Fall color September 25, 2016 along Waterline Trail between Bear Jaw and Abineau trails. Many groups of aspens are peaking or approaching peak color. Leaves have not started to fall to coat the trail yet. Expect peak season through the first weekend of October on this trail.

Abineau Trail is a steep 1,800 foot climb over two miles up the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks through Abineau Canyon. The trail meets the Waterline Trail at the top, which can be followed down to Bear Jaw Trail to return to the trailhead. Each leg of the loop is approximately two miles long, plus a 0.4 mile connector trail from the trailhead to the loop, making a total loop hike of approximately seven miles. The loop is one of the quintessential autumn hikes in the San Francisco Peaks. Aspens along all three legs of the loop turn gold, and falling leaves carpet the forest floor and decorate the conifers.

Photo by Deborah Lee Soltesz, September 25, 2015. Credit: U.S. Forest Service, Coconino National Forest. For more information about this trail, see the <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=55058&actid=50" rel="nofollow">Abineau-Bear Jaw Loop</a> trail description on the <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/coconino/" rel="nofollow">Coconino National Forest</a> website.