Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop | Hiking Near Flagstaff
Hiking Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop made for an impressionable first hiking adventure in the Flagstaff area! We’ve been exploring washes and canyons in the desert for the past few months which has revealed some truly stunning Arizona beauty. But now the weather in the Flagstaff area is perfect for discovering some of its high elevation beauty!
Abineau and Bea Jaw Loop is a great day hike in the San Fransisco Peak Mountains. The elevation gain makes for a great workout, and walking through the beautiful mix of conifer and aspen forests is a real treat. Not to mention, the views of both Humphreys Peak and the vast expanse of desert floor at once makes for a memorable experience!
Side Note!
There are numerous forest roads in the Flagstaff area that are perfect for boondocking. Even along the forest road to the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop trailhead there are options for dispersed camping. But they are a bit limited and mixed in with a surprising amount of privately owned land along this particular forest road. About a twenty minute drive from the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop trailhead, we found a nice, peaceful and easy to access spot in the woods to call home for a couple weeks. Check out this article if you’d like to find out more about our experiences with free camping near Flagstaff!
Quick Info: Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop Hike
Distance: 8 mile loop
Difficulty: Moderate
Directions: To get to the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop parking area, click here.
Elevation: This hike gains about 1,800 feet elevation – from about 8,500 feet to 10,300 feet
Our Experience Hiking Abineau and Bear Jaw Trail Loop
Getting to the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop from where we were boondocking required about 7 miles on Forest Roads. These seven miles were a little rough and bumpy but are definitely manageable. Our friends Ford Fiesta and another hikers Prius made the drive to the trailhead and did just fine. Once at the trailhead, there is a decent sized parking area and a simple map of some trails in the area.
The trailhead parking area is the same for both Abineau Trail and Bear Jaw Trail. The trails can be done separately or they can be easily combined to form a beautiful loop which we would highly recommend! And actually, the section of the trail that follows Waterline Road which connects the two steep trails has the most mild trail conditions of the entire Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop. It’s definitely worth it to add on the distance to experience both of the trails.
Time to hit the trails!
Both Abineau and Bear Jaw Trails begin at the same point from the parking area and follow the same initial route. The trail travels through pretty mixed conifer and aspen forest. After about half of a mile of hiking we reached the Kachina Peaks Wilderness sign, trail junction and a trail logbook. We read previously that Abineau Trail gains more elevation than Bear Jaw so we decided to complete the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop Trail counter-clockwise. Going up a steep trail always seems to be easier for us than coming down a steep trail!
From here we turned right and followed Abineau Trail up through the woods. The trail was well defined but felt rugged and wild, too. There were a number of fallen trees in this area of woods and some crossed the trail. The trail was rocky underfoot as it continued climbing.
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Before we knew it, we found some piles of snow! And after more climbing through the dense woods, the views from the trails opened up. Now we could see the snow covered peaks up ahead and the dense forest across the way. Then we made it to a section of trail entirely covered in snow still. This was a fun and exciting part of our hike on Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop. At this point, the view back in the direction we came from was awesome.
We pushed on past the snow and reached the trail junction sign. Here we took a bunch of pictures! In one direction there were views of the sprawling desert floor below. And in the other direction was the valley blanketed in trees and the mountains covered in snow patches. It was beautiful in every direction!
At the junction we continued the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop by taking a left towards our connection with Bear Jaw Trail.
Waterline Trail Segment
This next segment of our Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop adventure was along Waterline Trail. Waterline Trail was a very mild section of the loop because it’s essentially an access road. There were trees on both sides of the trail as well as some snow patches along the way. And we also caught a few glimpses of the beautiful scenery across the way. As we neared the next junction we were among the gorgeous aspens once again.
After about two miles on Waterline Trail we met our next junction. Here we turned onto Bear Jaw Trail to finish out our loop!
Bear Jaw Trail Segment
Bear Jaw Trail led us on a steep and rocky descent through the aspen forest. It was very beautiful and peaceful. Then the aspen forest transitioned to conifers and we continued descending.
We spotted an adorable horny toad!
From here, Bear Jaw Trail leads down through the woods back to the initial trail junction – completing the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop. We turned right and hiked the half mile back to the parking area.
We really enjoyed hiking the Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop! If you’re in the Flagstaff area and have time to do several hikes in the area, we would definitely suggest this day hike. The aspens, elevation gains, beautiful views and low traffic make this a great trail option. And you can never go wrong with a loop! Can’t wait to see more of the beauty in the amazing Flagstaff area!
Thanks for Reading About Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop!
We’ve see so much beauty in Arizona! And can’t wait to discover more. If you’re interested in seeing some more awesome day hikes, check out the articles below:
We go on great hikes like Abineau and Bear Jaw Loop as often as we can! And when we’re not adventuring, we’re working on our hand painted one of a kind longboards! If you’d like to check out our latest lineup, head over
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