The Doney Picnic Area is located on Sunset Crater - Wupatki Loop Road 9.3 miles from its northern terminus on US 89 north of Flagstaff, Arizona. While the picnic area is located in Coconino National Forest, you have to go through the Wupatki National Monument to reach it by paved road. We stopped during our May 2015 visit to the Southwest. The picnic area has vault toilets as well as trash and recycling receptacles. While there, I hiked the one mile round-trip trail to a vista point on 5512 foot high Doney Hill. There is no shade along this trail, so use sunscreen and drink lots of water. The wind carries cinder dust and increases as you climb. The trail is rated as easy. Several benches have been placed along the way as well as interpretive signs.
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| Topographic map with GPS hiking route |
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| Trail elevation profile |
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| The initial trail surface is loose cinders |
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| As the trail climbs up to a saddle between cinder cones, the trail surface is much firmer |
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| Painted Desert from the saddle |
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| Turn right at the saddle to climb the higher cinder cone |
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| Remains of a Wupatki farmstead |
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| More of the ruins |
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| Wildflowers in bloom |
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| Hard packed cinder path |
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| Continuing the climb |
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| Merriam Crater (6813' 14 miles) |
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| The top is in sight |
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| Bench and sign at the end of the trail |
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| Loop Road, Red Hill and S P Mountain |
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| San Francisco Peaks |
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| Fault line |
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| Wupatki National Monument Visitor Center and Wupatki pueblo |
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| Painted Desert |
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| Gray Mountain, part of the Coconino Rim |
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| Doney Mountain (5534') |
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| Pinyon Pine |
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| Another view of the Painted Desert |
There is no entry fee for this portion of the Coconino National Forest.
The trail webpage is http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=55086&actid=50.
The forest website is http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/coconino/home.
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