Arizona Trail to Fisher Point

Our last day in Flagstaff we decided to hike a segment of the Arizona Trail out to Fisher Point, known for it’s views over the west end of Walnut Canyon. I followed some directions from AllTrails and so we ended up a trailhead located in the midst of a new housing development which was slightly confusing. But once we determined we just had to walk past some houses for a quarter mile or so before we crossed the boundary into national forest we were good.

The first few miles were a lovely stroll on a slight downgrade through grassy mesa and open forest until we connected with the junction of what I think is the official westernmost end of Walnut Canyon. Here we took a left turn and climbed up through a drainage to the rim. On our short break halfway up Abbs and I worked on our selfies – and completely failed – while chatting up a young woman backpacking the full 800+ miles of the Arizona Trail. She of course didn’t need the rest stop, but it turns out she was in need of some dog kisses. Abby happily obliged.

A half mile of walking later across the canyon rim we reached Fisher’s Point where there were some fantastic overlooks of the canyon junctions below as well as the San Franciscan Peaks in the distance. I would have liked to continue walking the rim above Walnut Canyon but I had to decide between that or walking up the canyon itself. Choosing the latter we descended back to the canyon bottom and hiked past the seemingly out of place sandstone formations at the entrance, continuing until the trail faded into brush before returning back through meadows and trees to the trailhead.