Hike #11: Historic Bell Trail, Wet Beaver Creek Wilderness, Coconino National Forest

Length: 7 miles

The Bell Trail, which weaves through the cliffs surrounding the Wet Beaver Creek, is just a few miles north of the West Clear Creek Trail. While the West Clear Creeks Trail runs directly along the creek with the cliffs towering overhead, the Bell Trail sit high atop the cliffs with the creek running far below.

The trail itself can nicely be divided into three sections. The first section runs through open mountains, blanketed in massive amounts of prickly pear cacti. Perhaps the highlight of this first portion is a large igneous boulder covered in ancient petroglyphs. The middle section of the trail slowly climbs through some of the most beautiful red cliffs I've yet to see in Arizona. The trail's narrow ledge allows for spectacular beauty from both above and below...just be careful not to fall off while you're staring with awe at the cliffs overhead! Finally, the trails descends to the lower cliffs immediately next to the creek. From here, you can either jump in for a relaxing swim in the deep cool water or merely enjoy the amazing view. Overall, these diverse elements combine
for an exciting and surprising hiking experience!

For anyone actually considering hiking this trail, I definitely recommend this guide. Mr. Reynolds did an excellent job of describing this trail with extremely helpful instructions that gave the distance between landmarks in time rather than mileage. (It's much easier to gauge how long you've traveled rather than how far!)

To view more of my pictures of the Bell Trail, click here.