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Does anyone have any experience with old wagon road called Grief Hill near Camp Verde? There's a trailhead off Cherry Road but no other signage. The whole area is a honeycomb of jeep trails and cow paths. I've tried four times now to pick up the trail but no luck. Can't find anything online and the Prescott Forest Service has been no help but to say it exists.

Not me. Sounds like your looking for a whole lot of grief!

I found this reference to it on the National Forest website.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/prescott ... &actid=104
I used Lat/Long they give on mapdex. Mytopo doesn't reveal to much except for exactly where Grief Hill and its respective wash and tank are located. There is road going the latter from the TH but don't know if that is your trail (suspect not cause it looks impossible to loose). The name alone perked my ears. My wife says that I have a magnetic pull when it comes to hills wait till she hears the name of this one.

Yeah, this is the trail head off Cherry Road. There's a big sign and a huge parking lot but no indications of trails or directions. I tried to follow the directions in the Richard/Sherry Magnum (Sedona Hikes) book but I lose the trail at the same spot. I'm not sure they're even hiking the right trail because they have it looping back to Cherry Road which makes no sense since it was a wagon trail over the mountain. (real maps sure would be nice in that book lol).

I understand there's evidence of an old stage stop along the way. Legend has it, it was one scary SOB to bring a wagon down. Somebody told me its easier to pick up at the top of the mountain. I may have to hike it from that direction first to see where it comes out...

Don't know why this is listed as the trail head, because it is not. The actual trailhead is at the end of 9603S. It veers off to the left at a rock cairn as the road (9603S) peters out into a footpath. I can give you GPS coordinates if you want. We've been looking for the old wagon road as well and only stumbled onto this location yesterday while hiking cross-country down the hillside.

Thanks. I did finally find the trail up the mountainside this week. Still haven't quite figured out how to access it from Cherry Road--besides bushwhacking cross country. Where does that jeep road come out? Does it come out on Hwy 260 some where? It's not shown on my topo or forest service maps.

Comes out on 260 just past Cherry Road - maybe 3/4 mile down towards Camp Verde. Enter through a closed, but not locked gate. It's not on topo maps but it is on The Nat. Geo. Sycamore Canyon Verde Valley map as well as the Verde Valley Area Recreational Road Map, both good references (though not always necessarily accurate) for local back roads.

Thanks for your help Prospector. Happy Trails.

Quite welcome; and good luck.

prospector wrote:Comes out on 260 just past Cherry Road - maybe 3/4 mile down towards Camp Verde. Enter through a closed, but not locked gate. It's not on topo maps but it is on The Nat. Geo. Sycamore Canyon Verde Valley map as well as the Verde Valley Area Recreational Road Map, both good references (though not always necessarily accurate) for local back roads.

I love paper maps. I am going to look for those if I move back to Flagstaff sometime. I have also thought about moving to Cottonwood. I like that area because it is desert, but is not Phoenix, and has lots and lots of hiking, biking and backpacking places to go nearby, plus a runnable river!

You just can't beat the Verde Valley for outdoor recreational opportunities, being surrounded by literally millions of acres of public land. Plus (and unlike Flagstaff) very little snow!

prospector wrote:You just can't beat the Verde Valley for outdoor recreational opportunities, being surrounded by literally millions of acres of public land. Plus (and unlike Flagstaff) very little snow!

Well, I just don't know where I'll end up! Cottonwood is attractive. I especially like the historic part of it. It's also attractive in that it's a full-service town but without being a huge metropolis.