Casner Mountain Trail

4.8/5 (7 reviews)
Kachina Village, Arizona (Yavapai County)
Last Updated: 03/05/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Much of the Casner Mountain Trail is squeezed between the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness and Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness, offering the most astounding views of nature you can see anywhere. This also forces you to keep your vehicle on the trail. You will also get a great view of the famous red rock country of the northern Verde Valley. The Verde Valley encompasses about 714 square miles in the center of Arizona and has hundreds of miles of dirt roads and off-road trails. This area is the height of Arizona's physical beauty, and you'll get an excellent view of it along the Casner Mountain Trail. While most of these off-road four-wheel drive trails are in the Coconino National Forest, others extend into Prescott and Yavapai National Forests, which you can also see parts of from this trail.


Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.8/5 (7 reviews)
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/24/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

An trail with two canyon views. A real treat and well worth it. We ran it South to North so we could camp on top of the rim and in the cool pines. But I agree with Trails Offroad that running North to South is the way to go. Your facing the amazing views almost the whole ride.
15500
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/27/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

The hardest part of this trail is getting a permit. Seven of us ran the trail from south to north ... which looks like the best direction to run it. We had to sneak our trail run in between monsoon rains. The clouds provided a beautiful backdrop to the scenic vistas. We continued on to East Pocket Road and to "Top of the World/Edge of the World/End of the World" ... the internet uses all three titles. Once there our luck ran out when the afternoon monsoon storm caught us.
Official Crew
10800
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 07/27/2019

The road and trail are in good shape. Easier going down than up. It gets hot as you move south from Flagstaff toward Sedona. This trail is remote, so drive in a group.
4700
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 06/16/2019

What a great way to spend a Father’s Day! We had a group of 9 vehicles, and a good mix at that. Several Wanglers, some Tacoma’s, and an FJ or two. No one had any issues, many were bone stock. Personally, my Jeep JL Rubicon is currently on stock suspension and tires, and had no problems. We ran the trail south the north, so minimal downhill action. The views are stunning to say the least, and the temperatures dropped noticeably as we climbed, a welcome break from the 105 we had in Phoenix. Loads of camping spots up top, a few ponds, lots of shade. A perfect day.
Open
Visited: 07/25/2017

To say that Casner is stunning really is an understatement. We made the trek from the north gate to the south gate in the morning, had lunch at Robber's Roost, then back tracked from the south gate to the north gate. It was a cloudy day, with intermittent rain. Making the trip south bound, in the rain and going mostly down hill, was fun and generally safe. However, this trail should not be attempted in the rain when going north bound. The mud sticks can stick to you tires, making your tires as slick as snot. There are several shelfs on the trail, carrying from 6 inches to 12 inches, which aren't a big deal when going down, but that can make it especially dangerous when going up. In these areas, you have about 3-4 feet of "wiggle room" before a tire might catch the edge of the cliff. Don't make this trek with the slick tires as we did. While most of the mud will clear before these spots, you will find the trail considerably more challenging than when it is dry.

From the Community

Start a free trial and get this level of detail on every trail guide
Start Free Trial