By Meg Roederer
Flagstaff has a well-known reputation as the “City of Seven Wonders,” so you can imagine this beautiful mountain town takes sustainability seriously, with a commitment to preserve and protect the environment through eco-tourism, promoting responsible visitation, and conservation efforts. The city offers opportunities to stay and play responsibly, encouraging travelers to explore and discover the natural wonders at Grand Canyon National Park, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Oak Creek Canyon, the San Francisco Peaks, and Coconino National Forest. Visitors can actively participate in supporting community values through two outstanding green initiatives: Pledge for the Wild and the Flagstaff Trails Passport.
Pledge for the Wild is a program dedicated to responsible visitation to preserve the untamed beauty of Flagstaff and to keep wild places wild. By taking the pledge, you can contribute to the efforts aimed at keeping the town beautiful, sustainable, green, and clean. This public education effort informs visitors about responsible trail use while hiking, biking, wildlife watching, or stargazing. Pledge for the Wild benefits the local non-profit Flagstaff Trails Initiative (FTI), which focuses on trail management. Taking part is as simple as texting WILD4FLAG to 44321 with a donation.
For those who seek to embark on an unforgettable outdoor adventure while preserving Flagstaff’s beauty, the Flagstaff Trails Passport is a must-have. This free digital passport, available for download at discoverflagstaff.com, provides a comprehensive listing of trails catering to all levels of experience, from easy strolls to exhilarating challenges. By accumulating trail points, you not only manage trail congestion but also unlock the opportunity to win amazing prizes. The Flagstaff Trails Passport is an excellent guide to adventure and pairs perfectly with Pledge for the Wild.
For visitors looking for more than just an outdoor adventure, Flagstaff offers a charming historic downtown along Route 66 with a host of shopping, art galleries, events, music, restaurants, and nightlife. Moreover, Flagstaff features a thriving culinary scene with a remarkable array of talented chefs that use locally sourced ingredients and that is home to award-winning breweries – after all, Flagstaff is Arizona’s leading craft beer city. Flagstaff breweries feed cattle at local ranches with the spent grain left over from the brewing process. In fact, Mother Road Brewing Company produces an average of 45,000 pounds of spent grain per week – that’s more than 2.3 million pounds per year. Mother Road Brewing Company also partners with Arizona Game and Fish to support critical conservation work with a “Conserve and Protect Golden Ale.”
Flagstaff is also the world’s first International Dark Sky Community, enveloped by the world’s largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest and surrounded by Native American culture. Flagstaff offers a unique blend of scenic splendor, cultural richness, and four seasons with perfect temperatures for summer hiking or biking, vibrant hues of autumn foliage, thrilling winter sports, and the bloom of spring wildflowers. This mountain town is the perfect adventure base camp that allows visitors to delve into some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, encouraging responsible visitation and sustainability. Here, eco-conscious travelers will have an array of green properties at their disposal, making it easy to stay where conservation efforts around water and energy are key. At 7,000 feet, Flagstaff is also a clean air town on the path to carbon neutrality. To stay and play responsibly in the City of Seven Wonders, learn more at discoverflagstaff.com
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