A quick look at the specs for the Island Loop Trail

Length: 1 mile round trip

Time: 1 hour (last entry time is at 3:30)

Elevation: 185 vertical feet via stairs

Difficulty: Strenuous

Set amongst the beautiful ponderosa pines outside of Flagstaff, AZ, Walnut Canyon is a wonderful day hike to escape the heat of the Valley. The hike itself is not long, just a mile, but it will take you about an hour. Why? Well, the featured trail (the Island Loop) is not so much a hike as it is a stairmaster workout.

273 stairs down plus 190 stairs around the loop plus 273 back up equals tired legs.
I tried counting all the stairs. I lost track after 250.

And they do not ease you in to it; no the stairs begin straight away. Notice the sign warns that “Going down is optional. Returning is mandatory.” This is strategically placed after a few sets of stairs. It also shows you the number of stairs that you will need to conquer to complete this hike (736 in total.) If you are in relatively good health, you should have no problems, and yes, it is worth it.

Once you complete the initial 273 steps to get down you will be directed to proceed to the right. This is a one way loop along the cliff face. While the trail is paved the entire way, there are places where it drops off and there are only a few places that have hand rails. Not a particularly dangerous situation, but it could get awkward with people going both directions.

Notice the drop to the right.

Along the Island Loop trail, there are several well -preserved cliff dwellings, but don’t forget to look across the canyon as there are cliff dwellings on the other side as well.

The cliff dwellings are about 1/3 of the way down in this photo.

The geography is also interesting. At one point the sediment layers are so jumbled that the canyon wall looks like a woven basket. There are also interesting rock falls like the one that my son spotted.

Trying to follow these rock layers is challenging.
Looks like this giant boulder exploded on impact.

There is another trail that runs along the rim of the canyon. I takes you past the demonstration garden, to a viewpoint and even a partially reconstructed pithouse. While these were all interesting, I found the view from the Visitor’s Center to be the best. If you are there in the afternoon during monsoon season, you can watch the storms roll in while sitting in the A/C. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon. A short video of our hike can be found here.

Monsoon storm rolling in over the rim of the canyon.