Coconino National Forest Trail Guide - Apache Maid Trail #15
Length: 23 miles
(round trip)
Rating: Strenuous
Use: Hiking and
Horses
Season: April to November
White Mesa Trail
Hiking time: 15 hours
(round trip)
Cumulative Elevation: 2900 ft.
Bruce Brockett Trail
Bell Trail
USGS Maps: Casner
Butte
Wet Beaver Creek
Wilderness
Long Canyon Trail
End of trail on map
Location: 43 miles
south of Flagstaff on
paved and all-weather
graveled roads
Notes: No mechanized vehicles in Wilderness. The trail is
poorly marked and
hard to follow across
the high plateau
where there is also no
water.
For more information contact: Red
Rock Ranger District,
P.O. Box 20429, Sedona AZ 86341, (928) 203-2900
The Apache Maid Trail branches off the Bell Trail approximately 2 miles from the Bell Trail trailhead. The Apache Maid Trail trailhead is marked by a trail sign. From there, the trail skirts the
rim of Wet Beaver Creek Canyon, one of the scenic red rock gorges that cut the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau. The trail starts Bell trail trailhead at the mouth of the canyon and continues up this picturesque drainage, offering glimpses of the clear, cool stream, until it branches to the north from the Bell Trail to climb the canyon's north wall. Once atop the basalt flows that
form a caprock in this area, the Apache Maid Trail winds along primitive jeep tracks across the grassy, juniper flats. From the trail, the canyon appears off to your right as an eroded rift in the
ancient lava flow. Some choose to hike just a part of this trail, enjoying overlooks of the canyon and a panorama that includes Casner Butte and the San Francisco Peaks. Others arrange a
car-shuttle and continue all the way to trail's end near the lookout tower on Apache Maid Mountain.
Access: From the I-17 SR 179 interchange, drive south on FR 618 1.5 miles southeast to the Beaver Creek Work Station turnoff. Turn north about a quarter mile to the parking lot and Bell
Trail trailhead. Horses use Bruce Brockett trailhead AKA Bell trail overflow parking area for access to Bell Trail.
Revised APR 2014