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City Slickers section AZT by BrettVet The trail travels from Molino Basin, up over a saddle into rolling grassland hills with rock formations, and ends at Redington road. Italian Springs Trail #95 continues on the other side of Redington road. The hike can be started from either end and is great as a two-party hike starting from both ends and exchanging car keys in the middle. The Molino Basin end starts from the restroom at Molino basin between mileposts 5 and 6 on the Catalina Highway. The trail crosses the road and parallels the creek for a short distance then crosses the creek and begins the ascent up the saddle to the east. At the saddle, you go through a gate and enter Bellota Ranch. The trail drops down into a valley with the Rincon mountains in the distance and Aqua Caliente summit in view. At the bottom of the hill is the West Spring that is a cement solar-powered cattle trough. From here the trail follows FR36 which is an overgrown 4x4 road. After about a mile it intersects an unsigned cairned trail to the south that goes up a side canyon. This is the Meligrosa canyon trail that goes down between the Melagrosa and Agua Caliente canyons and ends at Snyder Road in Tucson. (Another great hike for another time)
The road to Bellota Ranch is intersected right after a pond. Go to the left up the hill on the road to find the trail continuation. From here the trail climbs out of the valley with more scenic views and a few deer. Reddington Road is a sight for sore eyes with the trailhead parking across the road. Form Tucson this trailhead is 12.5 after Redington Road turns to dirt. Gate Policy: If a gate is closed upon arrival, leave it closed after you go through. If it is open, leave it open. Leaving a closed gate open may put cattle in danger. Closing an open gate may cut them off from water. Please be respectful, leave gates as found. The exception is signage on the gate directing you otherwise. Check out the Official Route and Triplogs. Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community. One-Way Notice This hike is listed as One-Way. When hiking several trails on a single "hike", log it with a generic name that describes the hike. Then link the trails traveled, check out the example. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
