HOUSTON LOOP
HOUSTON LOOP Payson Area Trails System View of the Mogollon Rim from Houston Loop For a short, moderate-rated trail, this one really packs a punch. It's wide, well-signed and within shouting distance of suburbia, but what's not advertised about Payson's Houston Loop is its unrelenting ups-and-downs that can catch the first-timer off guard. The quad burning workout pays off with high point vistas of the Mogollon Rim hovering above the metal rooftops of woodland retreats. Where the trail dips into the canyons around Houston Creek, Ponderosa pine trees throw shade over moist drainages imprinted with elk tracks. Elk rarely venture more than a quarter mile from water sources, so keep an eye out for them where the trail hops over rivulets and puddles. The trail's bonus attraction is a Cold War Era curiosity known as a seismic bunker. The metal structure built into a hillside has been abandoned for years and is now under siege by local graffiti rebel forces. It's a dank,...