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Blue Ridge Trail #107A

Updated
Blue Ridge trail
Blue Ridge trail
Horned toad along the Blue Ridge trail
Blue Ridge trail
map: Blue Ridge trail
Elevation plot: Blue Ridge trail

Location

How to Get There
This hike is located near Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ.

To the Trailhead: From the Pinetop-Lakeside area, head on HWY-260 towards Hon Dah. Turn left on signed Bucksprings Road. After 0.5 miles, turn left on FR182 (Sky Hi Road). Go 1.8 miles and turn left on unsigned FR187. The signed trailhead is a few hundred yards up FR187. If you want to start at the alternate trailhead, continue on FR187 until you see the signed trailhead. All the dirt roads heading to this hike are well graded.
addressone
Bucksprings Rd.
city
Pinetop-Lakeside
state
AZ
country
USA
Region
White Mountains and Eastern Arizona

Hike details

Distance
9.00 [Miles] Total
Hike Distance- Details
9.0 miles for the loop hike
Time
4.00 [Hours]
Time-details
4 hours
Elevation Change
1,400 Total gain/loss [Feet]
Elevation Gain
700 Total Elevation Gain [Feet]
Elevation Details
about 700 ft total gain.
Hike Trail Type
Loop

Season

Best Season
  • June
  • July
  • August
Worst Season
  • January
  • February
  • December
Season Details
Summer
Date Hike completed
August 22, 2010

Solitude

Solitude
Medium
Solitude Details
Average. Expect to share this trail with between 5-10 people (perhaps on horses or bikes).

Difficulty

Difficulty Rating
Moderate
difficulty detail
Unfortunately, there are no big views or destinations to this hike. It's simply a pleasant walk in the pine forest. If this is what you're interested in (along with some good exercise) then this hike is worth doing. This is a moderate difficulty hike because of the distance.

Permits

Be Aware of
minor route finding, mountain bikers, horseback riders

Hike the Blue Ridge trail in Eastern Arizona.

Since this is a loop hike, you can start walking in one of two directions. For this hike, we walked counter-clockwise. The write-up reflects this. The trail can be faint in places and also crosses some game trails. To help stay on the trail, look for the blue diamonds marked periodically on the pine trees to help stay on the trail.

From the signed trailhead, start heading towards Blue ridge mountain. There's a good climb here to start, but it's a pretty gradual climb shaded by an abundance of pine trees. There would be good views from the top of the Blue ridge mountain, except the forest is dense enough that there are only hints of the scenery beyond. We surprised a group of three Elk here, so keep your eyes open.

The trail then heads west and drops down, eventually reaching a junction with the Ice Cave Trail (See map). Stay left at this signed junction. The next waypoint is the alternate trailhead, which also intersects FR187, just at a different point. From here, the trail heads South towards Thompson creek. Once you reach the creek (seen in a shallow canyon), the trail turns East and follows this creek until you reach a junction with the Springs Trail (Jct 1R on the map). Stay left to stay on the Blue Ridge trail as it gains some elevation back, ending at the parking area.

Map

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