2.3 miles
Distance
201 ft
Climb
-854 ft
Descent
00:33:00
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Sunset (Upper) Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Sunset (Upper) Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Horse
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    MEDL (Mount Elden Dry Lakes)
    Flagstaff, Arizona
  • Ref Number
    23
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Black Diamond (4 votes)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • TTFs on Trail
    Berm, Jump, Rock Garden
  • Global Ranking
    #12040 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #15685 in Trail Running
    • #42545 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    30 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 60 in Trail Running
    • 60 in Hiking
    • 5 in Horseback

A fun, and often times, fast trail. Lower Sunset is easily ridden in both directions and is a Blue. Upper Sunset is primarily downhill and has some Black sections. Upper also houses Hobbit Forest and The Catwalk, two well known iconic sections of trail.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Sunset (Upper) multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -653 ft
  • Altitude min
    8,422 ft
  • Altitude max
    9,156 ft
  • Altitude start
    9,075 ft
  • Altitude end
    8,422 ft
  • Grade
    -5.3%
  • Grade max
    -39.2%
  • Grade min
    34.7%
  • Distance climb
    2,838 ft
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    459 ft
  • Avg time
    00:33:00
  • Avg reverse time
    01:03:20
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jun 27, 2025
Variable
Avg: 4.49 (32 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
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  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
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  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
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Max Vehicle Width
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US Cell Coverage
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Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
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      Directions to sunset-upper-16334 trailhead (35.242990, -111.595250)
      update trails status or condition

      Sunset (Upper) Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jun 27, 2025 @ 10:19am
      Jun 27, 2025
      		 Small tree down across trail towards the bottom of the trail about 8ish inches in diameter. Other than that the trail is in good condition....
      May 24, 2025 @ 7:44am
      May 24, 2025
      Apr 23, 2025 @ 6:52pm
      Apr 23, 2025
      		 There are a few small snowy spots on the top section. The top and bottom sections are pretty raw right now but Forest Service was working on the...
      Dec 3, 2024 @ 7:26pm
      Dec 3, 2024
      Jul 4, 2024 @ 12:02am
      Jul 4, 2024
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 2 rides
      • 18 miles avg distance
      All
      • 15 rides
      • Last: May 23, 2025

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      100 |
      Sep 1, 2023 @ 8:07am
      Sep 1, 2023
      130 |
      Jul 25, 2023 @ 10:21pm
      Jul 25, 2023
      148 |
      Nov 4, 2021 @ 2:23pm
      Nov 4, 2021
      139 |
      Sep 30, 2021 @ 4:59pm
      Sep 30, 2021

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      The Elden Sunset Schultz Classic14 miles
      Sunset Over Secret Middle Earth19 miles
      Elden Lookout Loop via Sunset, Heart, and Christmas Tree11 miles
      Lil Gnarly Brookbank Sunset Secret AZT Loop16 miles

      10 Reviews & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      youtuber SUNSET TRAIL in Flagstaff Arizona ????
      16:27 | 1053 | Sep 28, 2019 , Flagstaff
      Flagstaff Trail Guide: Upper Sunset
      8:46 | 7 | Jul 1, 2025 , Flagstaff
      Who Needs a Shuttle? Big Mt. Elden Loop!...
      13:44 | 127 | Aug 4, 2024 , Flagstaff
      Sunset
      16:09 | 215 | Jun 16, 2022 , Flagstaff

      Nearby Trails

      MEDL (Mount Elden Dry Lakes)

      • By toddTF Pro Trailforks & contributors
      • #16334 - 8,710 views

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