Click 4 PIX    Blackett's Ridge

Click 4 PIX    Ventana Canyon

Romero Pools - Catalina State Park
Highlights - great moderate hike with mountain views, waterfalls, and natural pools

Location:  Tucson, AZ with hike start in the Catalina State Park

Scenery: *****

Distance:  5.5 miles round trip

Elevation Gain:  1500 Ft.

Hike Time:  2-3 hours

Difficulty:  Moderate

Trail:  Easy to follow until you go beyond the pools.

Total Length:  6.2 miles

Highlights:  A moderate to strenuous hike that arrives at the "Saddle" where fantastic views of Tucson are there to be had.

Highest Elevation:  4410 feet

Lowest Elevation:  2600 feet

Elevation Change:  1810 feet

Difficulty Rating: C

Hiking Time:  2-3 hours

Location:  Tucson, AZ, Sabino Canyon

Location:  Tucson, AZ with hike start in the Ventana Canyon Canyon

Scenery: *****

Distance:  12.8 miles round trip

Elevation Gain:  4260 Ft.

Hike Time:  7-9 hours

Difficulty:  Strenuous

Trail:  For the most part, easy to follow but some areas covered by bush.  Rock guides. 

Summary: This is a great moderate hike that starts out with a well defined and wide trail. Stay on this path until you reach a trail marker that will turn you right. From the marker, the trail will take a slow elevation gain along Montrose Canyon, which will be to your right. Stay on this trail until you reach the Romero Pools. The pools is a great place to take a lunch or in the warmer months, go for a swim. After a good rain, you will enjoy flowing waterfalls and streams, as well as gorgeous mountain views and desert landscapes. As a cautionary warning be careful when walking around the pools since the rocks are very slippery and wet. This is always a great hike to take. However, after a good rain storm, the waterfalls and streams will be active, which will add to the overall hiking experience.

Romero Pools is located close to SaddleBrooke with the trailhead beginning via the Catalina St. Park.  The hike begins gradually along a sandy mile long trail and then begins to ascend.  There are some difficult parts, but it really is worth the work.

Summary:  This is a classic hike which takes you to the top of the ridge between Sabino Canyon and Bear Canyon. From here there are great views in all directions. Tucson is spread out below you, Mt. Lemmon and the Wilderness of Rocks are visible to the north, and you can peer down into both Sabino and Bear Canyons. Well worth the trip!

Blackett's Ridge continues to be one of my favorite hikes. It is snuggled into the Sabino Canyon and ascends along a sometimes rugged trail, but most often, a gradual accent into a breathtaking view of Tucson.

Summary: The steep trail up Ventana Canyon ends at the Window; a 15 by 25 foot arch at the top of one of the peaks in the Santa Catalina Mountains. The trail follows the length of the canyon between sheer cliffs with a continually expanding panoramic view of the Tucson valley below. As you climb higher into the canyon the trail becomes increasingly more difficult to follow through the thick overgrowth. The trail follows a stream bed most of the way. It is dry for the better part of the year, but water can be found in several pools through early summer. One of the larger systems of pools, the Maiden Pools, has pools large enough to swim in. At about 2-miles to go, the Window pops into view as you approach a clearing in the trees. Beyond this point is the most difficult part of the hike. Steep terrain and difficult trail finding are required before you can enjoy the incredible vistas through the Window.

Ventana Canyon Trailhead is located off of Kolb near Sabino Canyon.  If you do the entire hike, a fit hiker can make it with a lunch stop at the window in a round trip time of 8.5 hours.  This is an extremely challenging hike with the decent being difficult on the knees.

Highlights - Excellent peak climb, spectacular
views of Tucson and Sonoran Desert

Location:  Tucson, AZ

Scenery: *****

Distance:  6.5 miles round trip

Elevation Gain:  1939 Ft.

Hike Time:  3-4 hours

Difficulty:  Moderate

Trail:  Well maintained Trail

Wasson Peak can be reached by several different trails. The King Canyon Trail is located just past the Sonora Desert Museum. The hike is probably best done any season but the summer, however, summer it was, when we took the adventure. IF you are so bold as to want to test your spirits in triple digit temperatures, LEAVE EARLY. The hike itself is beautiful and at a moderate level. There is a 1939 foot elevation rise, but the last 1.2 miles is the steepest challenge. The scenery is quite beautiful and the terrain is totally different with shale type rocks along the way.