Unexpected but Easy
Hikes in Pine, Strawberry & the Mogollon Rim
Right Around the Corner
There is great hiking right out the front door. Our neighbor, Barabara Dancho is masterful at documenting trails complete with GPS coordinates and obvious landmarks and up to date turning points.
Barbara created an amazingly detailed notebook of dozens of trails all within 10 miles of the cabin. Many of the hikes are connected to the trailhead right around the corner of the cabins (or within a 5 minute walk) and a number of them connect to the Arizona Trail There are potentially 800 miles of walking: from the Mexican Border to Utah.
There’s a good likelihood you’ll run into Barbara if you’re outside. She’ll be wearing a floppy hat (seen in red) and she’ll have a couple of dogs in tow!
Please tell her hello from Debbie and Dave.
BONUS*: if Barbara finds you really interested, she’ll probably invite you and as many of your family who can fit in her Jeep to join her on a trek to an undiscovered trail!
Tonto Natural Bridge
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is a 7 mile drive south of the Village of Pine along Highway 87. It’s a beautiful drive as you plunge down a 12 degree grade that opens up into a beautiful meadow, wedding venue.
Benefits of visitng the Natural Bridge
- Clean bathrooms situated around the common areas.
- Wide open meadows with plenty of space for kids to run around and burn off steam.
- The walk down to the hidden bridge is strenuous but it’s accessible for people who have the ability to scramble down steep, uneven steps. around the park.
- Take a picnic and make a day of it!
Bradshaw Tanks
& the Arizona Trail
There is an easy trail to an expansive meadow and 3 ponds called the Bradshaw Tanks. The trailhead starts at the end of Cletus Ray Road.
Two of our Cabins sit on Cletus Ray so this won’t lengthen your 2.5 mile hike by more than a few extra steps.
Remember to follow the trail slightly to the right. You can find Bradshaw Tank on GPS, although there may be no cell service on the hike so be sure to pull up the map when you have cell service.
Keep your eyes peeled. We’ve seen elk, deer, racoons, rabbits, javelina, turkey vultures & Canadian geese, fox and cows wallowing in the ponds.
* Ranchers partner with the National Forest Service to help maintain the grasslands, so yup, Cows!
Fossil Creek
I probably shouldn’t have included Fossil Creek in the list of favorite hikes because it’s so hard to get to. You won’t encounter many people who have actually visited Fossil Creek in the past 5 years because the Forest Service has had to modify access. Keep in mind, in 2021 destructive wildfires forced a total evacuation of Strawberry and Pine for 2 weeks. Since our evacuation, the Forest Service has created an 11 mile, on-foot detour to the closest Fossil Creek trailhead from the East. It’s actually more accessible if you drive toward Sedona, turn off at thethe Camp Verde turnoff and enter from that trailhead. It’s about a half hour from Strawberry. If you have the time and the endurance, you must give it your best effort. It is breathtaking! (although, I don’t know it from personal experience) The Stargazer Cabin is only 6 miles from where the trailhead begins.
Update
Fossil Creek Road (Forest Road 708) will close in late February for roughly three months of resurfacing work. The closure will run from February 27, 2023 to May 25, 2023. While approximately 7 miles of road will be resurfaced, the closure will include the entire segment from Highway 260 to the Fossil Creek Bridge
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