Coconino National Forest Trail Guide - Apache Maid Trail #15

Length: 23 miles

(round trip)

Rating: Strenuous

Use: Hiking and

Horses

Season: April to No-

vember

Hiking time: 15 hours

(round trip)

Cumulative Eleva-

tion: 2900 ft.

USGS Maps: Casner

Butte

Location: 43 miles

south of Flagstaff on

paved and all-weather

graveled roads

Notes: No mecha-

nized vehicles in Wil-

derness. The trail is

poorly marked and

hard to follow across

the high plateau

where there is also no

water.

For more informa-

tion contact: Red

Rock Ranger District,

P.O. Box 20429, Sedona AZ 86341, (928) 203-2900

The Apache Maid Trail branches off the Bell Trail approximately 2 miles from the Bell Trail trailhead. The Apache Maid Trail trailhead is marked by a trail sign. From there, the trail skirts the

rim of Wet Beaver Creek Canyon, one of the scenic red rock gorges that cut the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau. The trail starts Bell trail trailhead at the mouth of the canyon and contin-

ues up this picturesque drainage, offering glimpses of the clear, cool stream, until it branches to the north from the Bell Trail to climb the canyon's north wall. Once atop the basalt flows that

form a caprock in this area, the Apache Maid Trail winds along primitive jeep tracks across the grassy, juniper flats. From the trail, the canyon appears off to your right as an eroded rift in the

ancient lava flow. Some choose to hike just a part of this trail, enjoying overlooks of the canyon and a panorama that includes Casner Butte and the San Francisco Peaks. Others arrange a

car-shuttle and continue all the way to trail's end near the lookout tower on Apache Maid Mountain.

Access: From the I-17 SR 179 interchange, drive south on FR 618 1.5 miles southeast to the Beaver Creek Work Station turnoff. Turn north about a quarter mile to the parking lot and Bell

Trail trailhead. Horses use Bruce Brockett trailhead AKA Bell trail overflow parking area for access to Bell Trail. Revised APR 2014

Bell Trail

Wet Beaver Creek

Wilderness

Bruce Brockett Trail

White Mesa Trail

Long Canyon Trail

End of trail on map