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Noodle Loop Trail #760 - 3 members in 8 triplogs have rated this an average 2.7 ( 1 to 5 best )
8 triplogs
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Jan 25 2025
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 Guides 3
 Routes 161
 Photos 477
 Triplogs 147

70 male
 Joined Jan 02 2016
 Prescott, AZ
Tunnel -Russ-Link-Italy-Willowy Loop, AZ 
Tunnel -Russ-Link-Italy-Willowy Loop, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Jan 25 2025
Whiffer • Triplogs 147
Hiking9.86 Miles 917 AEG
Hiking9.86 Miles   3 Hrs   50 Mns   2.57 mph
917 ft AEG
 
1st trip
Linked   11 linked trail guides
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Juniper Gate Trail #701
Tunnel Vision Trail #714
Tatanka Trail #735
Russ T. Fender Trail #728
Zygomatic Trail #761
Missing Link Trail #724
Little Italy Trail #703
Javelina Trail #332
Willow Creek Trail #704
Willy Nilly Tractor #707
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
There are many loops possible in the Spence Basin (full of Ponderosa pine), starting from either the Iron Springs Trailhead or, like this one, from the Spence Springs Trailhead. The only trail at the Spence Springs Trailhead is Noodle Loop #760, but there are four trails onto which you can turn to start a loop. It had been a few years since I had hiked Tunnel Vision #714, so named because it passes through a (low and narrow) tunnel under Javelina Trail #332 where #332 follows the old Iron Springs Railway right-of-way. It had also been awhile since I had hiked Tatanka #735 and Zygomatic #761, so I took those and Missing Link to take Little Italy south, then west, then east, a direction that I have rarely hiked. This provided views of Granite Mountain and Thumb Butte, plus lots of rocky hillsides (see photo for example). I then returned to the trailhead via Javelina, Willow Creek #704, Willy Nilly Tractor #707 and the east side of Noodle Loop for a nearly 10-mile hike. There are way too many trails to include all in the name of this loop hike, so I have included parts of the names of four trails and combined parts of two more (Willow Creek and Willy Nilly Tractor) to form Willowy.
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  2 archives
Jan 18 2025
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 Guides 3
 Routes 161
 Photos 477
 Triplogs 147

70 male
 Joined Jan 02 2016
 Prescott, AZ
Willy Nilly-Ridgetop-West, AZ 
Willy Nilly-Ridgetop-West, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Jan 18 2025
Whiffer • Triplogs 147
Hiking9.90 Miles 957 AEG
Hiking9.90 Miles   3 Hrs   41 Mns   2.71 mph
957 ft AEG      2 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Willy Nilly Tractor #707
Ridgetop Trail #317
West Trail #318
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
A fairly easy 10-mile out-and-back hike from the Spence Springs Trailhead west of Prescott, AZ. The only trail that starts at the Spence Springs Trailhead is Noodle Loop Trail #760 which is left out of the title. You can add about a half-mile by doing all of Noodle Loop Trail, or all of West Trail, or adding any of the other trails in the Spence Basin. Two of the options are to return to the Spence Basin via Firewater Trail #325 (before the turnaround of this hike) or Javelina Trail #332 (a little past the turnaround). A month into winter, the foliage notes have been removed, but there's still some color hanging on the branches, like the skunkbush sumac in the photo.
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  1 archive
Nov 16 2024
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 Guides 3
 Routes 161
 Photos 477
 Triplogs 147

70 male
 Joined Jan 02 2016
 Prescott, AZ
Spence Springs Loop, AZ 
Spence Springs Loop, AZ
 
Hiking avatar Nov 16 2024
Whiffer • Triplogs 147
Hiking10.22 Miles 1,036 AEG
Hiking10.22 Miles   3 Hrs   57 Mns   2.63 mph
1,036 ft AEG      4 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Linked   8 linked trail guides
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Willy Nilly Tractor #707
Little Italy Trail #703
Missing Link Trail #724
Russ T. Fender Trail #728
West Side Story Trail #725
Javelina Trail #332
Vista Trail #706
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
A ten-mile loop clock-wise around Spence Springs Basin. The foliage was about as bright as it gets. There are mostly Ponderosa pines and Gambel oaks with a sprinkling of junipers and willows, aspens and (maybe) cottonwoods along Willow Creek, Spence Creek and some of the gullies. The Gambel oaks, willows and aspens or cottonwoods were near peak yellow.
foliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observationfoliage observation
Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Trees described above. Near the trailhead were a few skunkbush sumac with hammered copper leaves
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  1 archive
Aug 30 2024
avatar

