May 4, 2016

Williams is 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon, and is home to Arizona’s second largest canyon; Sycamore Canyon. When we left Sedona we traveled through the more popular Oak Creek Canyon, and it was filled with tourists and families enjoying the big view. Sycamore Canyon is not as well known, but can easily rival Oak Creek in beauty. Here you will find forested hikes along mostly even terrain, and 180 degree views of the canyon below you.

We started at the Pomeroy Tanks Trailhead off of Forest Road 109. It is easy to get to from I-40 via Forest Road 141. The view to Forest Road 141 is breathtaking:

There is free parking at the trailhead in a lot, a map of the area with trails, and a restroom. We opted to do the 3 mile out and back hike to the Sycamore Canyon vista, for a total of 6 miles. The trail was well marked, groomed, and mostly flat. There are a few climbs along the way, but still a very moderate hike. We saw one other person on a Wednesday afternoon, a hunter out during turkey season.  Since this hike was moderate, it was easy enough to take our time and look around.  We could hear woodpeckers and mockingbirds.  We didn’t see anything big, but we were lucky enough to see a Kaibab squirrel and a red lizard:

The vista lived up to expectations, and was worth the hike there. We are looking forward to seeing the actual Grand Canyon, but this was a good warm up. Bring a snack and plenty of water. This trail is dog-friendly!!

You can see a gps view of the hike right here: Sycamore Canyon Hike.

Hike: 6 miles Miles hiked to date: 12.5