Coconino National Forest · Arizona

Bear Jaw

2.3 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 26 · trail class 2 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 35.3832, -111.6732 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Abineau-Bear Jaw Loop the Forest Service's write-up

Abineau-Bear Jaw Loop is part of the Kachina Trail System .

From the Abineau (#127) and Bear Jaw (#26) trails, on the north slope of the San Francisco Peaks, you can see the Grand Canyon seventy miles away. These two trails make a scenic loop through forested canyons. Both end at the Waterline Road (FR 146) along the base of a long talus slope topped by Humphreys Peak, Arizona's highest point. The climb along either two-mile trail is steep and steady through stands of mixed conifer and aspen. The road completes the loop by connecting the top of one trail to the other, ascending 600' over two miles from the top of Bear Jaw Trail to the top of Abineau Trail. From this high perspective the Grand Canyon cuts a wide gap in a the plateau stretching from the mountain to the horizon. With the almost half-mile connector trail from the trailhead to the loop (where Bear Jaw and Abineau split to follow different routes up the mountain), the entire hike is approximately 7 miles long.

This route passes through an area colorful at all seasons of the year. In late spring, alpine wildflowers such as lupine, rocky mountain iris, penstemon and paintbrush splash the trailside meadows. Sunflowers add yellow in summer, and groves of aspen paint the slopes with crimson and gold during the fall.

You may spot a black bear here—perhaps the best chance you'll have around the Peaks. These big shy animals occasionally show themselves along these trails. Mule deer and elk are also plentiful. Common birds include juncos, Steller's jays and Clark's nutcrackers. In spring and early summer the melodious hermit thrush will serenade you.

Early in 2005, a huge avalanche did extensive damage to the trail in Abineau Canyon. Although the trail reopened by that summer, evidence of the avalanche still remains in toppled trees and gouged rock.

Download a slideshow about the Abineau-Bear Jaw Loop (PDF)

Bear Jaw Trail Statistics:

Difficulty: Strenuous

Length: 2.33 miles

Trailhead Elevation: 8530 feet

Elevation Gain/Loss: 1312 feet

Use: Hiking, horse back

Abineau Trail Statistics:

Difficulty: Strenuous

Length: 1.93 miles

Trailhead Elevation: 8530 feet

Elevation Gain/Loss: 2729 feet

Use: Hiking, horse back

Abineau/Bear Jaw Loop Trail Statistics:

Difficulty: Strenuous

Length: 7 miles

Trailhead Elevation: 8530 feet

Elevation Gain/Loss: 2729 feet

Use: Hiking, horse back

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Coconino National Forest

All 412 trails in Coconino National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.