Arizona · National Scenic Trail

Arizona National Scenic Trail

800 mi long · in Arizona · centroid 17 mi from Tucson

The Arizona National Scenic Trail runs roughly 800 miles north-to-south across the state of Arizona, from the Mexican border at Coronado National Memorial to the Utah state line. Designated in 2009, it traverses sky-island mountain ranges, the Sonoran Desert, and the Grand Canyon (rim-to-rim) in a single trail.

States: Arizona
Length: 800 mi
Trail type: National Scenic Trail
Network: National (nwn)
Centroid nearest city: Tucson, AZ · 17 mi · ~30 min drive
Centroid coords: 32.1869°, -110.6925°
Official site: aztrail.org
OSM relations: 5 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap

From Wikipedia: The Arizona National Scenic Trail (AZT) is a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Utah that traverses the whole north–south length of the U.S. state of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves north through parts of the Huachuca, Santa Rita, and Rincon Mountains. The trail continues through the Santa Catalina north of Tucson and the Mazatzal Mountains before ascending the Mogollon Rim north of Payson, and eventually leading to the higher elevations of Northern Arizona and the San Francisco Peaks. The trail then continues across the Coconino Plateau and in and out of the Grand Canyon. The Arizona Trail terminates near the Arizona–Utah border in the Kaibab Plateau region. The 800-mile (1,300 km) long Arizona Trail was completed on December 16, 2011. The trail is designed as a primitive trail for hiking, equestrians, mountain biking, and even cross country skiing, showcasing the wide variety of mountain ranges and ecosystems of Arizona. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Arizona Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Termini

Start & end

Southern terminus: Coronado National Memorial, Arizona (Mexican border).

Northern terminus: Utah border at Stateline Campground.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Arizona National Scenic Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed

Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Tucson, AZ — 17 miles away (~30 min drive). See accommodation in Tucson on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

3 nearby

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West Divide Trail #289

34 miles from this trail's centroid

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Sky Islands Traverse

40 miles from this trail's centroid

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San Pedro Trail

45 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.