Keyhole Sink Trail #114
This trail provides the visitor with an easy-to-hike pathway to a scenic box canyon where prehistoric residents left their mark carved into the canyon's gray volcanic walls. Roughly 1,000 years ago, some ancient artisan or artisans pecked images into the dark basalt using another rock as a tool. These images are called petroglyphs. The message that they portray suggests that the area was important to that ancient communicator as a hunting ground. One of the petroglyphs is a dramatic depiction of a deer herd entering the canyon. Take note of that and keep a sharp eye. This area is still an excellent place to encounter wildlife. While you're visiting the Keyhole Sink Trail, please respect the irreplaceable traces of the past that you find along it. Leave them undisturbed so that others may enjoy them as you have.
The trail traverses easy terrain through a ponderosa pine forest. The return trip from Keyhole Sink is over the same trail. The trail is marked for cross-country skiing with blue triangles.
Rock Art Documentation of the Keyhole Site (9 mb .pdf) details the restoration and repair efforts undertaken to clean up and preserve the Keyhole Sink Trail.
Photos of Keyhole Sink Interpretive Site at http://bit.ly/KeyholeSinkPhotos
Trifold Brochure of Keyhole Sink Interpretive Site (7 mb .pdf)
Specific Trail Information
Trail Number
Trail Type
General Information
None.
None. Bring everything you need.
No motorized vehicles on the trail.
Getting There
Trailhead/Starting Points
E Old Route 66/Wagon Wheel Road
Directions
From Williams (approximately 10.8 miles):
- Begin on I-40 E and follow for approximately 8 miles to the Pitman Valley Rd/Deer Farm Rd exit #171,
- Turn left onto Cool Pines Rd and follow for approximately 0.2 mile,
- Turn right onto E Old Route 66/Wagon Wheel Road and follow for approximately 2.3 miles to the trailhead.
From Flagstaff (approximately 21.3 miles):
- Begin on I-40 W and follow for approximately 16.8 miles to the Parks Rd exit #178,
- Turn right onto N Parks Road and follow for approximately 0.1 mile,
- Turn left onto E Old Route 66 and follow for 4.1 miles to the trailhead.
