Arizona National Scenic Trail

The Arizona National Scenic Trail runs the length of the state, from the U.S.-Mexico border at Coronado National Memorial to the Utah border. The Forest Service puts it at over 800 miles. It is split into 43 passages and is non-motorized. The Forest Service gives 43 days as the average thru-hike, and 60 days is common. Timing is set by snow in the mountains and heat in the desert. Most thru-hiking happens in spring and fall. Northbound hikers typically start in February or March, and the Forest Service puts northbound high use from mid-February to mid-May. Southbound hikers typically start in mid-September or October, with high use from mid-September to mid-November. October is the most common southbound start, and March the most common northbound one. You do not need a permit to hike the trail itself. You do need permits to camp in a few places, and the agencies that run them handle the paperwork, not the Arizona Trail Association. Colossal Cave Mountain Park has a camping fee and you stay in its designated campgrounds. Saguaro National Park requires entrance and camping permits through Recreation.gov, and you camp only at Grass Shack or Manning Camp. There is a special thru-hiker permit in the busy seasons. Grand Canyon National Park requires a camping permit, with camping only at Bright Angel and Cottonwood. Those permits are limited and generally have to be arranged in advance. You can apply on Recreation.gov, watch for cancellations there, or try for a walk-up permit at a Backcountry Office. Where the trail crosses Arizona State Trust Land, a 15-foot right of way lets you pass without a permit. The Forest Service says camping outside it requires a State Land Recreation Permit. No permit is needed to pass through Pima County's Cienega Creek Natural Preserve on the trail. The southern end is Border Monument 102, on the Yaqui Ridge Trail. From Montezuma Pass it is about 2 miles each way, so northbound hikers walk down to the border and back up. The memorial closes each night, and visitors are expected back from hikes half an hour after sunset. Overnight parking is allowed at Montezuma Pass. Coronado National Memorial shares a border with Mexico, and crossings and smuggling are common. The park says established trails in daylight are safe, but do not travel cross-country, and hiking alone is not recommended. If people in distress ask for help, the park recommends not making contact and reporting where they are to park staff or the Border Patrol. The route gains and loses thousands of feet and passes through habitats from desert to boreal forest. It crosses the Gila River, the Superstition Mountains and the Mazatzal Wilderness, then climbs the Mogollon Rim and the San Francisco Peaks. It crosses the Grand Canyon, then runs through conifer forest on the Kaibab Plateau to the Utah border. About 130 miles pass through seven wilderness areas. The association warns about heat, flash floods, lightning in the June to August monsoon, snow and cold rain even in the low desert, rattlesnakes and Africanized bees. Lightning is most dangerous on exposed high ground like the sky islands, the Superstitions, the Mazatzals and the San Francisco Peaks. Never camp or linger in dry washes. Stay out of abandoned mine shafts, and do not camp under dead trees, which are common in the burned areas along the trail. Valley Fever, a fungus in desert soil, is breathed in with dust. The North Rim passage sits above 8,000 feet, and snow is possible through spring and sometimes into early summer. When the trail is buried in spring, hikers may walk Highway 67 before it opens, typically on May 15. Bikes must stay on the trail, and there is no camping on the road. North Rim facilities are closed from mid-October to mid-May. Water is usually available if you are willing to carry a day or two of it on long stretches. The association says hikers may need a gallon a day. The BLM calls its Passages 15, 16 and 43 some of the driest on the trail. On Passage 16 the Gila River is often the only water, and it is usually murky; the association's tests found E. coli in it. Passage 17 has no reliable water. The association has rainwater collectors between Passages 14 and 15 and between 16 and 17. Cattle contamination is common, so filter or treat everything, and carry two ways to treat water. The association points to the AZT Water Report Online for current conditions. Cache water only inside AZT bear boxes, mark your bottles with your name and date, and carry out your empties, because there is no trash service on the trail. Do not cache food or supplies anywhere on the trail. The association advises keeping your food in one place about 100 yards from your tent, hung from a branch where there are trees. Dogs are not allowed on the trail in Coronado National Memorial, Saguaro National Park or Grand Canyon National Park, where pets are not allowed below the rim. The Forest Service also bans dogs year-round in the bighorn sheep area of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness, which Passage 11 crosses, and from January through April it bars going more than 400 feet off trail there. The association calls a thru-hike with a dog very difficult. Resupply is by town stops. The association lists gateway communities from south to north. In Patagonia, the Wagon Wheel Saloon holds packages, and the shuttle service Finding True North also accepts and holds resupply boxes. Colossal Cave Mountain Park holds boxes for up to 8 weeks; ship by UPS or FedEx, because the Postal Service does not deliver there. In Summerhaven, the Mt. Lemmon General Store holds packages. Oracle is about 4 miles off the trail. The General Kearny Inn, 7 miles from the Gila River crossing, and the Copper Mountain Motel in Superior, about 5 miles off the trail, accept packages. In Pine, you can mail general delivery or send a box to THAT Brewery. Mormon Lake Lodge Country Store has limited camping supplies and snacks. Flagstaff has most of the big grocery stores. The Grand Canyon General Store on the South Rim has full grocery and resupply. Tusayan's post office does not take general delivery; the association says to send a Tusayan box by UPS or FedEx to the National Geographic Visitor Center instead. North of the canyon, Jacob Lake Inn has a small store with resupply items. Check the association's North Rim gateway page before you plan on a box at the North Rim. At the south end, Coronado National Memorial runs a hiker shuttle from its visitor center up to Montezuma Pass, typically a few days a week in the cooler months. Check its calendar. Arizona Sunshine Tours runs shuttles from the Tucson airport to the visitor center. At the north end, Backcountry Found in Page and Kanab Tour Company run shuttles to the Stateline trailhead. Cell coverage is unreliable along much of the trail; the association suggests a satellite messenger and leaving your itinerary with someone. Closures can break the route for whole seasons, so check before you go. The association posts closures, restrictions and reroutes on its site. Also check the Forest Service trail alerts page and Grand Canyon's Key Hiking Messages page.