 Guides 93
 Routes 397
 Photos 4,984
 Triplogs 4,124

49 male
 Joined Jun 20 2003
 Tucson, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760Prescott, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Prescott, AZ
Run/Jog avatar Aug 30 2024
fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124
Run/Jog19.25 Miles 1,894 AEG
Run/Jog19.25 Miles   4 Hrs   19 Mns   4.64 mph
1,894 ft AEG      10 Mns Break7 LBS Pack
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Vista Trail #706
Sidekick Trail #721
West Side Story Trail #725
Tunnel Vision Trail #714
Juniper Gate Trail #701
Partners none no partners
I ran a bunch of loops using different trails out in this area. Great trails for running. Finished right when the rain hit.
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hi
 
May 04 2024
avatar

 Guides 3
 Routes 161
 Photos 477
 Triplogs 147

70 male
 Joined Jan 02 2016
 Prescott, AZ
Vista Trail #706Prescott, AZ
Vista Trail #706
Prescott, AZ
Hiking avatar May 04 2024
Whiffer • Triplogs 147
Hiking4.19 Miles 491 AEG
Hiking4.19 Miles   1 Hour   27 Mns   2.92 mph
491 ft AEG      1 Min Break
 
Linked   linked  
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Javelina Trail #332
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
Route starts and ends on Iron Springs Road about 0.1 mile east of the Spence Springs Trailhead for Noodle Loop Trail. The name of Vista Trail refers to the views of Prescott and Thumb Butte from the west end of the trail, near it's junction with Javelina Trail #332 a tenth of a mile from Iron Springs Trailhead. The east end of Vista Trail is a few tenths of a mile from the Spence Springs Trailhead along Noodle Loop Trail #760, the only trail at that trailhead.
wildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observationwildflower observation
Wildflowers Observation Light
Light overall, but heavy with yellow linanthus? (see photo) for the first tenth of a mile of Noodle Loop. After that, occasional ashen milkvetch and a couple unidentified plants with pink (see photo) or blue flowers.
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  1 archive
Apr 24 2022
avatar

 Guides 10
 Routes 673
 Photos 7,281
 Triplogs 4,660

67 female
 Joined Nov 17 2008
 phoenix, az
Noodle - Vista Loop :: Spence BasinPrescott, AZ
Noodle - Vista Loop :: Spence Basin
Prescott, AZ
Hiking avatar Apr 24 2022
trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660
Hiking4.50 Miles 536 AEG
Hiking4.50 Miles
536 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Linked   linked  
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Vista Trail #706
Juniper Gate Trail #701
Partners none no partners
nebraska friend is in arizona for a visit
we spent a couple of days in prescott and sedona
i've wanted to check out the trails from spence basin
started on the noodle loop trail, continued west on vista, back on juniper gate and noodle
made one wrong turn for some extra credit
i liked this area - nice trails through pine and juniper
not too many mountain bikers, and all were courteous
a lot more to do from here, too
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hazhole
 
Apr 03 2022
avatar

 Guides 107
 Routes 249
 Photos 2,067
 Triplogs 514

male
 Joined Nov 18 2005
 Phoenix, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760Prescott, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Prescott, AZ
Backpack avatar Apr 03 2022
nonot • Triplogs 514
Backpack16.00 Miles 1,500 AEG
Backpack16.00 Miles3 Days         
1,500 ft AEG
 no routesno photosets
1st trip
Linked   17 linked trail guides
Willy Nilly Tractor #707
Sidekick Trail #721
Willow Creek Trail #704
Javelina Trail #332
Little Italy Trail #703
Missing Link Trail #724
Zygomatic Trail #761
Village Loop Trail #736
Rocky Top Trail #727
Russ T. Fender Trail #728
West Side Story Trail #725
Tatanka Trail #735
BLM Trail #729
Tunnel Vision Trail #714
Happy Ending Trail #705
Lloyd's Drop Trail #711
Juniper Gate Trail #701
Partners none no partners
To make up for the sufferfest I went through on my last backpacking trip, for this weekend I chose an easy wander through the Spence Basin area, as I was fairly certain the trails were well maintained, and I enjoyed my last visit to this area. I found the trail conditions to be excellent.

