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Highline Trail 260 Loop
17 reviews
3.82 of 5
Killer singletrack thru an ancient forest on the
Mogollon Rim. And an awesome downhill that seems to go
on forever
Summary: ok, for a newer review, there was a fire if you didnt hear about it. i started at see canyon TH and worked up from there. the trail was ruff, but ridable. there was a lot of ash and fallen trees. the forest service tried to clean it up, but it could use a little more help. after that, it cleared up all the way to the rim. the lung busting climb up the rim was exhausting, but paid off on the downhill. other than that, the rest of the ride (except the rim climb!) was fun.
Recommended Route: whatever is fine. next time i'll go up to the 260 TH to start cuz i was wiped out from see canyon.
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Summary: I paid for the downhill by riding up from the See Cyn TH to the Highline, then Mil. sinkhole and along the rim to FS road 300 and then about 6 miles past the 9350 campground. Yeah, I missed it. I was looking for the right numbered trail in the wrong area. In leaving "Fat Tire" out of my pack, i forgot to write down the critical number of the road that leads to the top of the Drew trail and the best part of the loop, the killer downhill. So I came down the highway because I was running out of time. however, I would ride it again in a heartbeat because the hike a bike up was great! Only about 10 trees down and lots of technical to practice on. Not wanting to be a weenie and complain about the lung busting needed for the uphill and the 4 mile section of the Highline part but the Mil. Sinkhole was the killer. Looking back, i got a chance to improve my lung capacity, learn a valuable lesson about route finding, ride alone in beautiful Mogollon Rim country for 3 hours, and get another day of great mtn biking with challenges I've never faced before. All in all, a winner
Recommended Route: Ride it from See Canyon TH to 260 TH via the Highline trail. From there it depends on what you want. The climb to the top is tough and for your hard work you get good views, an 8 mile flat ride to the top of Drew and of course, the scary 1 mile descent. Or you could return on the Highline to practice hops, rocks, drops and logs to get almost all the downhill back to See Cyn TH. You will need lots of water and food.
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Summary: This review is of a different route than most who reviewed this trail took (see "Recommended Route" below). Great mix of challenging short climbs with rocks, roots, etc. to clear. Great for honing skills. Good mix of switchbacks, too. Very good mix of ups and downs on Highline up to the juncture. The downhill to Christopher Creek is very fast and just enough short drops and obstacles to keep the adrenaline flowing. Can't wait to go back.
Recommended Route: From Payson, take HWY 260 to the "Two-Sixty Trail Head." Take Highline from the trailhead (the trail next to the restrooms). Take to the junction of "Rim" and "Christopher Creek." Go left on Christopher Creek (great downhill singletrack!). Cross the creek, go down the very fast, fun forest road to Christopher Creek Village, back to HWY 260 and take the climb back to the trailhead (yes, on the actual freeway--plenty of shoulder room, but it is a long sustained road climb.
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Summary: This is the only trail I have riden in Payson. I took this loop straight from Cosmic Ray's book. I read the reviews for this trail and I almost didn't do the trail. Just had to write to give this trail a fair shake. This is a great trail!! The forest service must have done some work over the last couple of years cause the trees are pretty much gone from the trail. There are still some trees, probably something like 15, not hundreds as reported by someone in a previous review. If you are looking for a lung busting, technical, leg burning, brake smoking workout this is your trail. Savage climbing then tough, somewhat technical, hard to control your speed downhill. There are still some trees you have to huck yourself over in the downhill, so be carefull. The trail has great views, and you are in the trees most of the time. All and all great trail, don't have much planned for the rest of the day, cause you will be spent.
WARNING...Not a beginner trail, If you are not confident in your skills go somewhere else. There are some spots with big exposure that could ruin your day!! There is a small town store just before you turn on to the road to the trailhead that will be happy to take your name and time you will be back. If you don't come back they will call for help for you. They said last week someone got seriously injured and had to be rescued after spending the night out there.
Recommended Route: Just follow the route in the guide book and you will be fine. I read that some guys got lost, don't really know how, the trail is very well marked at all intersections. I took right around 4 hours for this trail and I did stop to look at some of the views. Bring food and lots of water, and of course bike tools for emergency repairs. The mileage was just under 18 miles.
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Review Date June 29, 2003
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Ridden Trail: Ridden Once
Reviewed by: pedalAZ
, from Phoenix
Summary: This route has 4 distinct parts. The Highline Trail has most of the mileage, some of which will be repeated on the return side of the lollipop shaped loop. This is a great trail, winding through thick forest, lots of challenging climbs and switchback turns, and (if you enjoy them) a ton of rock gardens. It is a great skill builder. If you don't like navigating the rocks, stay home. See Canyon TH is From the 260 TH, you must gird your loins for a nasty 2.5 mile hike-a-bike portage fest that will take you well over an hour up to the rim. In hindsight, we wondered if it would have saved time and effort to actually ride Hwy 260 from the 260 TH to the rim top. Be prepared for literally hundreds of dead trees you must haul yourself and your bike over. Oh, and you can hardly ride in between. Once on top, take the Disney ride along the edge of the rim (west) until the trail merges with the bladed General Crook Trail. Part of the rim ride is an asphalt path. You can laugh at the contrast between what you rode up to get there and the easy pavement. Once out on the dirt road, in a couple of miles or more, take FR 9350 left through a campground area until you spot the trail marker for Trail 291 (Drew). Turn left. The trail starts between two wooden posts. Like the Highline Trail, this section has just been cleaned up. It was obvious the trail crew had to move a lot of deadfall. What they left behind is a wickedly fast steep descent back to the Highline. We made it from the top of 291 to the wood gate on Tr 31 in about 6 minutes. All that work going up for 6 minnutes of descending? Yeah, it was a blast coming down. Go through the gate and fly back to the See Canyon Trailhead in a fraction of the time it took you to get up. We spent about 4.5 hrs on this loop. Bring lots of water and real food; you'll need the energy. Good eats and cold beer await at the Creekside Lodge & Tavern 1/4 mile east of the general store on 260.
Recommended Route: See Canyon Trailhead (Christopher Creek) up Trail 31 (Highline) to 260 TH (6.4 mi) then up Military Sinkhole Trail (2.4 mi) to the top, then Crooks Trail to FR 9350 to Tr 291 (Drew), down Drew ro Tr 31, and return to See Canyon TH. Just under 16 miles altogether.
Other recommended trails in the same area: On the map, Highline Trail west of See Canyon looks tempting, but is reportedly too technical for biking beginning west of about Horton Creek.
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3.82 of 5
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