Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Trails Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
TRAX updates White Mountain trail plans; Los Caballos redesign and Buena Vista approvals pending Forest Service review
Summary
TRAX presented multiple trail projects including a new Lumberjack Trail, Pine Top connectors, Chipmunk reroute awaiting Forest Service review, and a 21.7-mile Los Caballos replacement design estimated at $250,000–$300,000; volunteers contributed thousands of hours in 2024.
TRAX, the local trails volunteer organization, updated the Show Low City Council on multiple trail projects affecting the White Mountain trail network.
Presenter Doug Dobbs said TRAX has nearly 700 members and that the trail crew contributed about 3,200 hours maintaining the White Mountain trail system in 2024. He said members logged nearly 9,000 additional volunteer hours outside of trail crew work and that volunteers supported local events including the Tour of the White Mountains.
Dobbs outlined recent and planned projects: a 3.25-mile Lumberjack Trail that connects with the existing Blue Ridge Trail to form a 5.5-mile loop; two short Pine Top connector trails linking the Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex to the Hitching Post Trail; a Chipmunk Connector reroute (2.25 miles) that requires Forest Service review because it bypasses a badly eroded logging road; and the Buena Vista trail system near US 16300 Road, which is at the final stage of Forest Service approval after private-land transfers reduced the original alignment.
Dobbs also described a planned Los Caballos redesign at the west edge of town. Big Loop Trails produced a 21.7-mile replacement plan that would add a second trailhead at Joe Tank Road and create multiple loop options of three to six miles. Dobbs said the redesign reduces steep grades to roughly five percent, improves connections to Chihuahua Pines and Buena Vista, and would create a continuous network from Los Caballos to Buena Vista. He estimated the Los Caballos fundraising target at about $250,000 to $300,000 and said the next step is Forest Service blessing before fundraising and construction.
Dobbs said the Eastern Arizona Trails Collaborative (EATC) will vote on a Los Burrows reroute on May 14. He described a dangerous erosion feature (the “collarbone drop”) that has caused injuries and said a quarter-mile east reroute was mapped and is awaiting approvals.
Council members thanked TRAX volunteers and indicated support. A resident remarked that the trails are well used.
No council action was required; the presentation was informational and outlined steps that depend on Forest Service review and fundraising.
