Butterfly Spring Trail

Nine Skyliners hiked on Butterfly Spring Trail 536 on April 24, 2010. From Cottonwood we followed Hwy 89A through Jerome to the summit, turned on FR 104 and drove about nine-tenths of a mile to park alongside the road at the hairpin turn just below Butterfly Tank.

We had originally intended to hike on Trails 106, 105A and 105, making a loop by going down the side of Mingus on 106, across to 105 on 105A and back to the top on 105. Unfortunately, FR 104 was closed just beyond the turnoff to Cherry and we decided to hike on Butterfly Spring Trail instead.

The lower end of Trail 536 has recently been repaired and much of the trail has been rerouted. On previous hikes, we had climbed up the western wall of the canyon from Butterfly Spring to connect with an old road at the head of the canyon. This road runs generally southeast to end at the Forest Service Work Center near the north set of communications towers and the hang glider port on top of Mingus. The trail has now been rerouted to connect with another old road on the eastern canyon wall that runs south, parallel to FR 104, for about two-thirds of a mile before turning sharply to the northeast at a point just a few yards from FR 104.

Shown below is the concrete dam where Butterfly Spring Trail starts.

Butterfly Spring Trail 536 Trailhead

After hiking a short distance from where we parked we stopped for a group photograph in the still lingering snow:

Left to right: Gordon Bice, Jim Manning, Loren Pritzel, Miriam Sterling,     

 Lila Walker, Anita Jackson, Kwi Johnson and John McInerney

 (Photographer: Ellis Price)

The trail was easy to follow, having been recently repaired/rebuilt, until it reached the old road. After that it was just a matter of following the old road and being alert for trail signs at the occasional fork. There were patches of unmelted snow along the way and the ground was soggy in places. However the soggy places were relatively easy to avoid and we made good time, soon coming out on the Mingus Rim at the Forest Service Work Center near the north communications towers and the hang glider port. The distance was about 2.5 miles from where we parked.

We paused for the view from the glider port and then decided to hike along the rim to where Trail 105 starts its descent down the side of the mountain. From there we would hike across the top of the mountain and attempt to connect to the old road that runs above the head of the canyon in which Butterfly Spring is located. We intended to return to the parking area by way of the old Trail 536 route that we had hiked before.

On arriving at the Trail 105 descent point, we stopped to rest and enjoy the view before continuing. We tried to find a spot that would afford a view of the saddle below where Trails 105 and 105A intersect, but could find no such vantage point. But the view we did have shown in the below photographs was well worth the hike.

Looking north along the Mingus Rim from the top of Trail 105

Looking across Verde Valley to the peaks above Flagstaff

Continuing our hike, we wandered about a bit trying to find the old road we were looking for and then, after finally locating it, we missed our turnoff onto the old Trail 536 route. Altogether, we added about an extra mile to our hike, making what would have been a 5-mile hike into a 6-mile hike. But the day was pleasant, we had plenty of time, and the temperature was just right for hiking. Besides, as I always say, “If you can still see Mingus, you are not really lost.” And we were right on top of Mingus.

We noted several pincushion flowers along the old road on our way back. As evidence of the late spring this year, we saw the pincushions a month earlier when we hiked this trail in March 2008. This year the area was still completely covered with snow in March.

The following photograph (below) shows the best of the pincushions.

White Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa)

The total hiking distance for this hike was 6 miles, including the extra mile added by our wandering around. The total elevation change was just over 550 feet.

The included map (below) shows the GPS track for this hike.