"I love the fantasy-land aspect of Red Mountain and the suddenly jangly weirdness of it. The short, easy trail travels through scenic wood-lands before plunging into the mystical gullet of a volcano. Red Mountain is one of the several hundred cinder cones that poke through every pore in the volcanic landscape surrounding Flagstaff. But unlike most symmetrical cones, Red Mountain is a haphazard U-shape, with an amphitheater carved from the Northeast flank. “Carved” may mislead; it looks like some giant cosmic being took a chomp, leaving behind a raggedy assortment of hoodoos and a labyrinth of slender canyons.

The inner basin spread out among clustered hoodoos that beg for a little exploration. The surface makes for great grippy bouldering. It’s like a hobbit-sized Bryce Canyon, vivid and endlessly entertaining. So yank the kids out of the ball pit at McDonald’s and let them discover a natural playground."

Source: Roger Naylor "Boots & Burgers: An Arizona Handbook For Hungry Hikers"