Southern Arizona Hiking Club

Doug Kreutz Arizona Daily Star

Gilbert Jiménez knows his way around Sentinel Peak.

He has hiked on the little mountain on Tucson's west side and helped maintain its trails for more than 70 years. More...

13-2-New-Rule-Hope-Camp-Bicycle-Use.pdf

june 2012.pdf

New website for Glacier National Park 

Louisville, Ky. (November 2011) – Just in time for the arrival of the vacation planning season, www.HikinginGlacier.com launched a new website today that gives hikers interested in Glacier National Park a robust source of trail information at their fingertips. 

HikinginGlacier.com offers detailed information on more than 60 trails, including trail descriptions, key features, pictures, maps, elevation profiles and more. Additionally, the site is organized to make it easier for hikers to compare and choose trails that best suit their hiking preferences. Before the launch of HikinginGlacier.com, hikers had difficulty finding web-based trail information for Glacier National Park. Most existing sites list only a handful of the most popular trails, and provide only limited information without regard to individual hikers’ skill level or preferences. More...

All trails at Chiricahua National Monument - closed since the Horseshoe 2 Fire swept over the scenic preserve in June - have been reopened.

source = http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_27c296c6-ada1-50d0-810a-a0915b426719.html

CNF_NorthZoneTrailsReport.pdf

The hiking trails of the Coronado National Forest sky islands offer near unmatched variety. Elevation determines not only the air temperature, with lowlands warmer than highlands, but also the types of plants and animals encountered. The warm climate and desert plants for which Arizona is known occur only at lower elevations, while pine, fir, and spruce cover the highest mountain tops, with grasslands and oak woodlands between.

Hikers can explore the desert lowlands during the winter, then come back in summer to wander through cool high-elevation Ponderosa pine forest during the summer months.

Or consider starting in the towering pines of a mountain summit and walking downhill to finish among giant saguaro cactus on the desert floor -- all in a single day hike.

The following is a list of hiking Trails on the Coronado National Forest. Basic information is shown. For further information, click on the trail name to get a detailed description.

Hiking trails 

Source  = Coronado National Forest

MT. LEMMON - Expert hikers, take note. The grueling Green Mountain Trail awaits you.

The trail has two starting points on Mt. Lemmon; the first being at San Pedro Vista and the other at General Hitchcock Campground.

If you start at the San Pedro Vista, you'll quickly find out this isn't a hike for beginners. Hiker Nolan Montufor said, "Every time I feel a lot of energy expensed, but I do enjoy the ruggedness".

Rugged this trail is, with several switchbacks that are narrow at times. Adding a degree of difficulty is remnants of Old Man Winter.

Only in Arizona can you be hiking in shorts and dashing through the snow, and that's exactly what you'll find in the shaded areas of this trail. You probably won't need the jacket, but you will need to watch your footing.

Hiker Lalita Malik said, "You don't need snow shoes on snow like this, but you do need some traction. Microspikes is what I recommend".

From snow to sweet rock formations and stunning views, the Green Mountain Trail has it all. "One of the things I noticed down there was the valley, which was a lake. Hard to imagine that was a lake once upon a time", said Malik.

Doing the entire 3.9 mile length of the trail will take about 4 to 5 hours.

To see a trail map of the Green Mountain Trail, click here.

 Source = http://www.kvoa.com/news/hittin-the-trails-4-you-mt-lemmon-s-green-mountain-trail

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A path for hikers and cyclists is planned along an old railroad route in Tucson.

The Arizona Daily Star reports the six-mile El Paso and Southwestern Greenway is designed as a car-free corridor following the line of an abandoned railway from north of downtown Tucson through South Tucson to the Kino Sports Complex.

A short segment of the route has been completed and the Star reports funding is in place for the next phase of the $10 million project.

A Tucson Department of Transportation project manager says the trail is needed because the downtown area lacks low-stress ways to get around by bike or by foot.

The route passes a one-time depot, a railroad roundhouse and a century-old railroad bridge.

Source = http://www.kvoa.com/news/new-trail-planned-in-tucson/

TUCSON - My hike of the year was easily Ramsey Canyon's Hamburg Trail.

Nothing matched the ambiance of Ramsey Creek, the fall colors and several deer sighting.

The trail itself is a moderate hike through the Huachuca's, taking an hour and a half both ways. This trail features switchbacks that can be rather treacherous. More...