Little Cat Trail, AZ

Overview
Tuscon's version of South Mountain, with more than 40 trails accessible from 11 different THs. The Little Cat Trail is most easily accessed from the Sarasota TH. There is enough parking for 20+ cars with space set aside for horse trailers as well. There is no water or restrooms at the TH, so come prepared. There is one picnic table and an informative map of the trail system. The Little Cat Trail is considered to be an interior trail, so some additional hiking is required to reach it.


To access the Little Cat Trail hike the Sarasota Trail 0.2 miles. Take a right (east) at the junction and continue 0.6 miles along the Sarasota. At approximately 0.8 miles you will have reached the Explorer/Starr Pass juncture. Turn left (west) on the Explorer Trail for 0.3 miles to reach the Little Cat TH. There are other ways to reach the Little Cat Trail, but this is the quickest and has the least elevation change. The vegetation is a healthy variety of your typical Sonoran desert fare: Saguaro, cholla, Staghorn Cholla, Ocotillo, Bursera, and stunted Paloverde dominate.Hike
The Little Cat Trail is just over a mile in length (1.05). It is a solid single track that alternates between a dirt surface with entrenched rocks waiting to trip you up to a solid rock-scape. It starts off heading north in a relatively nestled area surrounded by Bobcat Ridge to the west, Little Cat Mountain directly behind it (west) with Big Cat Mountain looming to the east. This trail takes place within a basin, though you only get a glimpse of this basin in the beginning. The trail holds its elevation for most of the hike, following the contours of the mountain slope to the west. The basin views quickly open up to the east as the trail flows in and out along the off-chutes of the slope. Around 0.6 miles the trail cuts further into hills to the west, leaving the open basin feeling. At about 0.9 miles the hills to the west, which had been a constant companion, fall off and you get the impression of entering a valley that extends off to the west. The trail loses a little elevation as it descends to the valley floor and connects to the Yetman Trail.

Synopsis
The Little Cat Trail is a nice option within the Tucson Mountains, however, at 1 mile in length, it is ideally incorporated with other trails. The trail connects to the Yetman, with easy access to the Rock Wren, Sarasota, Explorer, and the Starr Pass trails providing loops of varying lengths. Most trail junctures have maps of the nearby trails allowing for easy route planning.

2024-02-18 mt98dew