Near Lost Sheep Trail
Beautiful views...and another marker
Near Lost Sheep Trail
Chainfruit blossoms. When everything else is shriveling up, they come out with the Saguaro blooms.
Near Lost Sheep Trail
Remember to pay the parking fee if you start within the park. Example of the Maricopa Trail badge and arrow that you should follow.

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Hike Trail

Lost Sheep Trail

4.0 (2 Ratings)
A new and lightly used trail that is gently undulating and overall downhill. A great warm-up!
1.6
mi
Distance
1
ft
Gain
easy
Difficulty

Route Details

Flatter
Steeper
1.58mi
Distance
1ft
Elevation Gain
176ft
Elevation Loss
5%
Max Grade
2,027ft
High Point
1,851ft
Low Point
Path Type
Point to Point
Description
This trail was recently added to the official roster at the park (mid-2018), although, from the looks of the ground, it has been in use for quite some time. I found it from the new sign off the Moon Rock Trail, which is where Lost Sheep Trail joins up with the rest of the park's trail system. You can park in the visitors center parking lot, but you should definitely pay your park entry fee at the center before heading out. (This parking area is accessible without going through the main gate, but there is a paper sign to remind you that you still need to pay. Do us all a favor and please support the park!) Despite being a newly-opened/approved trail, this one is very well defined and easy to follow. It is a mostly singletrack trail, and even wider than that in many areas. It seems to be most popular with mountain bikers at the moment, but it makes for a good hike, especially since it is mostly downhill as it heads away from the visitor center and towards the rest of the trail system. This is my new go-to trail when I hike to the park so that I don't need to spend time dodging traffic on the narrow park roads. While the trail runs parallel to the main road for about half of the time, you really do not get a lot of road noise, nor can you see the traffic unless you really look for it. There are no branches off this trail, so I think it would be difficult to get lost. You can make an easy 5K hike by heading south on this trail and turning around when you hit the end (the sign where it joins Moon Rock Trail).

Route Conditions

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Contributors
Doug Baer