Camping on Mogollon Rim - day trip for out of town friends?

[gary_g]

Some friends of mine are coming to Arizona to go camping with me this weekend, and I was wondering what would be a good day trip? Assuming we don't get any more closures by tomorrow, we'll be camping up on the Mogollon Rim off Milk Ranch Point rd. My original plan was to drive over to Verde Hot Springs for the day, but unfortunately that got closed yesterday....

I've only been in Arizona two years so I haven't had a ton of time to explore all the sights, so what would be a good place to take them that isn't affected by the closures in Tonto and Coconino? Any recommendations?

[chumley]

A nice short destination trip is Kinder Crossing. The trail is steep, but short, and you can happily spend a few hours down at the crossing doing some swimming or exploring up and downstream.

http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=426

It's about 18 miles north on HWY 87 from the FR300 turnoff, and 4-5 miles down FR95 to the trailhead.

[The_Eagle]

Another one in the same area, just a little more remote is the Horse Crossing trail.
http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=431

[gary_g]

Oh wow, both of these look awesome! I just sent both of the links to my friends so I'll let them decide and report back how it went. Thanks a ton for the info!

-g

[Canyonram]

Be sure to check for closures across the Rim Country. Some areas have been shut down due to the Poco fire near Young (about 30 miles east of Payson). Other areas of the Rim have been closed to camping due to the extreme fire danger. Pine, AZ is currently under a 'water-stoppage' due to equipment malfunction and low supply.

http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2012/ ... shut-down/

Hope the link works. If now, go to http://WWW.Paysonroundup.com and check June 20th for article on closures. You can also check at http://www.fs.usda.gov/tonto

[John9L]

Another option that is right off of Milk Ranch Point Road is West Webber Trail #228. I hiked down it last year and it was a very enjoyable section of trail. There are ways to make a loop out of the hike. See the bottom of the hike description...link below. Hiking back up to the rim will be a grind.

http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=1231

[gary_g]

Ok thanks again for the info. The best I can tell everything north of the rim is in Coconino national forest, and therefore is open...? Does that seem correct? I looked at the Tonto Forest closure map on that link and there's a little piece that dips down on the north side that I think is where Milk Ranch Point rd comes down, so I think we're still good to go. ... I hope? I could be totally wrong though :-\ Everyone in our group seems most excited to try Kinder Crossing which also doesn't appear to be closed - am I reading these closure maps correctly?

[outdoor_lover]

You're gonna be safe on the Kinder/Horse Crossing Trails. I'll be up there in the area this weekend as well. The only drawback may be that there will be twice the people up there because of all the closures....

[Grasshopper]

@gary_g
You should be legal within the Coconino NF to camp this weekend on Milk Ranch Point Road and to hike the Kinder Crossing and/or Horse Crossing Trail. If you hike West Weber Trail or Turkey Creek Trails down from Milk Ranch Point Rd, then you will be entering the off limits area within Tonto NF.. half of the PHX area including me, Pam, BEEBEE-Brian will be up there on Saturday driving the Rim Road (FR300).. I do suggest (due to the amount of anticipated driving activity on FR300) that if you plan to hike Kinder Crossing Trail, that you exit Milk Ranch Point Road back to FR300 back to Hwy 87 and take 87N to its intersection with FR95 and take FR95 the 4-5 miles to access the Kinder Crossing FR turn and TH access. Have fun!

[chumley]

East of Hwy87
Above the rim= Coconino = OPEN.
Below the rim= Tonto = Closed.

As Grasshopper said, the Webber trail drops into the Tonto, so that is closed.

Everything north of FR300 is open, and south of FR300 is open to the edge of the rim, which is the forest boundary.

Milk Ranch Point is on the Coconino and is marked as open on the website/maps (I have seen them close it with signs before due to it's proximity to the community of Pine, but if that happens, there are ample dispersed camping opportunities nearby that just aren't out on Milk Ranch Point).

[nonot]

Small note on Chumley's info: There is an area above the rim closed off around the Promontory trail. You have to avoid approximately between the upper Horton Springs TH and the See Canyon TH.