About

Moderate • 5 miles one-way (up to 10 miles round trip) • Out and Back • About 2.5 hours one-way (Forest Service estimate); plan longer for a round trip

Kachina Trail is one of the most family-friendly hikes near Flagstaff. It sets off from Arizona Snowbowl on a gentle incline through aspen and fir forest, and there's no rule you have to hike all 5 miles one-way — go as far as your crew is up for and turn around anytime, or keep going toward Weatherford Canyon if everyone's still having fun. The Forest Service figures about 2.5 hours one-way; a full out-and-back can run up to 10 miles. You drop about 700 feet from 9,500 to 8,800 feet on the way out, which means the return is the climb. It isn't stroller-friendly — mixed, rocky, rolling tread farther in — but as a go-at-your-own-pace hike for preschoolers through tweens, it's hard to beat. The gentlest stretch is the first mile; around the 1-mile mark you cross a bouldery little canyon that takes some high-stepping, and that's a natural turnaround with small kids. Park in the first Arizona Snowbowl lot on the right (south side) off Snowbowl Road; the trailhead is at the south end of that lot, and parking is free. Snowbowl Road access is seasonal, and ski-season weekends fill the lots early, so come before mid-morning in winter. Best in summer and fall. Open daily, dawn to dusk.