3.4 Miles Roundtrip

The Echo Canyon Loop Trail is one of the coolest trails I've ever done and one of two I’ve done in Chiricahua National Monument. At 3.4 miles roundtrip, it is much shorter than the Heart of Rocks Loop and it has easier elevation change. The highlight of the trail is once you emerge yourself within the Grottoes only about .5 miles from the Trailhead.

To start, park at the Echo Canyon trailhead and head down Echo Canyon before taking Hailstone Trail along the side of the ridge (if done in the early summer morning hours, you’re graciously in the shade) and then going up Ed Riggs Trail back to the parking lot.

There’s a sign at the trailhead that says of the amazingly engineered trail: “The Grottoes are testaments to the incredible power of water erosion. Farther down the trail is Wall Street, a long narrow passage hemmed in by vertical walls of volcanic rock. Near the base of Echo Canyon, the trail enters Echo Park, a peaceful grove of stately Arizona cypress and Douglas fir trees.”

The Trail was built by the CCC in 1936-1937 under the direction of the engineering genius Ed Riggs. It is truly a fantastic trail. On the Hailstone Trail make sure to admire the Yucca, cactus, and other desert flora and fauna. Also be on the lookout for the tallest and thinnest rhyolite rock hoodoo; the Totem Pole, which towers at 300 feet tall.