The Inner Basin Trailhead begins in the beautiful Lockett Meadow just north of Flagstaff AZ. Flagstaff is one of the top destinations for fall foliage in Arizona. It is so popular that the main highway (I-17) from Phoenix to Flagstaff is often bumper to bumper during the October weekends and people are willing to sit in this traffic for a glimpse of fall. Here in AZ, the fall colors often appear and disappear very quickly which led to creation of the Leafometer site to report on the fall foliage forecast in Flagstaff and the surrounding area. Some of our favorite sites in Flagstaff to capture the fall colors are: Inner Basin Trail, Snowbowl, Hart Prairie and Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff. Most of these can be completed as a scenic drive from the comfort of your car (but are best explored on foot, especially with your camera). However, Inner Basin is about a 3.5 mile roundtrip hike. To reach the trailhead you will take a 3 mile steep narrow dirt road off Forest Road 552. It is not necessary to have a high-clearance, 4 wheel drive to get up the road, however, keep in mind it is not paved/well-maintained, rutted and very narrow in parts. If you have a fear of heights, this may not be the road for you. Once you reach the top you are greatly rewarded with views of Lockett Meadow in the heart of the San Francisco Peaks. During the busy season you may want to check the USDA site for any closures or limitations as the will often only allow 100 cars up to the meadow on weekends to avoid congestion on the narrow dirt road. We chose to go on a weekday to avoid the crowds and would highly suggest this when possible.
The Inner Basin Trail itself is fairly easy. The hardest part for those not used to higher elevation hikes is getting used to the elevation range of 8,600-10,500 feet. It may take awhile to acclimate, especially since you are going uphill to reach the inner basin. Throughout the hike you'll be treated with a variety of pine, aspens and wildflowers. The best way for us to share with you what we saw is through our pictures so please enjoy:
To learn how Warren created this HDR Panoramic image please visit this blog post:
We hope you are all getting out and enjoying this fall season. Please share your fall pictures with us on our community Facebook page for Exploretographers.
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