Tucson is a fantastic place in Arizona for scenic desert hikes and beautiful sky island hikes. You can hike easier trails among towering saguaros over 100 years old and with many arms, or you can drive up Mount Lemmon and hike among pine trees with spectacular views of the Sonoran desert below. Tucson also has many smaller mountain ranges with great hikes that are fun and challenging.
Before we get into hikes we want to remind you to practice the LEAVE NO TRACE principles. Please remember to stay on trail, pack out all trash, and explore prepared. Don’t carve into any rocks. It is illegal! Check out our hiking tips here. This blog focuses on hikes we’ve done just outside of the Tucson area. We call out hike difficulty levels as well as location, trailhead facilities, and total distance. We will keep adding to this list as we hike more!
Romero pools
- Parking: Located within Catalina State Park and there is an entrance fee of $7/vehicle. Visitors entering on foot or bicycle are $3.
- Length: 6.1 miles out and back with 1,318 ft in elevation gain. This hike is hard
- Pets: No pets allowed, this is a protected area for big horn sheep
- Restrooms: Yes
- Link to AllTrails
Pusch Peak via Linda Vista Trail
- Parking: There are two parking lots, both relatively small and available parking on the side of the road. Remove ALL valuables from your vehicle. Multiple vehicles were broken into when we were there
- Length: 4 miles Out & Back with 2,664 ft in elevation gain. This hike is hard
- Pets: No pets allowed, this is a protected area for big horn sheep
- Restrooms: no
- Seasonally closed: January 1 – April 30
- Link to AllTrails
Blackett’s Ridge
Lemmon Rock Lookout Trail No. 12
- Parking: This hike is at the top of Mount Lemmon and there are two lots available at picnic areas.
- Length: 4.6 miles Out & Back with 1,850 ft in elevation gain. This hike is hard. We used hiking poles on the way back up and thought it was very helpful
- Pets: Dogs are allowed on leash
- Restrooms: No
- Link to AllTrails + Coronado National Forest
Bajada Wash Trail
- Parking: This trail is in Saguaro National Park and is $25 per vehicle. America The Beautiful or an adequate Interagency pass also work
- Length: 1.6 miles one way with 231 ft elevation change. This hike is easy
- Pets: Dogs are not allowed on trails
- Restrooms: Yes
- Link to Hiking Project
Picacho Peak via Hunter Trail
- Parking: This trail is in Picacho Peak State Park and is $7 per vehicle.
- Length: 2.8 miles Out & Back with 2,112 ft in elevation gain. This hike is hard
- Gloves are recommend for the cable section
- Pets: Dogs are allowed but we wouldn’t recommend it for this trail
- Restrooms: Yes
- Park Hours: 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. (gates close)
- Link to AllTrails and the link to the State Park’s website.
Mount Wrightson Summit Via Old Baldy Trail
- Parking: This trail is in Madera Canyon and is $8 per vehicle. America The Beautiful pass or other Interagency Pass works as well
- Length:11 miles Out & Back with almost 4,000 ft in elevation gain. This hike is hard. We used hiking poles and thought it helped a lot
- Pets: Dogs are allowed on leash
- Restrooms: Yes
- Park Hours: Day-use area from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Link to AllTrails.