Mahoney Butte

Mahoney Butte is a 5-mile long trail that is mostly elevated above a creek, side-hilling on a narrow trail, sometimes with loose rock or embedded surface rock. The beginning and ending are the smoothest, fastest parts. There's some embedded small cobble in parts, a rocky hill, a couple of scree sections, and a couple of roots. There are a couple of treed sections with shade, but it's mostly exposed to the sun, and this area can get pretty hot in the summer. The trail has a couple of small creek crossings that are easy. It's curvy with switchbacks, going in and out of a burn area. It goes past a couple of intersections, but they are all signed well. This trail goes through an incredibly scenic landscape of rolling green hills, with meadows of wildflowers, as it goes around Mahoney Butte which is 7,700 feet tall. It's a gradual incline from the Greenhorn Trailhead to the intersection with Mahoney Greenhorn, gaining 1,900 feet over 5.3 miles.