Mormon Lake Trails
category : Trails
Dairy Springs Trail #136
This short, self-guided nature trail is most popular with campers at Dairy Springs Campground,. The trail winds through a forest of ponderosa pines interspersed with white firs and junipers that spreads across the lower slopes of 8,449 foot Mormon Mountain. Interpretive stations along the route enable hikers equipped with trail guides to learn more about the complex ecosystem that makes up the northern Arizona forest. They'll help you learn the names of all those trees, too. Trail guides are available, in season, from the campground host.
Dairy Springs Nature Trail is actually a spur off the longer Mormon Mountain Trail which leads to the top of the smallest of the major volcanoes in the San Francisco Peaks volcanic area.
Length: 0.5 mile loop
Rating: Very easy
Use: Moderate
Season: April to late November
Notes: No motorized vehicles
Access: Drive south 20 miles from Flagstaff on Forest Highway 3 (Lake Mary Road) to the Forest Road 90 intersection. Turn west on FR 90 and drive 3.5 miles to the Montezuma Lodge turnoff. Drive 0.6 miles to the trailhead. All roads are paved and open year-round.
Lake View Trail #132
There's an excellent view of Mormon Lake and the forested volcanic hills that surround it waiting for you at a scenic overlook along this moderate, 2 mile hike. Lake View Trail climbs gradually, through a stand of ponderosa pines, to the top of a rugged rock outcrop that stands high above the surrounding countryside. This rocky promontory offers panoramic views of lake and meadow, forests and mountains.
Trailside log benches at the overlook make it a comfortable spot for a lunch with a view. While you're there, notice that this high cool place is home to a number of plants that we more readily associate with a desert environment. Tucked among the rocks at the overlook you'll find broadleaf yucca and a couple of different kinds of hedgehog cactus-watch where you step and especially where you sit.
From here you can continue on to trail's end at Winsor Tank. There you'll find aspen groves and a green mountain meadow that's a good place to happen upon elk or mule deer browsing in the open.
Length: 2 miles
Use: Moderate
Rating: Easy
Season: April to late November
Notes: No motorized vehicles
Access: Drive south from Flagstaff 20 miles on Forest Highway 3 (Lake Mary Road) to the Forest road 90 intersection. Turn west on FR 90 and drive 4.6 miles to Double Springs Campground. The trailhead is at the south end of the campground. All roads are paved and open year-round.
Address: 29 miles SE of Flagstaff - Lake Mary Road to FR 90
Phone: 928-774-1147
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