There are 111 miles of developed trails in the Chiricahua Mountains. Hiking them is a year round delight, but some are best timed by the season. During the hot months, well-wooded or higher trails are cool and comfortable. Those that lie exposed to the sun, such as our 6-mile round trip up Silver Peak, should be saved for the cooler, shorter-day months.
Nearby treks such as the Greenhouse Trails or South Fork are always comfortable and full of seasonal variations, including flash floods. The 3.2 mile trek along the South Fork to Maple Camp offers some of the best fall foliage in southern Arizona. In winter, the road up to Rustler Park goes to the snow level and from there one can snow-shoe or cross-country ski through the Chiricahua Mountains and see spectacular views.
Some of the best hiking in this area has nothing to do with developed trails. Myrtle Kraft Cottage land is bordered by Coronado National Forest. Step across that fence line and one can catch a bit of history with an easy walk to Hands' house foundation and the Cienaga spring. Or, one can move farther onto federal land and meander along inaccessible roads bordered by mines, some operated as late as the mid-1900s. While exploring that part of the National Forest, one can look for a cave known to only a few (it isn’t where the USGS map puts it) or locate the Hummingbird Spring that flows water into a tank year 'round. In the hottest months one can explore nearby, narrow canyons that provide perpetual shade.
We don’t advise hiking our foothills during the hot months, but they are riddled with history. While crossing the flat land to the hills on a cooler day, one might suddenly spot a Depression-era homesteader’s four corners still marked by tobacco cans. Once in the hills, prospectors developed small (now deserted) mines. Some miners lived in their diggings while searching out the hoped-for ore. In addition, some of the more inaccessible shallow caves in these hills have Native American drawings.
Whether going for daily hikes or long over-nighters, Myrtle Kraft Cottage at the base of Cave Creek Canyon is a great starting point for either a developed trail hike or more remote cross-country exploring.
