusiasts gathered to peruse vendors and learn more about the Arizona Trail, an 800-mile trail that […]

Prescott eNews Lynne LaMaster Carol Fontana knows a lot about big dreams, lofty goals and the hard work it takes to get there. As a classical concert pianist, she practiced for hours every day, perfecting her art. As an endurance rider, she rode for 25, 50 miles at a time, winning recognition and awards. And as one of three daughters […]

The Daily Courier Sue Tone “Tiki” is going on the ride of his life, a two-month trip that will take him over 800 miles from Mexico to the Utah border. He has a fan club, sponsors and promoters. After his return to Prescott in June, he’s hosting a Welcome Back Party and will give all of the money this trip […]

Singletracks The wind picks up, but the clouds aren’t moving. Looking at the sky, the light gray mass that stretches toward the horizon is more “cloud” than “clouds.” A few drops of rain hit the trailhead’s sign while I put on my gloves at the last second, one foot clipped in and the other planted in the dirt. [To read […]

REI One trail has many stories. We’re paying tribute to trails by telling the stories of people connected to three: Appalachian, Arizona, and Bay Area Ridge. [To view the video, click here.]

The White Mountain Independent Pioneer Title Agency, including its six offices in Apache and Navajo counties, announced the completion of its 30th anniversary “Take a Hike” initiative. For this project, the family owned business and its more than 375 team members statewide collectively hiked, biked, ran and rode all 800 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail throughout 2015. [To […]

Singletracks Greg Heil In my opinion, Arizona is a largely under-appreciated state when it comes to mountain biking. Too often it’s overshadowed by nearby states Utah, Colorado, and California with better-known mountain biking opportunities. Sure, you’ve probably heard talk about riding in Sedona, but there’s so much more to Arizona than just Sedona. And you might be surprised to learn […]

Scottsdale Independent Pioneer Title Agency, including its more than a dozen offices in Maricopa County, is proud to announce the completion of its 30th Anniversary “Take a Hike” initiative, wherein the family owned business and its more than 375 team members statewide collectively hiked, biked, ran and rode all 800 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail throughout 2015. [To […]

Green Living Magazine Hunter Kossodo More than 375 team members of Pioneer Title Agency in Scottsdale took part in the 30th Anniversary “Take a Hike” Community Giving Project, in which they collectively covered all 800 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail throughout 2015. The family-owned business also donated more than $45,000 to the Arizona Trail Association (ATA) to further […]

Arizona Highways Robert Steive Sonoita, Arizona, isn’t what most people think of when they think of Arizona. The area doesn’t feature any saguaros or grand canyons or red rocks. Instead, it’s dominated by rolling hills and grasslands, with several impressive mountain ranges on the perimeter. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

GutHook Hikes Alice Bodnar The Arizona Trail Association is the caretaker of the Arizona National Scenic Trail, an 800-mile trail that traverses the length of Arizona south to north from the Mexico border to the Utah border. This 21-year-old nonprofit organization has built and continues to maintain the national treasure that is the Arizona Trail. [To read the rest of […]

Pink Bike Skyler Des Roches We landed in Las Vegas late on a Saturday evening, a day after Interbike, and were greeted by companions Nicholas and Lael – something more than complete strangers – outside the airport. Together we built bikes and rolled an hour through the city to the abrupt edge of the desert. A few hundred meters from […]

Arizona Daily Star Douglas Kreutz Hikers, equestrians and cyclists on a segment of the cross-state Arizona Trail southeast of Tucson will encounter something that many have never experienced: a trail canopy. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Western Horseman Ben Masters I’ve been fortunate to go on two long-distance rides. The first was a 2,000-mile journey along the Continental Divide, and the second was a 3,000-mile journey through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The logistics for a long-distance ride are intense, and because few horsemen embark on journeys that take weeks to complete, there aren’t many […]

KJZZ Stina Sieg I can’t tell you exactly what drew me to the Arizona Trail, to try to follow it the 200 miles from Utah to Flagstaff. It was an itch, which turned into a hunger. But as I planned and bought gear and dehydrated vegetables, the idea of spending three weeks alone in the Arizona outback became more real […]

Grand Canyon News Loretta Yerian Four young adventure seekers decided to do what people say couldn’t be done any longer – ride 3,000 miles, on horseback, from the border of Mexico to Canada. The trip was the brainchild of front man Ben Masters, who after making a slightly shorter ride, decided he wanted to make a longer trip. [To read […]

Green Valley News Danyelle Khmara Green Valley resident Steve Chaffee, 66, finally finished the last passage of his journey on the Arizona Trail. Chaffee first started the trek at Las Colinas, near the Arizona-Mexico border, in the summer of 2011, and in four years hiked the entire trail in increments — spending two days to a week at a time. […]

High Country Running Myles Schrag When the six of us stood together at Flagstaff Hotshots Ranch last Sept. 27, mud from the previous night’s downpour underneath us, gray skies portending the weekend forecast above us, we said our good-byes. “Next year, we’re doing this thing.” Looks of doubt. “Seriously, we’re doing it.” [To read the rest of this article, click […]

Casa Grande Dispatch Pinal County’s Open Space and Trails Department will be assisting with a broken glass cleanup on Arizona State Trust Lands adjacent to the Florence-Kelvin Trailhead of the Arizona Trail on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. “This is being headed up by a group called Natural Restorations, in partnership with the Arizona State Land Department and […]

azcentral.com Bob Young Before we embarked on the Arizona Trail North Rim Half Marathon, runner Mel Betani of Peoria told me he has two passions in life. “Running and working on the Arizona Trail,” he said. Evidently, somebody created this race just for Mel. [To read the rest of this article, click here.]

Mens Journal This segment of the 800-mile-long Arizona Trail traverses the Kaibab Plateau’s aspen and spruce forests, with impossibly scenic views of the Grand Canyon. “Part of the trail passes by the East Rim viewpoint,” says Matt Nelson of the Arizona Trail Association. “You’re hiking in this dense forest, and then without any warning, you’re at the edge of one […]