The hiking here is unforgettable. It seemed that around every corner was another must-have photo.
There are a lot of trail lengths and difficulty levels to choose from here. All offer fabulous views. Refer to the links below and/or talk to the Ranger to decide which are best for you. The only one I personally did was the Echo Canyon Trail. (These photos are all taken along this trail.)
Here are links for thorough information about hiking in the Chiricahua National Monument:
(map of trails) http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=chir&parkname=Chiricahua%20National%20Monument
(written description) http://www.nps.gov/chir/upload/Trail%20Guide%2008.pdf
The Echo Canyon Trail was great. It connects to other trails to make a loop which is about 3.3 mi. We did the trip with kids ranging in age from 4-8 years old and no one had to be carried! The rock formations and landscape are amazing and starkly beautiful. Regarding taking little ones, there are steep drop offs and cliffs, so I, personally, wouldn’t take a toddler. However, the four year old on our trip (Sylvie) was a trooper and had a healthy respect for the terrain.
One really cool part of the trail is the “Echo Canyon Grottoes.” This is sort of like walking inside huge rocks and boulders. There are lots of gaps to see the surrounding mountainsides, each covered with different fantastical rock sculptures.
photo: looking cute inside The Grottoes–notice the third kid who climbed up higher in the “cave”
If you just wanted a short excursion, the grottoes are an easy .5 mi from the parking lot. As you start the trail from Echo Canyon parking lot, stay right and you’ll be there in less than 15 minutes (depending on delays from bug sightings). If you do the Echo Canyon Loop in this direction (going right instead of left) be advised that the first half of the trail is the grooviest. The second half is great, too, don’t get me wrong. But, the first half has more vistas of those zany rocks and more shade. The whole loop is definitely worth it, but if you are short on time or energy or diapers, do an “out and back” type of hike (starting out by going to the right) and you can make it as long as you want.
photo: seems relatively stable…
For information about camping in the Monument, see my post titled Bonita Canyon Campground.
