Doyle Peak, Mountain summit in Coconino National Forest, Arizona, United States
Doyle Peak is a mountain in Coconino National Forest reaching 11,460 feet with a broad, flat summit area. The highest point sits on the northeastern side of the mountain and can be accessed via marked hiking trails.
Doyle Peak itself was named for Allen Doyle (1849–1921), an early Flagstaff settler who arrived in 1876, drove the first cattle to town in 1881 and helped establish Coconino County. The astronomical station of 1927–1932 stood on adjacent Schultz Peak, not on Doyle: Lowell Observatory's V. M. Slipher chose the site, where two bristlecone pines were cut to support the telescope's polar axle. From 1927 to 1932 it was the highest astronomical observing site on Earth, until a slightly higher Swiss station opened on the Jungfrau in 1932.
The peak is named for Allen Doyle, an early Flagstaff settler who arrived in 1876, drove the first cattle to town in 1881 and helped establish Coconino County. The name appears in local newspaper accounts from 1986 and 2014 tracing the origins of San Francisco Peaks place names.
Doyle Peak lies in the San Francisco Peaks within Coconino National Forest, and the summit stands at 11,457 feet (3,492 m). The old telescope cabin on Schultz Peak, a neighbouring summit, is reached by an unmarked route; only a faint depression marks the former dormitory site. Snow and exposure shape access for much of the year.
A shelter cabin near the summit was rebuilt in 2016 using mostly local materials but was heavily damaged by the Pipeline Fire in 2022. The structure had served as refuge for hikers and researchers visiting the mountain.
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