Completed in the fall of 2024, the Taawa Trail climbs high into Flagstaff’s Mount Elden-Dry Lake Hills (MEDL) area. The challenging yet approachable path seamlessly melds easy alpine traipses with aggressive climbing.
In culinary terms, it’s kind of like eating ice cream with habanero sauce.
The loopy MEDL trail system has been popular with non-motorized trail users since its debut in 1987 – and even more so following a recent expansion and hyper-local rehabilitation effort, with trail planning, design and construction facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service Coconino National Forest Flagstaff Ranger District, American Conservation Experience and many volunteer hours and fundraising events organized by local bike organizations and businesses.
The results are breathtaking. New signage mitigates the formerly confusing and disruptive unauthorized paths. Beautiful singletracks follow the natural contours of the land as they meander through diverse eco zones that rise from pinion-juniper woodlands, where tiny cacti huddle among boulders, to aspen glens and high elevation fir-spruce forests.
All this is experienced in just a few miles of switchback-mitigated climbing.
The Taawa Trail – which is named for the Hopi word for sun spirit or creator – features realigned and sustainable construction designed to protect wildlife, keep hikers safe and deliver an exceptional outdoor experience. Ascending more than 1,000 feet, the 2.1-mile trail can be accessed from the Schultz Creek Trailhead by hiking 0.6-mile on the Rocky Ridge Trail to the Taawa junction. It’s easy going for the first mile to where the Taawa makes its first crossing of the Big Bang Trail. That’s where a set of tight, edgy switchbacks take on the foothills.
Steep and exposed, the thin path climbs steadily through stony passages in pine-oak forest. The vertical assault calms down after about a half mile, leveling out in patchy high meadows where trees part just enough to give up fantastic views of the San Francisco Peaks and the city of Flagstaff below.
Soon after, the Taawa Trail ends at its high point at the second Big Bang Trail junction. Take a moment to relax and savor before taking the same route back – and silently thank the trail’s benefactors for the lovely summer jaunt.
LENGTH: 5.4 miles up-and-back
RATING: Moderate-difficult
ELEVATION: 7,160-8,422 feet
GETTING THERE: To access Schultz Creek Trailhead from Flagstaff, go 3 miles north on U.S. 180 (Humphreys Street) and turn right onto Schultz Pass Road (Forest Road 420). Continue 0.5-mile on FR 420, then make a hard left at the Elden Look Road (Forest Road 577) and go another half mile to the parking area on the left. There are no fees or facilities at the trailhead. fs.usda.gov/r03/coconino
WHILE YOU’RE THERE
To learn more about the natural and cultural heritage of Flagstaff and the Colorado Plateau, stop by the Museum of Northern Arizona. Encompassing the fields of biology, geology, arts, anthropology and archaeology, the museum’s collections provide a rich educational tour for visitors of all ages. musnaz.org
