The Red Rock Ranger District is preparing a Decision Memo to add five new trails to the Forest Service trail system in the Sedona area.
The 30-day comment period began Wednesday, Aug. 14, and involved the addition of two trails in the Mescal Mountain area — Yucca and Canyon of Fools — and three trails in the area north of the Twin Buttes — Hog Heaven, High on the Hog and Hog Wash.
All five are existing trails that have been in use for several years, and all also function as connector trails between existing Forest Service trails.
In the Mescal area, the Yucca and Canyon of Fools trails make a logical connection between the Dry Creek area and the Mescal, Boynton and Deadman trails.
In the Twin Buttes area, Hog Heaven, High on the Hog and Hog Wash connect the Mystic and Pigtail trails to the Broken Arrow network of trails — a connection that previously required hikers to walk along Chapel Road.
“Those trails have been there a really long time and a lot of people enjoy them because they get you up high and have fantastic views,” said Jennifer Burns, the recreation staff officer for the district. “We currently have these user-created trails out there and they aren’t maintained — they need to be maintained.
“There are some reroutes that will be done in order to make them more sustainable, so that we don’t have the erosion going on and it will be much better for the watershed.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 21 issue of the Camp Verde Journal and Cottonwood Journal Extra.
