Trail closures & reopenings

Phoenix activated its trail restrictions for the March 19–22, 2026 heat event — the local program’s earliest March closures since it began about five years ago. (12news.com) The affected routes this season include Camelback Mountain’s Echo Canyon and Cholla Trails and the Piestewa Peak summit trail, and the city has expanded the heat-safety closures to cover South Mountain trails such as Holbert and the Mormon Trail, moving the start time to 8 a.m. on warning days. (phoenix.gov) City records show 45 trail-restriction days tied to National Weather Service heat warnings in 2024, with Phoenix logging 121 days at or above 105°F and 69 days above 110°F last year, and mountain-rescue figures for the closed trails tracking 57 rescues in 2021, 47 in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 35 in 2024. (phoenix.gov) Mount Baldy’s National Forest trails — including the Mt. Baldy Trail, Baldy Bowl, Devil’s Backbone, Icehouse Canyon, Three T’s, Chapman and Ontario Peak — were cleared to reopen the weekend of March 21 after a USFS closure that had been extended through March 20 because of icy, storm-damaged conditions. (laist.com) (fs.usda.gov) (laist.com) Officials warn hazards remain on Mt. Baldy after winter storms and a December incident that left three hikers dead near the Devil’s Backbone, and county search-and-rescue pressure has prompted public calls for tightened safety measures as recreation resumes. (laist.com) (ktla.com) (laist.com) Local reporting says Idaho’s South Valley will add two new trails this spring and a third in the fall, with construction and openings dependent on weather and coordination with federal and local land partners. (mtexpress.com)