Wildcat Hill, AZ

Overview
Nothing special about Wildcat Hill, though you do get a nice view of Sitegrieves Peak from the summit. Other than that, it's a standard, run-of-the-mill cinder cone that is already ubiquitous in Northern Arizona.


Hike
There are two ways to attack Wildcat Hill. The western side, which offers more forgiving slopes and a road halfway to the top, or the north side, which gains 350' vertical gain in 0.15 miles for the masochists.Getting to the western side is easy, just follow Forest Road 115, then turn west on Forest Road 2043 and drive to the base of Wildcat Hill. If you have a vehicle with a short wheelbase and 4WD, you can continue driving up to the southern tip of the hill. Forest Road 2043 is a rough road, so if you don't have at least high clearance, don't even attempt to drive on it. Just park at the junction of 2043 and 115 and start your hike from there. Hiking from the west side is easy, just follow the road up till it ends and head toward the summit following the foot / game trail. Hike down the way you came, and that's it, you've hiked up yet another cinder cone in Arizona.

Northern side now. This way is for the people who want to feel the burn. From Forest Road 115, you gain 350 vertical feet in 0.2 miles. A bit steeper than the west side, and no game trails or roads leading up. Sure, you can hike up in a switchback formation type of way, but at that point, just go around to the west side and go the easy way.

Not much at the summit. You get some views of Sitegrieves Peak and you can sign the summit log if you wish. But other than that, there's not much up here.

2025-08-09 NitroTheWolf