Region
Highlights
- Humphreys Peak is the highest peak in Arizona.
- It is the highest of a group of extinct volcanic peaks known as the San Francisco Peaks.
- The summit can be most easily reached by hiking the 4.8 mile Humphreys Trail that begins at the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in the Coconino National Forest.
- The last 1 mile of the trail traverses the only region of tundra in Arizona, at over 11,500 feet.
- On a clear day you can see views of the Grand Canyon to the north.
Routes
76 climbs • 10.4 mi • 3,238 ft gain • 5 hr 54 min • Class 1
4 climbs • 11.5 mi • 3,199 ft gain • 8 hr 13 min
3 climbs • 10.0 mi • 3,238 ft gain • 7 hr 35 min
3 climbs • 10.6 mi • 3,621 ft gain • 8 hr 4 min
2 climbs • 7.5 mi • 3,333 ft gain • 7 hr 26 min
2 climbs • 10.1 mi • 3,267 ft gain • 7 hr 46 min
Latest climbs
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"Summitted via the north chute, an unofficial and messy extension of the Abineau trail. I started the morning at 3,400ft and ended up at 12,635ft. Brought about a nasty case of altitude sickness but that is my fault for rushing into this one and not taking time to acclimate. Top notch views though!" — MikeERodriguez • Sep 10, 2024
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"Hiked Humphreys Peak again, this time in perfect conditions, it seemed now moderate with some hard stretches.
As always, be prepared, listen to your body and know your limits, when hiking this and in general. " — alexandra-melaniecastellano • Aug 12, 2024
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"Mother's Day Accomplishment for me. It was a day I won't forget that quick.🌷😍
Highest Peak in Arizona - DONE:)
❄️🗻
Ice & hard packed snow on first part of hike, that is when you are in the 🌲 forest, below tree line.
Poles were very helpful, for balance, lots of focus needed for finding right steps, not to slip. I had YakTrax but didn't need to put on.
💨 Once on saddle, wind picked up lots....we put on more layers and decided to head to peak. Extreme winds, increasing, we had to literally crawl, get down on ground, lay flat, wait...take a few more steps, must have been up to 70mph.😳
On way back, the ice turned into slush, so lots of sinking in, slipping, muddy ......all made for a long day !!
Also, keep in mind, altitude of start of hike and the gain of another 3,400 feet, your lungs will feel it. Train for it, we arrived night before. That part would not have been that bothersome, except higher up, with the crazy wind rushing into your mouth and lungs, made it very hard to breathe. Little stops, catch breath, slow down.....
🙌🏼 Huge shout out to our hiking friend (experienced on Humphreys) for taking me up there and not giving up either!
Although extremely challenging in t..." — alexandra-melaniecastellano • May 8, 2024
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"It was a challenge as by late morning it was snowing rather heavily with winds of 50+ MPH, and 70+ at the summit. The weather conditions made for a true adventure. The new snow and drifts made route finding pretty difficult. Above the treeline, there are white wooden poles along the trail, which are helpful, but they are usually spaced too far apart. With the snowfall, I would HIGHLY recommend crampons. I had mini-spikes which worked well on the compacted snow in the early morning, but were virtually useless when several inches of new snow fell. Further, my hard shell rain jacket (Columbia) and pants were true lifesavers. They worked spectacularly to keep me dry and block the wind." — MichaelV • Dec 22, 2023
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"Got a late start coming in from Nevada all night driving from Boundary Peak, NV. Got to bed at 2am and up around 7am to get started on Humphreys. Luckily it’s a pretty easy 12,000’ mountain. Not much exposure or slope angle. Great trail and the weather was great.
Was able to locate the wreckage of a B24 Bomber that crashed on the side of the mountain in 1944 during a night training run killing all 8 crew members.
" — wiweasel • Nov 11, 2023
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"A mountain a world apart from the rest of Arizona. Took the standard summit trail up, in continuous snow for about one mile, before breaking out of the snow at the saddle for an easy hike to the top. Overall rating 8/10, a great state highpoint if you have a day" — MountainQuest • Jun 16, 2023
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"Climbed it from parking lot to summit back to back took 8 and 1/2 hours. Combinded total 20 miles 6800 feet. 1st time on the summit at 4:20 Am pitch black was awesome up there with city views and lights." — ryancoburn • Jul 23, 2022
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"It felt so good to finally get Humphrey's Peak this year, that I wanted to go back and do it again - this time via the Weatherford Trail! I knew this was a beast and going to be long, but DANG it was a long day. About 5250' gain (a vertical mile), and some of that was retracing elevation loss, and about 24 miles total from Schultz Pass trailhead to the summit and back again. It was a long but gorgeous day - hiking in the inner basin, up on the ridge of the bowl, was just incredibly beautiful. The first two miles have not quite 1000' of gain, and then once you hit the actual Weatherford trail that used to be a highway for Model T's to take people near the summit of the current snowbowl area - well, then it becomes a gentle and very even grade. I'd say about 400' gain/mile? You spend a good long time at around 10,800' along the inner rim of the bowl between Doyle/Fremont and then the Fremont/Agassiz saddle. Then you climb back up again and eventually leave the treeline and stay above that while you pass tantalizingly close to Agassiz (which you cannot hike to; it HAS to be a snow ascent, it cannot be done on bare rock) then drop down to the saddle and join the masses (literal masses)..." — psychikingjes • Jun 11, 2022
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"Third try was indeed the charm - so good to finally get a win! My first successful summit of Humphreys in 2022, hopefully not my last. We're back firmly into three-season hike territory (aka basically no snow at all), rather than a winter snowshoe/crampon/snow hike. We started a little later in the morning than originally intended, but these things happen and work has been crazy. With no snow, though, I was less worried about starting alpine-early. We brought our microspikes but never needed them. The day was beautiful, a little breezy and with some low-hanging clouds to start. We just missed a cloud strike the summit and saddle and cover everything in hoarfrost; it was melting and flaking off by the time we arrived. The weather was overall good until the saddle with the Weatherford trail, at which point the wind picked up. All along the exposed ridgeline from the saddle to the summit, the wind got progressively worse. Strangely (but thankfully), it was relatively calm at the summit itself, just a light breeze. The second we stepped back down, though, the wind was howling even stronger and it was icy cold. I had my soft windbreaker on and then my puffy down jacket over that, along ..." — psychikingjes • May 21, 2022
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"#19 for our Sate highpoint bid. Started out at 1pm from the carpark, trail at some points was still covered by snow, about 2/3 of the way up we lost the trail a few times - was difficult to figure out a few of the switchbacks. Arrived later than what we had anticipated to the summit 5pm, perfect weather, great views at the top. Headed down, stoped for a quick meal, and continued down in the dark (we expected this and had headlamps) lost the trail again a few times and found ourselves in some knee deep snow... my Suunto watch saved us. Using the breadcrumb feature we were able to stay on track and find our way back to the Trail Head around 10:30pm.
In all, really enjoyed this climb. My son (Finn) found his limit and was able to push past it, finding he had more in the tank that what he thought, First decent in the dark, highest elevation hike and a great adventure overall." — CravinoCrew • Apr 30, 2022