Red Reef East Trail

Difficulty: Moderate. Red Reef East Trail starts in the campground between campsites #8 and #9. Cross the stepover heading east. Cross a second stepover at the intersection of the Mano Trail. Continue following the wide two-track for just 0.15 miles. Turn sharply to the right and head downhill into a large sandy wash. Cross the wash directly to pick up the trail on the other side. Continue for a couple hundred feet and reach the intersection with the Metate Trail. Continue heading east on the wide, well defined two-track for another 0.4 miles to reach the intersection with the Tipple Trail. Continuing east for another 0.10 miles will bring you to the National Conservation Area (NCA) boundary. Red Reef East Trail is used as a connector trail to the Mano, Metate, and Tipple trails, although it continues as a road beyond the NCA boundary heading east to the Silver Reef area. The trail is and old two-track, possibly a remnant of early mining days used to access claims. The views to the north are of the wild and beautiful Red Reef within the BLM Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness and the USFS Cottonwood Wilderness. Loop: For just under a 1 mile loop, take the Red Reef East Trail to Metate Trail. Turn right on Metate Trail until it intersects with the Anasazi Trail. Turn left on the Anasazi Trail and follow it for just over 0.1 miles to reach the Red Cliffs Archaeological Site. Return to the intersection of the Metate and Anasazi trails. Turn left on the Anasazi Trail and follow it until reaching the intersection of the Mano Trail. Take the Mano Trail north for 0.04 miles. Turn left at the intersection with the Red Reef East Trail and return to your starting point within the campground.