Elden Lookout Trail - Flagstaff

[desertgirl]

Elden Lookout Trail

Great city hike in Flagstaff area with views

Trail Length: 3 miles (each way)
Difficulty Rating: Strenuous
Elevations: 6900ft.-9295ft.
Best Season: April-November

Access: Paved. All cars
Directions to Trailhead: From downtown Flagstaff, go 3 miles east on Route66.Continue towards Page on Highway 89. Just beyond the Flagstaff Mall there is sign fo Mt. Elden Trailhead. A paved driveway will lead you to the left to the parking lot with a pole fence. This is a small lot (compared to the traffic Mt. Elden & area trails see) so parking may be limited.

Trail Description:
What a trail…Short and strenuous ascending 2000ft in about 2 miles, Great views of city of Flagstaff and surrounding Coconino plateau, a forest on the mend from a 1977 fire and some interesting terrain described as “Corduroy cast in stone” and “Staircase of petrified lava” ( not sure about the correctness of “petrified” J) :make this a must do.

Trail beings deceptively flat for the first ½ mile as it winds it way through fragrant stands of juniper, pinyon pine and ponderosa. You soon reach the sign for FatMan’s Loop and Pipeline Trail. Reaching the base of the mountain, the trail begins to climb in earnest with several switchbacks. This steep & rocky trail has a lot of work into it – stone stairs, cribbing to support the trail as it hangs out over space and fair amount of stabilization to limit erosion. Sparse forest allow for great views to the north and east into East Flagstaff, Doney Park, Sunset Crater area and the painted desert is on the horizon.

The interesting rock formations resulting from the cooling & shrinking of lava attest to the volcanic origins of Mt. Elden. Clinging onto the rock terrain with shallow topsoil are stands of alligator juniper, ponderosa pine, gambel oak, mountain mahogany & cliff rose. The steep climb puts you on the ridge top at 2.8 miles from the trailhead. Bleached skeletons of pine, blackened trees and thickets of young aspen greet you. This is the result of the Radio Fire of 1977 that devastated much of the top and eastern slope of Elden. The young aspen are a sign of the land in recovery. These thickets will become tall trees and provide nurturing shade for the pine forests to take hold, which will eventually thin out the aspen and return the slopes of Elden to a mixed conifer forest.

You will encounter a sign: 0.2 miles to the Lookout. Make this final ascent to the top through aspen thickets to great views all around - North: San Fransisco Peaks & city of Flagstaff, Southwest: Oak Creek Canyon & Mingus Mountains, South: heavily forested Mogollon Rim country and cinder cones to the east. There are a number of radio towers at the top as well as a lookout station atop Elden. Return the way you came – a lot more fun going down. Carry all the water you need. This is an early morning hike to avoid the heat and lightning from afternoon thunderstorms. You can take a detour through Fatman’s loop on your return for added variety.

Pets: On leash
Weather Conditions: Flagstaff
Water: None at the trailhead. Bring your own
Wilderness: None
Management: Coconico National Forest
Topo: Flagstaff East
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[Canyon Dweller]

I grew up in Flagstaff and started hiking there. Mt. Elden was my first mountain, I first did it when I was 9 years old. Since then it became my training mountain. I have hiked this trail over 100 times. I used it to get in shape for both the Grand Canyon and Colorado. My best time to the top is 1 hour 10 minutes. This is hiking it, not trail running. I am not a trail runner. Part of my training on it would be to ascend it with 40 pounds on my back. This is a very steep mountain and will kick your butt into shape.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[maryphyl]

Steep but easy as in maintained. We live at the base of the mountain (shadow mtn). When we were kids there was almost nothing over here and we hiked cross country from the downtown area through Switzer Canyon and up the southwest slope. I don't think we made it to the top. I agree it is a great training place. I have used it to try people that want to do the canyon with me--if they can do Elden then they can do the canyon. We took our 10 year old granddaughter up there last weekend and she did great
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Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha.
I walk in beauty.