Abineau – Bear Jaw Loop – Fall

Cappie’s Scoop: This is the most amazing trail in Flagstaff! I’ll hike it any season unless the road is covered in snow and mom can’t make it to the trailhead. The trail is the most fun in the fall when the leaves are falling and crunchy! There are lots of sticks and shade too. Mom has also found a lot of cool looking funghi on the trail but they smell weird to me. I’ll stick with sticks! We always do a loop but you can also hike all the way down the Waterline Road and get to more trails including the Inner Basin! If you can make it here, come in the fall, it’s the best! Don’t hesitate to add YOUR scoop in the comments below!

Tips: Normally I would recommend going counterclockwise to get the steep part out of the way first and get to the snowy area faster during winter (check out our winter post here) but if you want to see the spot for fall colors quickly, go clockwise because it will take you right to the best area!

Directions: From Flagstaff, you can reach this trail from two different highways – either 180N or US-89N. Either way, you’ll be driving on a fire road to get to the trailhead. We didn’t need 4WD or high clearance although high clearance is nice. 1) We chose to take 180N because we wanted the least amount of driving time on the fire road. Take 180N for about 18.7 miles. Turn right onto FR 151. After 1.2 miles, continue straight onto FR 418. In about 3 miles, turn right to take the road to the trailhead. There is a sign for the trail. 2) Or take US-89N for 15.7 miles to Forest Road 420, which is directly across from the turnoff to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Turn left onto FR 420 and continue about a half-mile to Forest Road 552. Turn right onto FR 552 and continue 1 mile to Forest Road 418. Turn right onto FR 418 and continue 8.1 miles to Forest Road 9123J. Turn left onto FR 9123J and continue 0.5 miles to the trailhead.