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I'm looking for a 1-2 night backpacking trail up on mt. lemmon. I came across the mt lemmon/lemmon rock trail. It is only 8.6 miles roundtrip but im not looking for anything to strenous this time around. Has anybody backpacked this trail before? Is there another loop that would make for a better backpack? Is there a water source around this trail? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

This is a tough reply to articulate as I have no basis for comparison having never hiked with you, so I'll tell you what a guidebook would: That loop would be considered "moderately strenuous" for sure. I personally think it's is a completely reasonable backpack and not strenuous at all. The climb back up Lemmon Rock trail has a grade, but it's completely manageable. The night spent in Wilderness of Rock would make it all worthwhile. Either way I would recommend descending Lemmon and coming back up Lemmon Rock. The climb back up Lemmon is less fun due to the width of the track, it's much more exposed, etc. It's a very scenic trip and well worth the effort, the severity of which I'll leave to your estimation after you check it out .

Another option would be the Butterfly loop, that's a popular over-nighter with an active spring near the wrecked jet.

The hikes on the north slopes will be hotter until you get down into the Stratton area and/or East Fork canyon if you went down CDO. They will all require a minimum ~3,000' gain on the way out if you wanted to make it to a reasonable camp spot with water, as well. There's a couple of ways to use the summit trails to make loops with water at one or more of the springs in that area, as well. Check out Meadow and all that it connects to.

ok thanks for the info. Me and my buddy are both in pretty good shape and were young so nothing is really to strenous for us right now. I just wanted to get away from the heat and get out of town for a few days. I just want to make sure there is a good water source available so I dont have to pack a lot of it.

We always camped by Lemmon Creek in Wilderness of Rocks area.

azbackpackr wrote:We always camped by Lemmon Creek in Wilderness of Rocks area.

This is exactly the way to go. Based on your reply you'll love the little bit of ascent you run into. ;)

I just got back from an overnighter on this loop (hiked down Mt Lemmon and up Lemmon Rock) There was lots of water in the Wilderness of Rock and also a nice flow on the Lemmon Rock Tr. Spectacular scenery, a good workout, and I didn't see anyone till I got close to the car. The weather is perfect this time of year. Don't forget to check out the lookout tower, the view is great and I got an interesting tour from the guy who mans it from April to September. So close to town, but such a great getaway!

I just got back yesterday... it was a little warm but you are right, it is very beautiful. we hiked up to the top of the mountain in the middle of the night and saw the lights of tuscon. we also hiked down in lemmon canyon and saw a bunch of pools and waterfalls. It was definitly my favorite spot ive been to so far. It was so green as well. The hike out up lemmon rock was pretty strenious and we did talk to the guy that mans the tower for a little while. I would definitly go back again.

Good weather for it, I bet...

My friend and I backpacked from the bottom of the mountain, starting from Catalina State Park to the top of the mountain. It was fairly strenuous one night backpack, but mostly because we couldn't find any water after Romero Pools. I felt that it was pretty rewarding once you finally reach the top.

The best place to stop for the night on that route is Wilderness of Rock. You can usually find water there year-round and it's level, cool, and scenic. Can't beat those views anywhere else on the mountain though, can you?!

Yeah, I was going to mention Lemmon Creek but I guess they went the other way and bypassed it?

yea we did this hike quite awhile ago but we did the lemmon rock loop and we did camp out at lemmon creek one of the nights