Little Horn Summit, AZ

Little Horn Summit in the Little Horn Mountains is an isolated range in part of the state where few venture and fewer seem to bother to make the summit. It isn't a rugged area or a big obvious mountain like Castle Dome, Woolsey, or Big Horn, but it has some pretty good views, and being much further from Phoenix, it is a lot quieter out here.


The hike is all off-trail but very easy to find. It is pretty much a cross country trek up a wash, gaining a basalt slope, and then an easy walk across a rocky ridge to the summit. This is a pretty nice mountain, as it isn't covered in cholla, and the rock is neither steep nor unstable. I chose a route that minimized elevation loss, but your route will vary and could include more AEG. Return how you came, or descend a different slope to explore on your way back.

I used the wash on the east side of the road and opposite a large hill on the west side of the road, which is south of the small pass. At present, a trailhead of sorts exists where an old trailer frame is rotting. My GPS route comes from my car, and I parked at a campsite, in case you want to use that and walk some road. Either way, you will start in the area where the road parallels the wash, leave from that area, and head up the dry wash to the ridge. Cross the terrain, and aim for the summit.

I saw a bighorn ram when I was almost near the summit, and I can see desert wildlife being common out here. The views are nice, too. The summit is nothing special, just a high point on the ridge in the volcanic rock region of western Arizona south of I 10.

Check out the Official Route and Triplogs.

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2018-03-05 Jim_H