Many’s the time I have run in Skunk Canyon and not once have I encountered a pungent specimen of the trail’s namesake.
Not that I’m complaining; it’s just that I have a perfect record of never actually seeing the wildlife for which a trail is named. At least not in Flagstaff and environs. I did not run into a porker on the Javelina Trail in Sedona, nor spot a bear or an ursine’s mandibular remains at the Bear Jaw-Abineau Loop, nor come across anyone even remotely portly on Fat Man’s Loop. As for the Slim Shady Trail in Sedona, nope, no Eminem.
I’m assuming there are some skunks who call this valley and canyon just north of Lake May Road home. So far, they’ve kept to themselves, which is just one of many positive things to say about the Skunk Canyon Trail and its neighbors, the Arizona Trail (parts of Section 33) and the Flagstaff Loop Trail, which comprise a pleasant 6.4-mile jaunt.
Feel free, nature types, to write in and tell me the origin behind the naming of Skunk Canyon. All I’ve ever seen is a profusion of prairie grasses in the meadows and some lovely pine- and boulder-lined singletrack in the slot canyon itself. And deer. I saw a lone deer last week loping ahead of me on the single track before darting off into the woods.
In any event, I always thoroughly enjoy this run. As challenging and delightful as many of Flagstaff’s trails can be — all that elevation gain and super-technical, rock-strewn paths leading up, up , up — sometimes it’s enough just to go on a mellow jaunt with minimal climbing and few jagged obstacles in one’s path.
The Skunk Canyon-AZ Trail-Loop trek certainly fits that description. Spring is the optimal time to visit here – wildflowers blooming and all that. But even in June, there’s still lots of colorful eye candy.
Before extolling the trail’s highlights, though, permit me a word or two about trailhead parking and signage.
Essentially, there is no trail signage for Skunk Canyon, and the “official” trailhead at the end of S.J. Diamond Road, just north of Lake Mary Road, barely qualifies as a trailhead, per se. There’s room for one, maybe two cars, at the end of the road’s cul-de-sac, where an unmarked doubletrack path begins the route. It’s an adequate starting point if you visit early in the morning on a weekday, as I did, but the people who live just off the road might not take too kindly to having you park near their homes.
There is an alternate, “unofficial” trailhead, however. Several hundred feet before making the turn onto S.J. Diamond Road, look for a left-hand turn into a small dirt parking area. There’s no signage there, either, but a small trail north leads to the Loop Trail, where you make a right and, in about a half mile, reach the Skunk Canyon Trail doubletrack.
Whichever starting point you choose, the best way to proceed is to take the (again, unsigned) Skunk Canyon Trail, pancake flat, through a broad meadow bathed in brilliant sunshine until you veer slightly right as you approach the funneling into the slot canyon.
This part — alas, only a few tenths of a mile long — is the highlight of the Skunk portion. You wend along a narrow ridge, undulating through pine and other vegetation, dodging the occasional boulder. It sort of reminds you of a swath of the Schultz Creek Trail, although not as manicured or sustained a path. Eventually, the trail spits you out into another meadow leading to the Arizona Trail.
Watch for a well-defined junction to your left. That’s the turn you make to take the Arizona Trail north, slightly uphill (200 feet in a mile), to the Loop Trail intersection. After you make the turn, the signage for the AZT will assure that you’re on the right track. Just ignore the several unmarked side trails and keep pushing up to the Loop Trail insignia, that arty horse’s head.
A left turn there means more climbing along a slightly rockier path, but nothing too taxing or technical. Once you reach the top of the slopes above Skunk Canyon, it’s a fun meandering through the pines, some scorched by previous fires, until you eventually descend back into Skunk Canyon.
Here, you have the option of staying on the Loop singletrack for a while longer or going on the smoother doubletrack Skunk (the two run parallel). Both lead back to either trailhead. On this day, I chose the smoother (easier) option of doubling back on the Skunk Canyon doubletrack
Those wanting longer trips that include Skunk Canyon can venture farther along the AZT to Fisher Point and beyond. But a 6.4-mile jaunt was exercise enough on a warm June morning.
Skunk Canyon-AZT-Flagstaff Loop Trail
Distance: 6.4 miles
Driving directions: There are two quasi-official trailheads. For the most commonly used trailhead, drive slightly more than a mile east beyond Lake Mary Road’s junction with JW Powell Road and turn left on S.J. Diamond Road. Go 0.2 of a mile to the end of the road. There is a very small parking area. An alternative trailhead: A few hundred feet before turning on S.J. Diamond, look for a left turn off Lake Mary Road into a small circular dirt lot.
The route: From the Diamond starting point, go straight on the doubletrack (unsigned) Skunk Canyon Trail. From the alternate trailhead, go straight on a connector trail, then right (east) onto the Loop Trail, which shortly leads to the Skunk Canyon Trail. At 2.6 miles, the Skunk Canyon Trail ends. Turn left onto the wide Arizona Trail, heading north-west. Go 1 mile and turn left onto the marked Loop Trail. That leads back to the Skunk Canyon Trail. Retrace steps to either trailhead.
Elevation gain: 404 feet
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