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| Hiking | 2.50 Miles |
500 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.50 Miles | 2 Hrs | | 1.25 mph |
| 500 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I was going to upload this hike and noticed someone had just done it, It is a great hike and have done it numerous times when in need of a short forest fix. We almost must have passed each other on the trail. HikeAZ must be growing.
BrettVet
Mt Lemmon Meadow Loop
If you want to make a quick easy escape from the searing summer heat to the high country near Tucson, this is your hike. It is short and easy enough to take you grandmother or a few young kids on and has a mountain meadow, old growth giant pine trees, wildflowers, spectacular vistas and a fire lookout.
I really intended to log my hike and realized that there was no description of the meadow hike. Getting to the trailhead is easier than it looks. Just 40 minuets from the base of Mt Lemmon and you are in the cool pines or snow packed fields. Take the Catalina Highway off of Tanque Verde Road in Northeast Tucson. It winds up the Catalina Mountains rising to over 9000 feet. When you reach to top of the mountain take the ski valley turn off and proceed through the ski hill parking/ iron door parking lot though the gate. The narrow paved road leads to the military base and telescopes at the mountain summit. No red squirrels here it is open to the public. At the closed gates turn into the parking lot to the right. The parking lot is gravel with a brand new toilet. The trail leaves the parking lot around the left side of the eclectic tan former fence in the aspen grove. The trail quickly comes to and intersection with the Mt Lemmon Trail which goes down a 4x4 road and the meadow trail to the right. Take the meadow trail that goes along the fence line of the military base. Yes I said military base. It was in use in the cold war (the good old days) when it was used for radar and radio communications for the ICBM nuclear missiles that surrounded Tucson. The good news is that the missiles are gone. The green barracks building you pass on the right actually has a bowling alley in the basement. At the end of the fence line you run into the actual antenna field. Most of the antennas were in silos underground to survive and pop up after the nuclear blast. Me I was crouched under my desk at school�it was iron not plastic. Then the trail enters about a quarter mile of dense forest with grass and ferns with beams of sunlight that make it look magical. Quite a contrast from Armageddon. The actual meadow is next which is about an acre on the right side of the trail. There are usually some picnickers in the meadow that have local knowledge of the place. The trail crosses a small burned area and starts descending down back into the old growth forest with massive 3 to 5 ft diameter pine trees. After a switchback it intersects the Mt Lemmon Tail again. To the right the Mt Lemmon trail goes to the Sutherland and Romero canyon trail into the wilds of the Catalina�s. We go to the LEFT and follow the 4X4 road along the side o the mountain. The view to the east is awesome. It overlooks the area called the wilderness of rocks and Tucson beyond. Pause a minute to take in the view from a small outcropping of rock on your right. A small side trail is obvious. A real spiritual spot. Back on the trail a small tin shed on the right is Lemmon Spring that supplies water for the military base and is the headwaters of Lemmon creek. A pipe coming out on the east side of the road used to have crystal clear water , but the last time I was there it was being diverted in a plastic pipe to a tank. Take the next right for a small out and back side trip (0.3 miles roundtrip ) to Lemmon Lookout, a fire tower that sits on a rock with a similar view. During daylight hour the ranger will give you a tour. Hike back to the Mt Lemmon trail and prepare for the only semi hard part of the hike. Up the 4X4 Mt Lemmon trail to the intersection of the meadow trail and you are almost home and back to the parking lot. |
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