Mid-October through Early November is the perfect time to indulge your senses in Flagstaff's golden aspen colors. Head up above 8,000 feet for the best show in the state. Here's a few trails off-the-well-worn-path that are perfect for trail running, mountain biking and hiking. How long the golden leaves cling to the white branches is Mother Nature's call, said Peaks District Public Affairs Officer Ken Frederick.
"Rain or snow or winds tend to knock the leaves off," Frederick explained, adding that aspens like higher elevations because they need lots of moisture. "There's less evaporation higher up, and they can compete with the pines for moisture and soil nutrients and sunlight." Keep these northern Arizona locales in mind for a little snowshoeing later this winter, too.
Waterline Road:
The Waterline Road is long, uphill without remorse but not what you'd call a grunt. The grade is gentle enough for anyone with the stamina for a 15-mile ascent. Then it's all downhill for you and the elks, across the northeastern flanks of the mountains. To get there, turn right off Hwy 180, up Schultz Creek Road 4.5 miles to the Schultz Tank parking lot. From Schultz Tank, park and bike, hike or run north onto the Waterline Road, a few hundred feet past the turnoff to the Weatherford Trail. Amenities include a smooth gravel road, mellow grade and a gate to keep the cars out.
Three miles up, enter a bizarre tunnel that engineers bore through the volcanic tuff. Just beyond the tube are killer views of east Flagstaff and the Painted Desert. This makes a decent turn-around point if you'd like a shorter trip. But, further on, the overlooks get better and better. From the 8-mile-mark, descry Sunset Crater and O'Leary Peak. The road winds slowly upward between lush aspen forest and grassy vertical meadows.
Inner Basin Junction, at 9.5 miles, is another excellent destination, especially if you walk the last .5-mile into the bowl between the peaks.
Note: no bikes are permitted up into the City's watershed. There aren't any views but it's shaded and cool, plus you can refill your water containers at the natural spring by the cabins. Read the signs carefully if you choose to continue on 5 miles to Abineau Canyon. From here, the road is bisected by rock slides and has a slightly steeper grade. Fir trees close in for a shady, quiet, almost claustrophobic ride around to the north face of Mt. Humphreys. The trail dead-ends at 10,500 feet, under the terminal foot of several imposing avalanche chutes. To the north is a sweeping view of cinderscapes with the Canyon Grande slicing across the plateau.
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