This road trip takes Williamson Valley Road all the way to Seligman with a return via Ash Fork and Highway 89. We’ll visit the areas of many early historic sites, including the town sites of Simmons and Walnut Creek. On the return from Ash Fork we’ll stop at the old Little Hell Canyon stage stop...
Tonto Natural Bridge, under the Mogollon Rim north of Payson, is one of the more unusual features of Arizona. The bridge, somewhat more a huge natural tunnel, is 150 feet wide, nearly 200 feet tall, and 400 feet long. Several trails thread their way through and around the bridge. We’ll hike these trails, somewhat flexible...
Follow Diamond Creek Road as it winds through Peach Springs Canyon – the only road access to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Diamond Creek Road will take us down the canyon to the banks of the Colorado River. Along the way, we will stop to enjoy the views and learn about Hualapai history, cultures, and the geology and the natural history of the canyon. You will enjoy a picnic lunch with an optional walk the last mile to the Colorado...
Apple Creek (an informal name) is a tributary to the Hassayampa River east of Spruce Mountain and crossed by Senator Highway. Homesteaders and miners have both left their mark on this little drainage. During this half-day trip, we’ll hike up the creek (about a mile round trip - fairly easy informal trail) while we visit...
Near the northern edge of the great field of volcanos that surrounds Williams and Flagstaff is an otherwise average cinder cone, about 1,000 feet tall, called Red Mountain. What makes this little mountain unique is how erosion has carved a spectacular amphitheater out of the heart of this extinct volcano, creating a magical landscape of...
Canyon de Chelly, an amazing other-worldly landscape of 800-foot tall red cliffs, includes spectacular cliff dwellings and mystical rock art from centuries in the past. The canyon was once home to the ancestral Hopi and today sustains a living community of Navajo (the Dine’) living in spiritual connection with this beautiful landscape. We’ll tour the...