Rusty’s Route 1000

Rusty’s Route 1000

An 11-day hotel-based expedition around the Arizona Alpine Trail.

Start in Alpine
11 days
Approx. 1000 miles
View Full Itinerary
Terrain map with Rusty’s GPX path, fuel stops, lodging, and town labels.AZAT pathFuelLodging

The Itinerary

Rusty’s Route for eleven high-country days.

Rusty’s Route 1000 follows the Arizona Alpine Trail in a counterclockwise direction, beginning and ending in Alpine. It is a ready-to-follow hotel-based itinerary, with room for town stops, scenic overlooks, photography, and side-road exploring along the way.

11 daysRusty’s day-by-day travel rhythm.
Book earlySmall towns can have very limited motel inventory.
Side questsAdd local attractions, overlooks, food stops, and extra back roads as time allows.

Book First

Reserve lodging before you build the rest of the trip.

Motel options are limited in Young, Heber, Punkin Center, and Hannagan Meadow. Cabins, lodges, and vacation rentals may add choices, but many require two-night minimum stays, so plan ahead before locking in daily mileage.

Flexible Start

Alpine is Rusty’s start, not the only start.

This itinerary follows the trail counterclockwise from Alpine, but riders can begin in many communities along the route and travel clockwise or counterclockwise.

Make It Yours

Use AZAT as the backbone, then add side quests.

Rusty’s Route is not just trail mileage. It leaves room for fuel, food, photography, scenic overlooks, town stops, local attractions, side roads, and navigation resources like OnX Offroad or Trails Offroad.

01

Day 1

Alpine Greer

via FR 1122

~100miles
FuelEagar
LodgingLazy Trout LodgeGreer, AZ
02

Day 2

Greer Show Low

~85miles
FuelShow Low
LodgingDays InnShow Low, AZ
03

Day 3

Show Low Heber/Overgaard

via FR 504

~100miles
FuelShow Low, Heber
LodgingSawmill InnHeber, AZ
04

Day 4

Heber/Overgaard Pine

~110miles
FuelPine
LodgingThe Strawberry InnPine, AZ
05

Day 5

Pine Punkin Center

~80miles
FuelTonto Basin
LodgingPunkin Center LodgePunkin Center, AZ
06

Day 6

Punkin Center Young

via FR 288

~90miles
FuelYoung
LodgingPleasant Valley InnYoung, AZ
07

Day 7

Young Heber/Overgaard

via Black Canyon Rd

~90miles
FuelHeber
LodgingSawmill InnHeber, AZ
08

Day 8

Heber/Overgaard Show Low

~90miles
FuelShow Low
LodgingDays InnShow Low, AZ
09

Day 9

Show Low Greer

via FR 1122

~85miles
FuelBig Lake or Eagar
LodgingLazy Trout LodgeGreer, AZ
10

Day 10

Greer Hannagan Meadow

via FR 576

~85miles
FuelBig Lake
LodgingHannagan LodgeHannagan Meadow
11

Day 11

Hannagan Meadow Alpine

~85miles
FuelAlpine
LodgingTrip ends in AlpineNo overnight

Verify fuel, lodging, road conditions, weather, and seasonal access before departure.