Story and photos by Cheryl Hartz
The “Father of Cottonwood,” Charles Willard, is credited with building the kiln that gives the Lime Kiln Trail in Cottonwood its moniker. The trail follows part of the old Lime Kiln wagon road in the White Hills to a kiln carved out of a limestone ledge in the 1880s.
Local lore has the Willard brothers, Charles and G.M., constructing the kiln to aid in building a house in Cottonwood for their widowed mother, as well as their own. Limestone was burned to make lime, essential in mortar used for building fireplaces and chimneys.
The road was built to transport the lime to the brothers’ home construction sites and settlers used it instead of the main road to cut their travel time. It eventually extended to a route between Sedona and Jerome.
The kiln, now about six feet deep with an open top, has the remains of a rock and mud mortar wall in front. At its peak (pun intended, I can’t help it), the kiln stood twenty feet high with a solid cap.
The 15-mile-long trail running from Dead Horse Ranch State Park to Red Rock State Park is classified as strenuous and consists of nine miles of non-motorized and six miles of motorized access. I really needn’t say we hiked only a couple miles of this, but took in some spectacular views, just the same.
Twenty years ago, the US Forest Service listed the Lime Kiln Trail as a Centennial Trail, to celebrate the USFS’s 100th birthday. Hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders all use it lightly.
Users and pets should stay on the designated trails and scenic overlooks to protect the area’s rare plants.
The Verde Valley Botanical area was established to protect the endangered Arizona cliffrose, Verde Valley sage, Ripley wild-buckwheat and Heathleaf buckwheat. Equestrians should please refrain from letting their horses graze in the area.
The Lime Kiln, Thumper and Raptor Trail make a loop that the park service encourages mountain bikers to ride clockwise. The loop’s rating is intermediate to expert. Hiking the Lime Kiln Trail from its start in Dead Horse Ranch State Park, we viewed the expert part.
I watched in awe as bikers passed us, jumping down steep rocky trails that I cautiously stepped down. They moved so quickly I didn’t have time to put a camera to my eye and shoot.
Well, I admit I was so in awe of their skill and daring, I froze for a few seconds before my brain got the message it would be very cool to get a photo of a biker in mid-air. Oh well. You need to see it to believe it, anyway.
Happy historical hiking!
