Archive All Issues October 2007

Spectacular Scenic Drives

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New England gets most of the attention this time of year, and rightfully so. Still, Arizona has plenty of places to get a great dose of fall color. All you have to do is read our story, pile into the car and hit the road.

Featured in the October 2007 Issue of Arizona Highways

SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS

Winding around the San Francisco Peaks through Hart Prairie, Hochderffer Hills, Lockett Meadow and Schultz Pass, this route brims with gold. Along the way, there are hiking trails and picnic spots.

Begin in Flagstaff at the junction of U.S. Route 180 (Humphreys Street) and Historic Route 66. Drive northwest on U.S. 180 for 10.8 miles to Forest Service Road 151. Turn right (north).

Continue on FR 151 for 12 miles to Forest Service Road 418. Turn right (east) and go 16.4 miles to Forest Service Road 552 and turn right for an optional trip to Lockett Meadow below Sugarloaf Peak. Return to FR 418, and turn right for a 2-mile drive to U.S. Route 89. Turn right (toward Flagstaff). Drive 1.7 miles to Forest Service Road 420, Schultz Pass Road, and drive west to 180. Turn left to return to Flagstaff.

Autumn approaches, arousing our instinct to search for color in Arizona's backcountry, but there's more to the season than the hues of turning leaves. While exuding solitude and the shimmer of golden aspen leaves, back-road trips also give us a chance to see deer, elk, antelope, turkeys and other wild birds-and the promise of adventure.

In helping develop the Arizona Highways Book Division's latest book-The Back Roads being released in October, I traveled back roads all across the state. One of those trips brought me to the Hannagan Meadow Lodge, where 32 years ago with my wife, Margo, and son, Greg, I began one leg of an 18-day trip that looped through Arizona. This leg stretched from Hannagan Meadow in ApacheSitgreaves National Forests over some 70 miles of back roads to Fort Apache and Whiteriver on the White Mountain Apache Reservation.

Perhaps it's the scenic diversity of this trip that lodged it in my memory. The route's visual delicacies include roads winding under a canopy of evergreens and across meadows, the turning aspens, the reds of trees and other vegetation along mountain streams and lakes and the blooms of mule's ears, mullein, devil's claw and cinquefoil. Like a first love, an adventurer never forgets such a trip.

Many of Arizona's higher elevations rival their New England counterparts in their multihued array of fall color beginning in late September, exhibiting lovely cloaks of golds, oranges and reds until early November. So, follow along with us on Arizona's back roads to experience one of Mother Nature's most magnificent shows.

SHADES OF AUTUMN CONTRASTING COLORS

IN THE WOODS The charred remains of a fir tree stand next to a grove of quaking aspen trees ablaze with fall color on Escudilla Mountain. JACK DYKINGA To order a print of this photograph, see page 1.

BLAZING BEAUTY The sun sets on a shimmering golden aspen in the Escudilla Mountain Wilderness. MUTED REFLECTION Evening falls on Hulsey Lake and Escudilla Mountain (right). At an elevation of 8,600 feet, the lake is a popular ice-fishing destination in the winter. RANDY PRENTICE ALPINE TO ESCUDILLA MOUNTAIN

If you want to experience high elevations, make this short drive from Alpine to Terry Flat and Escudilla Mountain. When you reach Terry Flat, a huge meadow just off the brow of Escudilla Mountain appears, and you'll be above 10,000 feet. You may find yourself huffing and puffing if you go for a walk, but it's worth the effort. The hiking trail up Escudilla Mountain is one of the most beautiful in Arizona, and the dense aspen forest in the first mile turns golden during the first weeks of October. A highclearance vehicle is sufficient for this trip.

Begin in Alpine at the junction of U.S. Route 191 and U.S. Route 180, and continue north on the combined U.S. 191-180 for 6 miles (between mileposts 420 and 421) to Forest Service Road 56. Turn right (east). There's no sign on 191-180 marking the turnoff, but there is a turnoff lane. Immediately after the turnoff, Forest Service signs label the dirt road as 8056, indicating Hulsey Lake at 2 miles away and Terry Flat at 5.

About 1.3 miles along FR 56, a road to the left leads a quarter-mile to Hulsey Lake.

Continue on FR 56 past a junction with FR 56A (which leads to Watts Creek) for 3.7 miles to a fork. Bear right for a 6-mile loop drive around Terry Flat, staying left at upcoming forks except the one that occurs at 4.3 miles along the east side of the loop. Bear right there. At 5.5 miles along the loop, there's an entry point for Escudilla National Recreation Trail 308. At 6 miles you're back at the start of the loop for a return to 191-180. Turn left to return to Alpine.

HANDLE WITH CARE Schott's yuccas spread their daggerlike leaves in a sea of red maples. One of nine species of yucca in Arizona, Schott's yucca leaf fibers are used to make mats, baskets, cloth, rope and sandals. ROBERT G. MCDONALD

PORTAL TO THE CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT

You'll venture briefly into New Mexico to reach the town of Portal at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon in the northeastern quarter of the Chiricahua Mountains. At drive's end, you'll explore a "wonderland of rocks," as the Chiricahua National Monument is sometimes dubbed.

