Old Caves Crater is an extinct volcanic cone mountain in Doney Park just northeast of Flagstaff. There are several trails around the mountain but the best scenery is found taking the trail to the 7150 foot summit. It is rated 2 on the difficulty scale, rises about 500 feet from trailhead to summit and is about 2.5 miles long there and back. It winds around the south and west sides of the mountain before arriving at the top. To locate the trailhead travel north on state highway 89a toward Sunset Crater and take a right on Silver Saddle. Then proceed about a mile and you’ll see the fence that marks the parking lot for the trailhead. It is usually filled with several horse trailer and trucks since the trail is popular with riders. This may be another reason to take the summit trail as few riders take the narrow trail up to the summit but stay on the wide cinder paths at the base of the mountain. Horses don’t really understand the trail rule of “Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints (hoofprints in this case).” They don’t take pictures and they leave behind large mounds of .......non-footprints.
The trail starts out on a level wide path of black volcanic cinders which is what you’ll find on almost all the trails in this area. The path is surrounded by old growth Ponderosa Pines at the lower elevations and Junipers and Brittle Cone Pines around the 6800 foot mark. The summit is mostly bare of trees and provides a great panoramic view of the surround area of Doney Park to the east and the beautiful San Francisco Peaks to the west.
This is a nice trail to take in the winter in Flagstaff as long as its a sunny day. There will still be patches of snow and some ice but for the most part the trail will be clear and dry. (Warning, patches of snow on a warm day often becomes ice so unless you brought some skates along go around if at all possible and if not go slow with a walking stick. The shame of carrying a stick does no compare to the embarrassment of slipping and falling on a piece of ice you should have walked around.)
The trail has good switchbacks as you make your way up the actually mountain and never gets too steep or taxing. There are plenty of place to stop and take pictures as other more robust hikers pass you by. (Especially handy when the hikers are obviously 20 years older than you and still able to make you look like you’re an out of shape, out of town, out of air newbie.) As you reach the top of the mountain the trail splits north and south. Going north will take you to the highest point of the mountain surrounded by junipers trees. Going south will take you to the caves that give the trail its name. The caves are actually the steam vents for the volcano that last breathed out fire thousands of years ago. There are dozens of caves and one or two that you can crawl in and through. None are much over 20 feet deep or long and most are just shallow depressions where the volcanic gasses wore or blew away the surrounding rock. It you don’t spend too much time exploring at the top the entire trip should take you about an hour or so.
Overall it is a pleasant walk especially with a good hiking companion and though not spectacular in its vista or features it is a great way to exercise and enjoy the peace and beauty of creation.
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