Sugarloaf Mountain Trail | Hiking in Chiricahua National Monument

Chiricahua National Monument is a very scenic sky island in the southern Arizona desert with interesting history and incredible geology throughout. There are several trails to choose from for hiking in Chiricahua National Monument but if you’re looking for a short and sweet hike with a view, hiking Sugarloaf Mountain Trail may be a good option for you! Sugarloaf Mountain Trail climbs 470 feet in about one mile to a fire lookout tower on top of a rounded mountain. Enjoy great views from the trail on the climb up as well as panoramic views from the top!

Quick Info

Distance: 1.8 miles roundtrip

Elevation: gains about 500 feet elevations

Difficulty: Easy

Directions: From the Chiricahua National Monument entrance, continue along Bonita Canyon Drive for 8 miles. Then turn right at the sign for Echo Canyon/Sugarloaf and continue to the parking area at the end.

Good to Know: There are restrooms and a picnic table (that is a little too close to the restroom) available at the parking area. Also, there is a bench with a view. To get to the bench, at the beginning of the trail, go right instead and in no time you’ll find it!

Our Experience Hiking Sugarloaf Mountain Trail

Since there are only a handful of trails that aren’t a part of the notorious Big Loop hike in Chiricahua National Monument, we set off to see them all. From the trailhead, the trail is a narrow single track trail that gradually makes its way up along the mountainside.

Before long, Sugarloaf Mountain Trail passes through a cool tunnel carved out in the rocks.

As the trail wraps around Sugarloaf Mountain it reveals great views from various angles of the gorgeous surroundings. And as we neared the top the trail got a little bit steeper as it climbed up the mountainside.

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Once we reached the top, we took in the great surrounding views! We had a great vantage point to appreciate Cochise Head in one direction and all the way down to the sprawling desert floor in another. And the gorgeous rugged valley of Chiricahua full of peaks and pillars.

And as you might have noticed from the road, hiking Sugarloaf Mountain Trail leads to a fire lookout. While we were visiting, the fire lookout was unmanned.

After taking in the views, we headed back the way we came.

While we were hiking Sugarloaf Mountain Trail, we didn’t see any other hikers until we were almost back to the parking area! But at the top we did encounter a small rattle snake.

Thanks for Reading!

We had a great time hiking Sugarloaf Mountain Trail and we really enjoyed the scenery at Chiricahua National Monument! As we travel, we love experiencing new places and getting out on the trails. To see some more great hikes, check out the articles below:

• Beautiful Hike on Hilton Lakes Trail
• Hiking Point Trail in West Clear Creek Wilderness
• Teocalli Peak Summit Hike

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