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Los Burros Trail #631

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Hikers on the Los Burros trail
Hikers on the Los Burros trail
Happy dog and hiker along the Los Burros trail
Cattle graze as hikers walk by along the Los Burros trail
Los Burros trail
map: Los Burros trail
elevation plot: Los Burros trail

Location

How to Get There
This hike is located near McNary, AZ.

To the Trailhead: From the Show Low area, take highway 260 through Pinetop-Lakeside and continuing on to McNary. Once in the small town of McNary, turn left at the small (easy to miss) sign for Vernon. In the town of McNary this is signed as North Cody Ave. This road is also referred to on maps as FR224, AP3140, Vernon-McNary Rd., and Vernon Rd. This paved road quickly turns into a well graded dirt road. After 7.2 miles from McNary, turn right towards the signed Los Burros campground. About 1/4 of a mile on this road will get you to the campground. The signed trailhead is towards the back of the campground.
city
McNary
state
AZ
country
USA
Region
White Mountains and Eastern Arizona

Hike details

Distance
8.00 [Miles] Total
Hike Distance- Details
8 miles for the loop hike described
Time
4.00 [Hours]
Time-details
It took us a leisurely four hours with about 40 minutes stop for the dog to play in the water tank and for lunch.
Elevation Change
800 Total gain/loss [Feet]
Elevation Gain
800 Total Elevation Gain [Feet]
Hike Trail Type
Lollypop Loop

Season

Best Season
  • June
  • July
  • August
Worst Season
  • January
  • February
  • December
Season Details
Summer
Date Hike completed
August 12, 2012

Solitude

Solitude
High
Solitude Details
Excellent. We met two other hikers and two mountain bikers.

Difficulty

Difficulty Rating
Moderate
difficulty detail
Most of this trail is shaded, which makes it a great choice for escaping the heat. This is a moderate difficulty hike because of the length.

Permits

Be Aware of
Some Route finding, mountain bikers, horseback riders

Hike the Los Burros trail in the White Mountains of Arizona.

The Los Burros trail is a series of loops through a pondorosa and aspen forest. It's really pretty here and well worth the hike. There are several options to hike as well, depending on how much of a hike you are interested in. We had a dog with us and it was her first time hiking, so we chose the shorter (8 mile loop). This write up will reflect this.

From the signed trailhead, start following the clear trail into the forest. After about 1/4 of a mile of hiking, you'll reach a signed four way junction. If you turn left, you have the option of a big (13 mile) loop or a near big (10 mile) loop. We chose the smaller (8 mile ) loop so we went straight ahead at this junction (JCT 1 on the map). The trail narrows and climbs pretty steadily into the forest. After about 1.8 miles of hiking from the junction, you'll reach another signed junction (Jct 2R on the map). Turn right here. If you're ever unsure if you're on the right trail, check for the blue diamonds on the trees next to the trail. Continue along this trail as you pass a water tank on your left. There's a few wide open meadows along this stretch of the trail as well. When we were hiking, a big meadow was populated by a dozen happy cows munching the grass. Continuing on the trail, you'll reach a second tank and nearby is a trail junction (Jct 3R on the map). Turning left puts you on the Chipmunk Springs connector trail to the Country Club trail. We'll stay right here and head back to the four way trail junction (Jct 1). Turn left at this signed junction to make it back to the trailhead and your parked car.

 

Map

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