gjhikes.com: Tucson

Showing posts with label Tucson. Show all posts

Samaniego Hills/Site R-7

GPS planning file and map.

The Samaniego Hills and Site R-7 Petroglyph sites are located in the Ironwood Forest National Monument north of Tucson, Arizona. To get there, take I-10 Exit 226 at Red Rock and follow the East Sasco Road for 6.6 miles and turn left. Continue for 2.3 miles, staying to the right, and find a place to park. The Samaniego Hills Petroglyphs will be about a quarter mile away. From there you can either move your vehicle another 0.3 miles and hike another quarter mile to the Site R-7 Petroglyphs or hike from where you are.

Included with this post is the GPS file and map that we plan to use for our first visit. If you don't want to wait for us to get around to it feel free to try the GPS file and map for yourself. With no guarantee, of course, but they most often prove valuable for us.

Pan Quemado/Inscription Hill

GPS planning file and map.

The Pan Quemado and Inscription Hill Petroglyph sites are located in the Ironwood Forest National Monument north of Tucson, Arizona. To get there, take I-10 Exit 226 at Red Rock and follow the East Sasco Road for 5.8 miles and turn left. Continue for 3.1 miles and turn right. In about 0.3 miles find a place to park. The loop around Inscription Hill is about 0.8 miles. The petroglyphs are at the southern tip of the hill but there might be others along the loop. The hike to the Pan Quemado Petroglyphs is a half mile. Thinking there might be other sites in the same area a person might want to explore around the base of the hill for another mile or so.

Whipple Observatory Petroglyphs

GPS planning file and map.

The Whipple Observatory Petroglyphs are located south of Tucson, Arizona. To get there, drive south on I-19 for about 54 miles and take Exit 48. Pass under the Interstate and go left on the Frontage Road for 1.8 miles and turn right onto Elephant Head. After another 1.5 miles go right onto Mount Hopkins and proceed for 6.9 miles to the observatory. The petroglyphs are on a boulder that has been relocated from some unknown location. For turn-by-turn directions enter ‘Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory’ into your driving app. (Google Maps will have you take Exit 56 but it seems to all work out the same.)

Tumamoc Hill

GPS planning file and map.

The Tumamoc Hill Petroglyphs are located in Tucson, Arizona. Nearly 500 petroglyphs can be found at the site in the area that we have marked on the map. There is also a trinchera at the top of the hill but in Google Earth it looks like it is across the road from where it is marked on the map. To get to the trailhead, take I-10 Exit 259 for West Congress and follow it west for 0.8 miles and turn left onto South Sentinel Peak. In 0.6 miles you will come to the trailhead. From the parking area follow the trail in the direction of the petroglyphs for 0.6 miles and then cut across the road and begin searching the boulders for petroglyphs. We don’t know whether the area is open to the public for sure or not. The road going up Tumamoc Hill to the summit appears to have 2 gates that we are guessing are locked since there isn’t a fence.

Black Sheep Painted Cave

GPS planning file and map.

The Black Sheep Painted Cave is a site near Tuscon, Arizona that we haven't visited yet. Beginning at the Camino de Oeste Trailhead it is about 2 miles along the Yetman trail to the cave. You should be able to enter 'Camino de Oeste Trailhead' into your driving app for turn-by-turn directions.

Atlatl Ridge

GPS planning file and map.

The Atlatl Ridge Petroglyphs is a site that we haven't visited yet near Tucson, Arizona. The petroglyphs are located on, or very near, the property of the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Resort. To get there, take I-10 Exit 248 and head east on W Tangerine Road for 4.9 miles. Go left on North Dove Mountain Road for 4.6 miles and turn right onto N Secret Springs Drive where it is then 1.1 miles to the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain. For turn-by-turn directions enter 'Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain' into your driving app.

Picture Rocks Petroglyphs

GPS planning file and map.

The Picture Rocks Petroglyphs are located along the Picture Rocks Wash Trail in Tucson, Arizona next to the Redemptorist Renewal Center. To get there you can enter ‘Picture Rock Petroglyphs, Tucson’ into your driving app for turn-by-turn directions. One probable route is to take I-10 Exit 248 and follow W Ina Road west for 2.7 miles, go left on N Wade Road for 0.6 miles and then right onto Picture Rocks Road. The directions then might send you left after a quarter mile onto a private road. If that is the case you might continue on until you reach the wash and find a place to park there. Better yet you can enter ‘Picture Rocks parking lot, Tucson, AZ’ into your driving app and then make the 1 mile hike down the wash to the site. Enroute you will pass a few other petroglyphs.

