Miller Canyon

Hunter Canyon Trail leads up and over a saddle into Miller Canyon. This trail offers good views of Miller Canyon, Miller Peak, the San Pedro Valley, and the Mule Mountains near Bisbee. Along this part of the trail, you’ll see evidence of the day when this area was humming with mining activity and literally crawling with miners. From the Hunter Canyon/Miller Canyon trail junction, you’ll have to follow Miller Canyon Trail #106 back to its trailhead or make a loop of approximately 6 miles with the Perimeter Trail #138B.

A fine riparian area, plenty of evidence of the area’s mining past and good views from the Huachuca Crest are some of the rewards you’ll reap along this trail. After detouring around a piece of private property, the trail drops back into Miller Canyon to follow what was once an old mining road. The trail passes the remains of the townsite of Palmerlee and a number of abandoned mining digs as it slants steadily up the canyon. Down in the bed of Miller Creek, which usually has water in it year-round, you’ll be able to see lengths of the old carbon steel pipe which were placed here in the nineteenth century to carry water to the boomtown of Tombstone. Along lower stretches of the trail, large old sycamore trees shade the streambed, and sunlight filters down through the limbs of tall Douglas-firs. There are a number of bigtooth maples along the streambed in this area, too, making it a colorful place to visit in mid to late October when the leaves of these trees paint the canyon in hues of orange, red and yellow. After crossing the stream several times, the trail switchbacks its way up the north side of the canyon into an area that was burned by a large forest fire in 1977. Here, you’ll find good views down-canyon of the San Pedro Valley and the Mule Mountains around Bisbee while Miller Peak stands high above the canyon rim to the southwest. From this point, the trail continues to climb, visiting the stream a couple of more times and passing several more old mine sites before it intersects the Crest Trail #103 high in the Huachucas

The Miller Canyon Perimeter Trailhead is a developed parking area with an outhouse and trash service. This large parking area can accommodate horse trailers. There is no fee or pass required to park at this location. This is the trailhead for Perimeter Trail #138, Perimeter Trail #138B, Lower Miller Canyon Trail #172.