Walnut Canyon National Monument

SAM MCMANIS/ARIZONA DAILY SUN After cresting the White Hills on the Verde Vista Loop, you head down into a ravine that leads to an old Jeep road.

That’s because the Verde Vista Trail remains something of a work-inprogress. The trail itself is open, don’t get me wrong. But the sports complex itself is not; in fact, what eventually will become sports fields and picnic areas now is nothing but graded dirt and vast expanses.

The two signed trailheads—to the east, just off Cowboy Trail Road, and to the west, well up near the fenced area of the water facility — are not easily accessible from where you currently can park, which is outside a fenced-off road (that eventually will be the main entrance).

Not to worry, however. There are “unofficial” (unmarked, at least) paths that lead right to the signed loop.

Western path: Just to the right of the fence where you park are two large white boulders. Follow the old Jeep path up a small hill until you reach a graded plateau. Follow along the fence line until you see a 6-foot wooden sign, amidst scrub brush, that reads, “Verde Vista Loop.”

Eastern path: Just after the two large white boulders, look for a singletrack path that heads east, crossing Cowboy Trail (the route to the equestrian center) until you see the 6-foot sign.

Which way you start the loop de-

SAM MCMANIS/ARIZONA DAILY SUN A mile-long stretch on the eastern side of the Verde Vista Loops runs parallel to a creek and eventually leads to the equestrian center.

pends on your preferences.

If you like to ease into things, go east. It’s easier to find the official start of the trail, and it’s flat for more than a mile as the trail wends its way around the equestrian center and follows a dry creek up into the White Mountains, where the climbing to the ridgeline begins.

If you want to face the challenges immediately—and that includes the tricky task of finding the trailhead— go west. Actually, it’s more north than west. Once you find the trailhead, you start climbing right away. You ascend 487 feet in the first two miles, during which you get great views of the Verde Valley from several vantages points, as well as a look down on the horses prancing at the equestrian center.

The trail is, by the way, open to equestrians. And, by the looks of things (namely, “road apples” left behind), horse types are using the trail, too. That is, they can traverse all but the final mile (coming from the east) or the first mile (coming west), because that part is a steep, rocky singletrack. Great for other trail users, somewhat dangerous for equines. In fact, there’s a helpful sign before the climbing begins in earnest reading, “Equestrians Not Recommended.”

To me, the climb was the highlight. The trail builders have done a fine job carving singletrack into the White Hills without ruining the surrounding natural areas; they’ve left just enough rocks to make you pay attention on foot.

After reaching the plateau and the horse trough near the top, you make an abrupt turn and start heading down a few switchbacks, but it’s not a steep gradient. That leads to, in my opinion, the only boring part of the loop: a mile-long rocky road where you can look skyward and see where you climbed. Perhaps that stretch would be more exciting if there was water in the creek to the east.

The final stretch around the equestrian facility is smooth singletrack, crossing the paved Cowboy Trail and then leading back to the locked gate where trail users park.

It will be interesting to see, once the sports complex is built, how the designers can try to join the two official loop starting points. There already is a 1.6-mile manicured loop made of compact aggregate, the Perimeter Trail, which encircles the site. So, maybe they can blaze side trails that hook up with the Verde Vista Loop.

If they do that, the loop will have everything—except that elusive newtrail smell.