Martinez Hill Trinchera

GPS planning file and map.

The Martinez Hill Trinchera is a site south of Tucson, Arizona that we have visited yet. The site is on the San Xavier Indian Reservation and we aren’t sure whether it is open to the public. There is a trail that shows up in our mapping software so maybe it is.

To get there you can enter ‘San Xavier Health Center’ into your driving app. Once you arrive at the Health Center the trail appears to be near a water tank or similar round structure behind the facility.

Las Guijas Petroglyphs

GPS planning file and map.

The Las Guijas Petroglyphs is a site southwest of Tucson, Arizona that we haven’t visited yet. To get there drive south from Tucson on I-19 to Arivaca Junction and take Exit 48. Turn west onto W Arivaca Road and follow that for 14.3 miles to West Las Guijas-Cerro Colorado and turn right. After a half mile turn right onto the Rancho Seco Road. Stay right at 1.2 miles, left at 1.5 miles, right at 1.9 miles, and continue for just over another mile where the road crosses a wash. One option would be to park somewhere around that point and begin hiking. According to Petry (Rock Art of Arizona) the petroglyphs are on top of Las Guijas Peak. Looking at the picture below it appears that you might be able to drive around the peak and hike up the southwest side. The northeast side, up through the trees, might also be good.

Kitt Peak National Observatory

GPS planning file and map.

The Kitt Peak is located at the end of route 386 on the Tohono O’odham Nation, 54 miles west of Tucson. Coming from Tucson, take route 86 (Ajo Way) west to the junction of 386. Make a left turn at the sign and follow the road to the top of the mountain. For turn-by-turn directions enter ‘Kitt Peak National Observatory’ into your driving app. Day and nighttime tours are available but we understand that the petroglyphs are on a huge boulder outside the Visitors Center enclosed in a glass case and can be viewed without going on a tour. People that have made the long drive up to the observatory seemed to regret not booking a tour ahead of time.

Cocoraque Butte Archaeological District

GPS planning file and map.

The Cocoraque Butte Archeological Site is a location withing the Ironwood National Monument near Tucson, Arizona that we haven't visited yet. The site includes four areas where petroglyphs can be found on basalt boulders. From Tucson head west on the Ajo Highway, AZ-86, to the South Kinney Road and turn right. Continue for just over 9 miles and turn left onto the Mile Wide Road. Follow that for 5.5 miles and turn left onto the Reservation Road and then right onto the West Cocoraque Ranch Road. Follow the Cororaque Ranch Road for about 3.8 miles and turn left. Area A will be about 6 tenths of a mile ahead.

Rating:

Round Trip Distance: 1.7 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 2874 - 3181 feet
Cellphone: 0-3 bars
Time: 2 hrs.
Trailhead: King Canyon
Fee: $25/vehicle
Attractions: Scenic desert, petroglyphs

King Canyon Wash is found in the Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. The trail begins near the King Canyon trailhead where it travels up a scenic wash for just under 1 mile before coming to an end a little below the Mam-A-Gah Picnic Area. Numerous petroglyphs left by the Hohokam and O'odham people can be found near several spillovers a short distance before the wash rejoins the King Canyon trail.

Rating:

Round Trip Distance: 3-18 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation: 3055 - ~7000 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr. 45 mins. (for 3 mile hike)
Trailhead: Javelina Picnic Area
Fee: $15/vehicle
Attractions: Scenic views

The Tanque Verde Ridge trail is located in the Rincon Mountain Division of Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. The trail begins at the Javelina Picnic Area where it quickly begins a most scenic climb that leads it up Tanque Verde Ridge. Although this post only follows the trail for its first mile and a half it can be continued all the way up to Tanque Verde Peak (7,049 feet). The Tanque Verde Ridge trail is connected to by several other trails that open up various backpacking opportunities in Saguaro National Park and the Rincon Mountains.

Rating:

Round Trip Distance: 5-7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
MTB Skill level:

Elevation: 3127 - 3299 feet
Cellphone: 2-5 bars
Time: 2 hrs. 30 mins.
Trailhead: Loma Alta
Fee: $15/vehicle
Attractions: Scenic desert ecology

The Hope Camp trail is located in the Rincon Mountain District of the Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. The trail begins at the end of the Camino Loma Alta Road. From there it travels eastward along an old jeep trail where it is secluded behind the foothills that parallel the much higher Tanque Verde Ridge. The trail comes to an end at the park boundary about 3.6 miles away. Enroute it is connected to by the Ridge View, North Coyote Wash, Ruiz and Quilter trails. This post follows the Hope Camp trail to its junction with the Quilter trail.