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I am planning a 5 day/50 Mile backpack trip this summer across the Highline Trail. I have been to many of these areas within the last few years, but wanted to finalize our camping spots, access to water, etc. and was hoping to use tomorrow to do so. However I know that at times during the winter certain roads shutdown until spring. I was hoping to stop by the 260 Trailhead, See Canyon Trailhead, Tonto Fish Hatcher, Washington Park Trailhead, Near Camp Geronimo and the Pine Trailhead. Are all of these currently open and accessible by car currently? Or are some of these closed until the National Forest roads open back up? I can't find reference to any of them being closed...but I don't want to drive 2+ hours only to be turned away and not being able to drive up to the trailhead locations.

Thanks,
Rick

rickcmarsh wrote:..wanted to finalize our camping spots, access to water, etc. and was hoping to use tomorrow to do so.

I've never hiked all of the Highline Trail, but the THs you note are all located below the Mogollon Rim within the Tonto NF and I would guess are all now OPEN for driving access in a ~car. I'm not sure it is legal to camp at the actual THs? and curious how you visiting all these THs in a day is going to confirm "access to water" for your upcoming summer 50 mile backpack

@Grasshopper
That's part of what I want to assess, are these legal trailheads to camp? If so what is water like, or would we need support vehicles to bring water? Is there a decent place +/- 1 mile from the trailhead to camp? I'll be taking a group of young men between 12 and 18 years old, but some fathers want to join for part of the week so where are good meeting points, or exit points in event of injury. I have just been surprised in the past with gates being locked. They were all up on the rim (young road area, black canyon lake, willow springs, etc) so maybe that is the difference.

I have hiked them all in sections at a time. I recommend you drive to two trailheads and only hike far enough each way to known water sources. You can accomplish this in one day but it will be a full day unless there are two of you. Remember there are a LOT of ups and downs on this trail which will slow you down but the experience will be worth it!

rickcmarsh wrote: ↑Feb 20 2022 8:26 pm @Grasshopper
That's part of what I want to assess, are these legal trailheads to camp? If so what is water like, or would we need support vehicles to bring water? Is there a decent place +/- 1 mile from the trailhead to camp? I'll be taking a group of young men between 12 and 18 years old, but some fathers want to join for part of the week so where are good meeting points, or exit points in event of injury. I have just been surprised in the past with gates being locked. They were all up on the rim (young road area, black canyon lake, willow springs, etc) so maybe that is the difference.

FYI, camping is prohibited near many of the intermediate trailheads, see:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tonto/no ... EPRD624522

As for camping at 260 TH or Pine TH: I can't recall if it is explicitly signed no camping, but these trailheads are both within spitting distance of major highways, and would be poor camping choices.

Also, keep in mind that even if the roads are not closed, in adverse weather, especially adverse winter weather, roads can become undriveable for some vehicles, so plan ahead.

If for some reason you didn't go today I would put it off for a week or so. There will be some snow up there in the coming days. I know there is a campground on the road to the fish hatchery but I'm pretty confident it is closed until spring. Anything up on the rim itself will definitely be closed and snowy. Especially after the coming storm.

So I re-read the OP and I'm a bit confused. The conditions you find in spring generally will be different than what you encounter in summer. Arizona is a dry climate, so the flowing creek you find in spring, due to snowmelt, will often turn into a dry creekbed by summer. There are some exceptions, and some of the creeks that the highline trail goes by are perennial. In particular, I have never seen the creeks near See Canyon, Washington Park, nor Horton Springs dry up in summer. If you go later in summer, during the monsoon season, that's the rainy period for Arizona and will increase the number of water options.

I don't know if there is legal camping at the Pine TH. If you can't camp there you can for sure camp on the west side of the 87 almost directly across from Pine TH. Take FR 1006 which is just over half a mile south from Pine TH down the 87. There's a large open dirt parking area you can camp in or go further back (west) or take the first road on your right and camp down that road. You can also take the AZT from these camping areas back to Pine TH and it's only about 10-15 minutes of hiking.

So I went up today, to look at each of the locations. Each of them were accessible by car today (and didn't seem like they had the locked gates for which I feared). Thanks @nonot for the closure notice. The areas are well posted about no camping within 200 feet of the water as well. Was hoping to camp near See, Hatchery, Washington and Geronimo each night along the trail. Will need to go to the drawing board a bit to connect with potential support vehicles for the group throughout the week.

@rickcmarsh
There are plenty of places to camp along that trail; it's very popular. Are you just saying that for some logistical/other reason you wanted to camp right at the trailhead?

@xsproutx
Ideally yes. Will have a number of young men with me, with varying skill levels. Ideally was looking for spots that we could camp, that would also be accessible by vehicle for some additional support of the trek. If it was just me and some buddies, I wouldn't have the concern.

If you're looking for 50 miles this option may not work but since you're talking about summertime, the [ Cabin Loop - Mogollon Rim ] really fits your criteria otherwise. There are road crossings every few miles and no camping restrictions anywhere. There are enough water sources to plan your camps (or cache at road crossings).

If the 50 mile thing is the crux (a scout badge or something?) you could always do a day on the highline and then take the AZT/Colonel Devin trail from Washington Park up to the Fred Haught Trail and do the cabin loop as a lasso from down below to get the miles you need. Depending on when in "summer" you plan on this trip, the cabin loop may be far more enjoyable than the Highline is anyway!