Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Arizona / Northern Arizona Canyons

Kendrick Peak (Kendrick Mountain Wilderness)

Kendrick Mountain Wilderness, Kaibab National Forest (northwest of Flagstaff)

Kendrick Peak rises above 10,000 feet northwest of Flagstaff, part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field. The Forest Service calls the climb one of the highest vistas in northern Arizona and a good place to see elk and mule deer. A historic lookout cabin sits in a saddle just below the summit, and a fire lookout tower stands on top. Backpackers camp near the cabin, a short climb below the summit.

There’s no water anywhere on the mountain, so everything you drink comes up on your back.

The hike

Arizona Highways gives the approach as Route 180 for 17.2 miles to Forest Road 193. The Forest Service says the trail follows an old fire road for about a mile after the first half mile. A Gaia GPS description notes the route begins on a closed resupply road that becomes trail at about the 2-mile mark, with views south to Government Prairie and east to Humphreys Peak.

Fire shaped the lower mountain. Arizona Highways says a lightning strike on May 24, 2000, started the Pumpkin Fire, which burned 14,760 acres. The lower trail climbs through young ponderosas, with the lookout tower appearing on and off above. You pass a wall of volcanic rock and enter the 6,510-acre Kendrick Mountain Wilderness. Just inside, the trail climbs to a stretch that escaped the fire.

The Forest Service describes the trail climbing from ponderosa pine into mixed conifer forest of Douglas fir, white fir, Engelmann spruce, and corkbark fir. Arizona Highways says the trees steal the show on the final climb to the upper saddle, where the historic Kendrick Lookout Cabin sits. Wikipedia says the cabin was built in 1911, first used as a fire lookout in 1912, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

A Gaia GPS track description adds that the Civilian Conservation Corps later built another lookout, which was replaced by the current tower in 1964, and that the tower houses an Osborne Fire Finder. From the cabin, a short series of switchbacks leads to the tower. Arizona Highways says that in summer you can climb the ladder and say hello, and a helipad nearby makes a good place to rest. Wikipedia quotes the Forest Service saying the lookout operator usually welcomes visitors in summer, but also notes an unsourced report that the tower looked damaged and likely abandoned in June 2024.

Three trails reach the top. A Flickr trip photo caption, citing the wilderness description, says the Kendrick Mountain Trail, Pumpkin Trail, and Bull Basin Trail total 14 maintained miles and all lead to the lookout. SummitPost says people often backpack up the Kendrick Trail and down the Pumpkin Trail. A SummitPost commenter places the old cabin at the junction of the Kendrick and Bull Basin trails, and says the Pumpkin Trail reaches the tower on the west end. Karabou Adventures says the Pumpkin Trail passes through the most severe part of the 2000 fire.

A HikeArizona writer describes finding the cabin secured with an eye bolt and hook, with a spring bed and spring bunk bed inside, and thinking the area would be perfect for backpacking.

For another northern Arizona high point, see the Mount Baldy Loop in the White Mountains.

Tips

Camping

Camping is dispersed in the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness. SummitPost says camping is allowed anywhere around the mountain. Komoot says no permits are typically required. A HikeArizona forum post notes a 12-person group size limit in the wilderness. Confirm current rules, including fire restrictions, with the Kaibab National Forest.

Inside Intel: The saddle by the old cabin is where backpackers stop. A HikeArizona group camped just below the fire lookout, north of the old ranger cabin, after backpacking the Pumpkin and Bull Basin loop. The cabin sits a short climb from the tower. Just remember to haul up every drop of water.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Dinner by the old lookout cabin:

With no water on Kendrick Peak, meals that need little water make the climb easier. See which meals testers keep coming back to.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.