Timber Mesa Trail is a 7.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Show Low, Arizona that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and mountain biking and is best used from April until September. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Arizona Office of Tourism, 2702 N. 3rd St., Suite 4015 , Phoenix, AZ, 85004, Phone: 888-520-3434, Fax: 602-240-5432, mfioritt@pni.com
Directions from Lakeside: Drive on State Highway 260 towards McNary. Turn left on Porter Mountain Road (Forest Road 45). Drive 2.2 miles. Turn left at the cattle guard. Drive 75 yards to the cindered trailhead on the right.
January 17, 2021January 10, 2021MAtFun moderate hike with little bouts of elevation. I went counterclockwise and enjoyed the scenic views towards the end of hike.
December 31, 2020
December 15, 2020Pretty nice. Not too cold as I thought it would be. Only went in 2 miles and back.
December 5, 2020Some rocky areas. Easy to loose the trail in the area that’s being cleared. Did this on Saturday with my husband & friends. A nice hike on a winter day on the mountain.
December 5, 2020Great hike! We saw elk. Trail is a bit hard to follow where the logging is going on. Otherwise, awesome time!
November 29, 2020very gorgeous hike, decent distance but very moderate as far as difficulty goes.
November 26, 2020I took a right at the fork and there was a lot of logging activity for a few miles. A nice way to spend a few hours in showlow nonetheless.
November 25, 2020Saw 6 people in 8 miles. Beautiful hike. Well marked but not overly maintained. Not significant elevation change but good variation that makes for a great hike at pace.
November 23, 2020Awesome trail. The first 2 miles are the most scenic.
October 25, 2020Nice trail though we only went 2 miles due to windy dusty weather.
October 16, 2020Amazing condition
September 27, 2020Very nicely wooded trail but I was sad that I saw no wildlife at all today
September 26, 2020September 20, 2020September 16, 2020August 29, 2020Started running this trail at 6am Saturday morning and didn’t see any other people on the trail until the end almost 3.5 hours later. This is a great loop of you want to use your car as an aid station. It’s pretty well maintained for the most part
August 17, 2020solid hike! very well marked.. a couple great views of the valley, lots of wildlife, saw a bobcat! also randomly saw cows on top of the mountain. I love how the first half of rhe hike is a different scene than the second. I would wear sturdy hiking boots, it can get very rocky at some parts.
August 11, 2020Great hike through some beautiful country.
August 7, 2020It was a nice stroll through the woods. I'm a beginner and was thinking it was easy until about 5.5 miles in when you start gettin hit with some inclines.
August 6, 2020Nice hike to cover the 7.5 mile distance. We took the clockwise route. Enjoyed the scenery for the first 1/3 of the trail and stopped for several photo opportunities. The remaining 2/3 was quiet and peaceful. Kudos to the White Mountain Trail system for how well they mark the trail.
July 5, 2020My 15 yr old son, dog and I did this trail yesterday. Started around 8:30am and took us around 2:45 to do the whole loop, but we took frequent stops to let the dog drink water as it was warm. We took the left trail at the fork and enjoy the first 3 miles the most (nice views, some good uphill, the rest of the loop is kind of boring but still a nice change from the desert hiking that we are used to. You do notice a lot of tree clearing on the East side of the loop, but nothing severe as others have mentioned, or it didn't bother us. Nothing too exciting about this hike, but good if you want to get some mellow milage in and be in/out of the shade/trees. Within the last 2 miles we encountered 2 groups of cows RIGHT on the trail, so had to veer off a little to avoid them. Overall a good workout and morning, but not one of our favorites in the area and not sure if I'd make an effort to do this loop again. It makes for a nice 4-5 miles out/back if you take the left fork and go out 2-2.5 miles, then turn around. We did that last year and enjoyed it. Milage was around 7.6 according to my Garmin.
June 29, 2020June 22, 2020AllTrails has the entrance/exit marked incorrectly. If you follow the dirt road up to the sign and park next to the large marquee then the trail head is right there. The map has the hiker go off road in the beginning, making things confusing. This is probably why other users have reported the beginning/end to be rough. When you come up to the fork, take the left route, you’ll get the harder stuff out of the way first. If you decide to go right instead of left at the fork(which is actually what we did), in half a mile you will come across a ton of chopped down trees. This stretches for about a mile. If this is something that will be unsettling for you, then this hike is not for you. Overall it was a good hike, not very strenuous, but also not for children.
June 19, 2020Mileage is right on but this trail was the dirtiest and most boring trail I think I have ever done. Maybe if you went to the Panorama trail you might get views but the only view you get is overlooking towards Show Low. Trees are either blown down and it is heavily timbered which makes it sunny. I would. It do this trail again. Easy however and I’m 62 but I hike a lot. Also the AllTrails map is showing the Panorama trail not the Timber Mesa which goes off to the left or right depending on which way you go.
June 18, 2020Beautiful views and pretty easy. Going counter clockwise will give you more shade on the way back
June 17, 2020I would say this is easy not moderate. Nice hike. Saw a deer. I went at 11 am and did not have any shade really. Bring your sunscreen!
