Highline National Recreation Trail

[Copple]

Hey all, this is my first post.

My buddies and I want to hit the highline trail. I was thinking about doing it this October, but I wanted to get you all’s opinion. What is the best time of year to go? Would it be better to wait for spring to take advantage of the water from the snow melt?

Thanks.

[xsproutx]

October can be a great time for it and you can see so nice colors that you wouldn't in the spring, as well. Water should be just fine with your longest potential stretch being between Tonto and Verde but you'll almost certainly have multiple sources there, as well; they're currently all flowing quite nicely but October is still a little far away, of course.

[nonot]

Just as FYI:

All hikes have a "Preferred" area in the description, where the author suggests the best times to visit. It appears on the upper right (if using a computer web browser).

Also, if you click on the triplogs for a hike, the top part of the triplogs screen gives the breakdown of how many trips people do on which months. So using hundreds of people's trips, you can see that October isn't the most popular option for this trail, though many people did hike the trail then. You can see that May would seem to be the "best" month for the highline.

In my opinion, October is fine, though not best and often a bit chilly. The only problem you might have with October would be an early snowstorm making life difficult, so watch the forecast.

[xsproutx]

though not best and often a bit chilly. The only problem you might have with October would be an early snowstorm making life difficult, so watch the forecast.

Wait, don't you mean to put those in the "pro" column?

[nonot]

@xsproutx
A light dusting of snow adds to the scenery, but many novice backpackers will struggle with anything heavier. I err on the side of caution with new members that have no triplogs.

[Copple]

Thanks for all of the info everyone!