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LAVA�S EDGE TRAIL Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Sunset Crater seen from Lava's Edge Trail Volcanoes are one of earth�s most powerful and mesmerizing geological features.   Simultaneously beautiful and terrifying, t hey can hibernate for years before rumbling back to life spewing fiery ash clouds and fountains of molten rock that create indescribable paths of destruction.   Recent eruptions of Hawaii�s Kilauea and Guatemala�s Fuego volcanoes remind us of the landscape-altering forces inherent in these natural phenomena. O'Leary Peak lava dome towers over the Bonito Lava Flow Although Arizona is more commonly associated with saguaro-studded deserts, gaping chasms and red rock formations, much of the state�s landscape is a product of volcanism.   The San Francisco Volcanic Field north of Flagstaff is home to more than 600 extinct volcanoes that sprawl over the edge of the Colorado Plateau from Williams to the Little Colorado River.   Many familiar hiking trai...

RED MOUNTAIN TRAIL Hiking among hoodoos Few things in life are certain but what we know for sure is; wet dogs stink, Star Trek is great, some hikers think beer is the fifth food group and Red Mountain is one of the most magical places on earth.   Okay, those first three might be dubious, but the last one---an atypical volcano north of Flagstaff--- offers a singular hike that supports the claim.   If you�re looking for a mind-boggling, surreal experience, forget theme park attractions--Red Mountain is the real deal. View of Red Mountain from the access trail Located just off Highway 180 north of Flagstaff, the 740,000-year-old cinder cone offers a rare opportunity to walk inside the guts of a formerly explosive geological wonder.   Although the mountain�s fractured and fabulous form is a sight to behold, geologists aren�t certain about what caused its northeast face to slump away exposing the internal structure. Inside the volcano Thousands of years of wind and water erosi...

SLATE MOUNTAIN TRAIL #128 View of San Francisco Volcanic Field from Slate Mountain There are a couple of curious things about Slate Mountain. First off, there�s no slate and second, the mountain is much bigger than it appears. Stansbury cliff-rose shrubs grow to 8 feet high Part laccolith (a mushroom-shaped blob of magma that formed underground) and part volcano (you know: BOOM), the 8215-foot mountain measures only 853 feet from its base to summit, but geologists estimate that the lava dome that makes up the mountain extends to 5000 feet below the surface. Cliff-rose scents the trail So, all things considered, Slate Mountain is a considerable beast. The complicated hill is composed mostly of a pinkish-gray igneous rock called rhyolite which is exposed along its flanks. Heading up the trail Kendrick Peak The �slate� misnomer comes from the flaky appearance of some of the sedimentary and igneous rocks that were contorted during the mountain�s eruptive phase that occurred between 1.5 and...

GLASSFORD HILL SUMMIT TRAIL Town of Prescott Valley Inside the volcano There�s a little volcano in Prescott Valley that despite its lack of climate-altering fireworks a la Krakatoa or a festering apocalypse like the one under Yellowstone National Park, still managed to create a big enough impression on the landscape to warrant a hiking trail to its summit.   With its out-of-nowhere character, the new route walks out of the suburbs into the spent inferno of an extinct volcano culminating on a scenic highpoint in Arizona�s Central Highlands.   Dedicated in May 2016, the Glassford Hill Summit Trail makes a moderately difficult climb among the crumbling lava flows and eroding slopes of a Miocene-epoch volcano situated at the edge of State Route 69. Prescott Valley with San Francisco Peaks on horizon When viewed from the highway, the rounded form of Glassford Hill doesn�t look that special. With a smattering of subdivisions and shopping centers lapping at its base, the grassy mound...