Weather was about perfect for the 3 days, with the high reaching 70 and lows staying above freezing. I managed to complete all the parts of my plan well ahead of schedule. I only spent about 8 hours hiking over the 3 days, leaving plenty of time for lounging, relaxing and catching up on both reading and sleep.

While this area is popular with bikers it is also open to hiking and backpacking. Many of the trails skirt nearby housing developments, but even so I found the trails enjoyable, although many of them have few distinguishing features.

Was lucky to run into some deer on Saturday, as that was more wildlife than I expected to see in an area of forest hemmed in by housing developments. Sadly, this area seems to have no spring wildflowers at all and in general the landscape has a drab appearance as if it is still recovering from a harsh winter.

For HAZ members looking to rack up some easy miles through scrub-oak/pine woodland, I'd recommend this area in the spring and fall when it is otherwise a bit hot to hike in the low desert.

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water less than maxwater less than max Spence Creek Light flow Light flow
Light flow at the sidekick crossing

water 1 out of 5water 2 out of 5water 3 out of 5water less than max Willow Creek Medium flow Medium flow
Medium flow at Little Italy crossing, along Javelina, along Willow Creek, and at Willy Nilly crossing.
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http://hikearizona.com/garmin_maps.php

Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, ankle-twisting, HAZmaster crushing ROCKS!!
Hike Arizona it is full of sharp, pointy, shin-stabbing, skin-shredding plants!
Hike Arizona it is full of striking, biting, stabbing, venomous wildlife!
 
Mar 20 2021
avatar

 Guides 3
 Routes 161
 Photos 477
 Triplogs 147

70 male
 Joined Jan 02 2016
 Prescott, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760Prescott, AZ
Noodle Loop Trail #760
Prescott, AZ
Hiking avatar Mar 20 2021
Whiffer • Triplogs 147
Hiking2.03 Miles 196 AEG
Hiking2.03 Miles   1 Hour      2.10 mph
196 ft AEG      2 Mns Break
 
no photosets
1st trip
Linked   none no linked trail guides
Partners none no partners
Route Scout Route Recorded  on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX
Starting trail from Spence Springs Trailhead into the Spence Springs Basin trails popular with mountain bikers. The trails in the Spence Springs Basin criss-cross a few square miles of generally flat basin accessible from the Spence Springs Trailhead west of Prescott, Arizona on Iron Springs Road, just past the first 45 mph sign, and from the Iron Springs Trailhead 1.3 miles further west. The Iron Springs Trailhead is one of the higher points at the northwest corner of the Spence Springs Basin, while the Spence Springs Trailhead is nearly the lowest at the northeast corner. As a result, the Spence Springs Trailhead is the preferred starting point for longer hikes. Vegetation in the Spence Springs Basin is primarily Ponderosa Pines with Alligator Bark Juniper more prevalent near the Iron Springs Trailhead. Prickly Pear Cacti are sprinked around the Spence Springs Basin. Manzanita bushes are more common, and there is a small groave of Aspen near the North side of the "Loop." Noodle Loop Trail #760 connects with Vista Trail #706 (which ends at Javelina Trail #332 near the Iron Springs Trailhead) at the junction that forms the "Loop" after less than a half mile from the Spence Springs Trailhead. Other trails in the Spence Springs Basin that connect to Noodle Loop Trail #760 (listed clockwise around the loop) are Juniper Gate #701 (short cut across Noodle Loop and forming a larger loop with Noodle Loop and Vista); Willy Nilly Tractor Trail #707 (to Willow Creek Trail #704 & Ridge Top Trail #317 which connects to Pine Lakes Trail #316 to the Thumb Butte Trailhead); and Sidekick Trail #721 (to Waterline Trail #733, BLM Trail #729, Javelina Trail #332, Tatanka Trail #735 & Russ T. Fender #728).
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  1 archive
average hiking speed 2.59 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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