The Chiricahuas are a sky island, the term applied to a mountain rising from a desert-and-grassland floor. Animal life here includes a huge variety of birds, including elegant trogans, hummingbirds and blue mockingbirds, and all sorts of mammals ranging from black bears, mountain lions, bobcats and gray foxes to deer, raccoons and chipmunks. In these mountains, autumn brings out the reds and yellows of maples, sycamores, Arizona cypress, cottonwoods and, of course, aspens.

Portal is a delightful village with a cafe, lodging and an art gallery.

Begin in New Mexico at Exit 5 on Interstate 10. Turn south onto U.S. Route 80 and drive about 28 miles to Portal Road (also called Forest Service Road 42) and turn right (west).

Alternate start: From Douglas, Arizona, drive about 51 miles northeast on State Route 80 (through Rodeo, New Mexico) to the Portal Road turnoff and turn left (west).

Go west on Portal Road for 7 miles to Portal and turn left at the junction of FR 42 and FR 42B.

Follow 42 for about 21 miles to State Route 181, about 4 miles east of its junction with State Route 186. Turn right for a brief ride to the entrance of Chiricahua National Monument.

The road ends in about 13 miles at Massai Point.

Backtrack to the junction of State 181-186 and turn right onto 186 for a 35-mile drive to Interstate 10 in Willcox.

NORTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON

If you're wondering where Mother Nature spends most of her time, this is it. The Canyon, the fall weather, the quiet... there's nothing quite like the North Rim and its 44-mile parkway.

From Flagstaff, take U.S. Route 89 north for 110 miles to U.S. Route 89A (about 25 miles south of Page). Go west on U.S. 89A for 55 miles to Jacob Lake. The scenic drive starts on State Route 67 at Jacob Lake and continues for 30 miles to the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim-the Rim itself is 14 miles farther south. Named for Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon pioneer known as the "buckskin apostle," Jacob Lake is the home of the oldest existing ranger station in the United States. It's worth a look. From Jacob Lake, the road heads south for a few miles through a gorgeous stand of ponderosa pines and quaking aspens. Moving on, the plateau gradually rises to a point where the Douglas and white firs take over. These dense, mixed-conifer forests are an ideal place to spot wildlife. Be on the lookout for mule deer, wild turkeys, Kaibab squirrels and maybe even a California condor. Continuing south, the forest changes again near Crane Lake. Here, Engelmann spruce and subalpine firs rule the roost. Perhaps even more enjoyable, though, are the large grassy meadows. If you haven't taken any photos up to this point, get your camera ready-this is where the deer and the antelope play. Eventually, you'll cross into the national park, which features dozens of hikes, picnic areas, the Grand Canyon Lodge and, of course, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. No wonder Mother Nature spends so much time here. -Robert Stieve ON THE RIM Golden aspen leaves signal the season's arrival along the East Rim of the Grand Canyon in the Saddle Mountain Wilderness (left). The wilderness area covers close to 40,610 acres of rugged terrain and contains numerous trails for day-hiking, backpacking and crosscountry skiing. PAUL GILL

HANNAGAN MEADOW TO FORT APACHE

Begin at Hannagan Meadow Lodge and turn left (north) onto U.S. Route 191. Drive 8.4 miles to Forest Service Road 26, turn left (west) and drive 9.6 miles to a junction. There, a sign indicates that FR 26 has come to an end, and the East Fork of the Black River is 3 miles to the right (north) on Forest Service Road 24.

Turn right onto FR 24. When you reach the East Fork, a sign indicates that a road leading off to the right (east) goes to Buffalo Crossing Campground. Continue across the East Fork bridge on FR 24 for another 0.1 of a mile to a junction with Forest Service Road 25.

Turn left (west) onto FR 25; at 1.1 miles beyond the junction, you'll cross the West Fork of the Black River flowing across a broad meadow. Continue for another 2.5 miles to a junction with Forest Service Road 68 on the right. FR 68 leads to the West Fork Recreation Area, and if you have time, it's worth the hour or so it'll take to visit the area and return to the junction of 68 and 25.

If you skip the side trip, continue westward on 25 for 2.8 miles beyond 68 to Forest Service Road 72 and turn right (north). Now, you'll meander for 6.5 miles through Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests to Forest Service Road 116.

Turn left (west) onto FR 116, and in 1.1 miles you'll cross onto the White Mountain Apache Reservation and pass a signed turnoff for Reservation Lake. (Before traveling on White Mountain Apache Reservation back roads, you'll need to purchase a reservation permit, (928) 338-4385.) Bear left at the turnoff and you're on Indian Route Y20 traveling south. In 3 miles you'll pass a turnoff on the left for Drift Fence Lake, and another mile brings you to a turnoff on the right for Hurricane Lake. Continue on Indian Y20 for 4 more miles to an intersection with Indian Route Y55. Turn left to visit Pacheta Lake (a four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended for the leg to Pacheta), or turn right for a 34mile drive to Fort Apache and Whiteriver.