2.3 miles
Distance
207 ft
Climb
-860 ft
Descent
00:31:25
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 (2 votes)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • 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
    40 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 80 in Trail Running
    • 65 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
    -42.2%
  • Grade min
    37.7%
  • Distance climb
    3,031 ft
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    682 ft
  • Avg time
    00:31:25
  • Avg reverse time
    01:03:20
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Oct 27, 2022
Ideal
Avg: 4.75 (26 votes)
Your vote: 0

view (75)
close
  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
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
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 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
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • 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.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

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
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
      Directions to sunset-upper-16334 trailhead (35.242990, -111.595250)
      update trails status or condition

      Sunset (Upper) Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Oct 27, 2022 @ 5:33pm
      Oct 27, 2022
      		 Lots of trees down, counted 19 in total
      Jun 4, 2022 @ 7:24am
      Jun 4, 2022
      May 18, 2022 @ 4:10pm
      May 18, 2022
      		 Thanks AZ. Good May rides.
      Sep 1, 2021 @ 7:03am
      Sep 1, 2021
      		 The rain had made the trail pretty ideal for riding, with only one puddle. Everything from the switch-backs and down is in very good condition but...
      Sep 1, 2021 @ 7:03am
      Sep 1, 2021
      		 The rain had made the dirt very nice for riding (only 1 puddle). Nothing is washed away and but there’s a few chunky stop after you pass heart...
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 1 rides
      • 32 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 7 rides
      • 21 miles avg distance
      All
      • 45 rides
      • Last: Dec 3, 2022

      Photos

      more »
      27 |
      Nov 4, 2021 @ 2:23pm
      Nov 4, 2021
      26 |
      Sep 30, 2021 @ 4:59pm
      Sep 30, 2021
      31 |
      Sep 30, 2021 @ 4:59pm
      Sep 30, 2021
      27 |
      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
      RMan Leg 1516 miles

      7 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      Stevewrong (Nov 9, 2021 at 20:16)
      Very nice trail from the intersection with upper oldman down. Above upper oldman was quite the challenge.
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      Escottimilhizer (May 15, 2021 at 10:04)
      This trail is fantastic. It’s fast, rocky and slightly technical. I spent the last two weeks riding all around Vegas, Gooseberry Mesa and Sedona and this was my favorite trail of the trip. If you like flow mixed with a little rowdiness, this trail is for you.
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      WinDiesel (Sep 12, 2020 at 16:37)
      Great trail north of the Oldham Intersection. Not worth doing the southern/top section. More of a hiking trail than a bike trail.
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      enduromtb21 (Apr 30, 2020 at 20:09)
      Yes it finally opened
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      ponderosatrey (Apr 21, 2020 at 12:40)
      @SethyMcclue The museum fire scorched the area and it is closed for the foreseeable future
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      enduromtb21 (Apr 20, 2020 at 13:28)
      Why is the trail closed?
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      Thomasbenko (May 9, 2018 at 10:53)
      Very dry, some small rocks, branches. Those are tough!
      [Reply]





      Videos

      more »
      youtuber SUNSET TRAIL in Flagstaff Arizona ????
      16:27 | 734 | Sep 28, 2019 , Flagstaff
      Sunset
      16:09 | 63 | Jun 16, 2022 , Flagstaff
      youtuber Best Mountain Biking in Flagstaff, AZ - Upper...
      9:33 | 141 | Jan 22, 2022 , Flagstaff
      youtuber Descending Sunset and Schultz Creek Crash |...
      18:32 | 182 | Apr 6, 2021 , Flagstaff

      Nearby Trails

      MEDL (Mount Elden Dry Lakes)

      • subscribe
      • flag
      • login to download gpx or kml files.