The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a National Scenic Trail

National Scenic Trail

National Scenic Trail is a designation for protected areas in the United States that consist of trails of particular natural beauty.National Scenic Trails were authorized under the National Trails System Act of 1968 along with National Historic Trails and National Recreation Trails...

 from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 that traverses the whole north-south length of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial

Coronado National Memorial

The Coronado National Memorial commemorates the first organized expedition into the Southwest by conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. The memorial is located in a natural setting on the international border on the southeast flank of the Huachuca Mountains south of Sierra Vista, Arizona...

 near the US-Mexico border and moves north through parts of the Huachuca

Huachuca Mountains

The Huachuca Mountain range is part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest. The Huachuca Mountains are located in Cochise County, Arizona approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona...

, Santa Rita

Santa Rita Mountains

The Santa Rita Mountains, located about 65 km southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Patagonia Mountains, trending northwest by southeast...

, and Rincon Mountains

Rincon Mountains

The Rincon Mountains are a significant mountain range east of Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, in the United States. The Rincon Mountains are one of five mountain ranges surrounding the Tucson valley...

; it goes through the Santa Catalina

Santa Catalina Mountains

The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains, are located north, and northeast of Tucson, Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, with the highest average elevation...

 north of Tucson and the Mazatzal Mountains

Mazatzal Mountains

The Mazatzal Mountains are a mountain range in south central Arizona, about 30–45 miles northeast of Phoenix and the Phoenix metropolitan area. The origin of the name remains obscure but one possibility is that it is from the Aztec language meaning "place of the deer"...

 before ascending the Mogollon Rim

Mogollon Rim

The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature running across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately from northern Yavapai County eastward to near the border with New Mexico.-Description:...

 north of Payson

Payson

-People:* Edward Payson , American Congregational preacher* Edwin Blake Payson , U.S. botanist* Phillips Payson , American minister for the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts from 1728...

 to the higher elevations of Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially-defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the...

 and the San Francisco Peaks

San Francisco Peaks

The San Francisco Peaks are a volcanic mountain range located in north central Arizona, just north of Flagstaff.The highest summit in the range, Humphreys Peak, is the highest point in the state of Arizona at in elevation. The San Francisco Peaks are the remains of an eroded stratovolcano...

, and then continuing across the Coconino Plateau

Coconino Plateau

The Coconino Plateau is found south of the Grand Canyon and north—northwest of Flagstaff, in northern Arizona of the Southwestern United States.-Geography:...

 to the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. It terminates near the Arizona-Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 border in the Kaibab Plateau

Kaibab Plateau

The Kaibab Plateau is located in northern Arizona in the United States. The plateau, part of the larger Colorado Plateau, is bordered on the south by the Grand Canyon and reaches an elevation of 9241 feet above sea level. The plateau is divided between Kaibab National Forest and the "North Rim"...

 region. The Arizona Trail is about 93% complete as of mid-2007, and is planned to be about 800 miles (1,287.5 km) long when completed. It is designed as a primitive trail for hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, equestrians, mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

, and even cross country skiing. It showcases the wide variety of mountain ranges and ecosystems of Arizona.

The idea for the trail was originally developed and promoted in 1985 by Dale Shewalter

Dale Shewalter

Dale Richard Shewalter was an American teacher who founded and promoted the Arizona Trail in 1985.Shewalter was born in Geneva, Illinois, on May 16, 1950. He served in the United States Marine Corps 1st Battalion, 7th Marines during the Vietnam War...

, a Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

 teacher. The Arizona Trail was designated as a National Scenic Trail on on March 30, 2009 by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. On Saturday, October 22nd at 8:00pm, Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson was an influential American delta blues musician, who recorded in the late 1920s, and was known for his eerie falsetto voice and intricate guitar playing.-Early life:...

 and Babbs helped build the trail. They built a 1/2 mile piece of trail and called it Lee Trail after Lee Allen

Lee Allen

Lee Allen may refer to:*Lee Allen , wrestler and coach*Lee Allen , baseball historian*Lee Allen , saxophone player*Lee Allen , American artist and ocularist...

, 67 and still going.

External links

• Arizona Trail.org
• Arizona State Parks: Arizona Trail fact sheet
• Trail Segments - HikeArizona.COM
• Trailheads Map - HikeArizona.COM