West Leonard Canyon, AZ

Overview
West Leonard Canyon is an eight-mile-long canyon, located on the Mogollon Rim between Hospital Ridge and Knoll Ridge. West Leonard Canyon starts on Rim Rd. at Lost Lake, draining north — as do all top of the Rim canyons. At five miles, Middle Leonard Canyon empties into it. At eight miles, West Leonard Canyon joins with East Leonard Canyon to form, simply, Leonard Canyon, which eventually empties into East Clear Creek at Leonard Point.


Hike
The canyon bottom is literally 100 ft. away and 10 ft. down from the trailhead. Nearly direct access.The hike is 2¾ miles of relatively mild canyon bottom, followed by 1⅓ miles of meadow walking, then another 1⅓ miles of rockier, more congested, canyon bottom. All deadfall was easily avoided. (Unlike Middle Leonard Canyon, which had some tricky bits.) Climbing out is 190 ft. in ¼ mile, then ⅔ mile mellow cross-country, and finally 3½ miles on FR 300H back to the trailhead.

If you want to make a loop of Middle and West Leonard, I would go down Middle, then up West.

Warning
The canyon obviously experiences flash floods -- corn lily bent flat -- so avoid in rain. If you do find yourself in the canyon in rain, there are several caves 20 ft. above the canyon bottom, just under a mile from the trailhead. Potential bail points are marked (x) on the Official GPS route.

2022-09-17 kingsnake