Looking for a Day Hike in January (Payson/Phoenix)

[joegers]

Hi Everyone!

New to this forum and AZ in general. I got an offer to relocate to Phoenix from CT in March so I said "why not?". First stop in AZ was the Grand Canyon to do the rim trail to South Kaibab and Skelton Point. Next I did Camelback, Tom's Thumb, Flat Iron and a few other hikes in the Valley.

But, my buddy is coming out the first weekend in January and we are looking to do a long day-hike on that Saturday. We are both ex-college swimmers and are in good shape so I think we can do between 8.5-12 miles if we start at 7am. The only qualm I have with the above hikes is that they were heavily trafficked and we are looking for a hike that is on a sparsely populated trail, if possible. I was thinking about doing the Barnhardt Trail near Payson, but am concerned with the weather in January. A temperature in the high 30's is fine, I just don't want to deal with the snow. Any recommendations for hikes about 2hrs away from Scottsdale/Phoenix would be great, thanks!

Joe

[SpiderLegs]

Peak 3465 out near Lake Pleasant. The most I've ever seen on a heavily traveled weekend is maybe 5-6 other hikers. Hike is about 10-12 miles off the top of my head, has some route finding, peak bagging and great views that many people never see.

[SuperstitionGuy]

Joe what do you have for transportation?

IE - what trail heads can you access and what is your comfort zone when driving Forest Service roads?

[chumley]

Hi @joegers


I can't imagine why anybody would leave Connecticut!

The way this winter has been going, there won't be any snow at all in January! But that can obviously change.

You might be interested in hikes in the eastern Superstitions to get into areas with fewer people. Anything that begins from Peralta TH, First Water TH, or Lost Dutchman State Park will be pretty busy at least for the first mile or two.

[ Ballantine Cabin & Corral ] is a nice hike in the desert that usually doesn't have more than a handful of cars at the trailhead.
[ Black Mesa Loop - Superstition Mtns ] starts at First Water, so there will be some people out there, but nothing that compares to Camelback or Flatiron.
[ Bluff Spring Loop & Weaver's View ] starts at Peralta. Same scenario as First Water.

As long as it hasn't snowed at low elevation that week, most of the trails in Sedona are in season, and the scenery is outstanding if you or your friend haven't been there. Some trails can be crowded though (avoid Devil's Bridge at all costs!!). Others will be less traveled. As always, the farther you get from a trailhead, the fewer people you'll find. I don't know much about Sedona hikes but others here can probably make recommendations.
[ Boynton Canyon Trail #47 ] is great, but has some tourists.

If you use the "Find" button at the top of the page, you can filter exactly the type of hike you are looking for: 8 to 12 miles, January, choose the amount of elevation gain, region of the state, etc. Note that if you don't mind chilly weather and especially if we haven't had any snow, you may want to choose a different month like September to increase the number of results you get since it assumes some of the January hikes are out of season due to elevation.
https://hikearizona.com/traildex.php

[joegers]

@SuperstitionGuy
I have a VW jetta but was thinking about renting a truck from Hertz/Enterprise/Avis so I can get access to some more trailheads

[Lumberjill]

You might consider the Vineyard Trail #131 - I did it on Thanksgiving weekend and we saw only two other people the entire day. Nice views and some great AZ landscape, including lava flows and Saguaro stands.