Ida Canyon Trail #110 • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Mar 14 2025

bjonson

Routes 255
Photos 8
Triplogs 261

54 male

Joined Feb 19 2015
Phoenix

Ida Canyon Trail #110

Tucson, AZ

Ida Canyon Trail #110

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 14 2025
		bjonson • Triplogs 261

Hiking	9.30 Miles	2,680 AEG

Hiking	9.30 Miles	3 Hrs 54 Mns	2.50 mph
	2,680 ft AEG	11 Mns Break

no photosets

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Oversite Canyon Trail #112

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

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Mar 30 2019

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Chooka8, AZ

Hiking		Mar 30 2019
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	13.91 Miles	4,232 AEG

Hiking	13.91 Miles	6 Hrs 10 Mns	2.35 mph
	4,232 ft AEG	15 Mns Break

no routes

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Oversite Canyon Trail #112

Crest Trail #103

Hamburg Trail #122

Pat Scott Canyon Trail #123

Ida Canyon Trail #110

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Knocked two more uniques off my Huachuca list. Nice to get out on the west siiiiiide! Oversite is a great trail. I think Shawn told me once that the Douglas RD is really good with maintenance? Maybe I'm misremembering. Either way, tough to argue. These certainly don't get a lot of legitimate hiker use, and yet are very well maintained, with obvious trail maintenance as recently as last fall.

Ida reminded me of the trail up Babo. Similar terrain and flora. I was heading down later in the day and the mountain shaded me a bit. This wouldn't be as fun to ascend, and definitely not earlier in the day when the lower portions are exposed to the sun.

I did a loop down Wisconsin Canyon (which I learned apparently got it's name because the temperature dropped 20 degrees as soon I started down) and up Pat Scott. I was expecting more water in PS creek given the recent snow and overall wet winter, but it really wasn't any more than I had seen it previously.

Since JJ and and the doc had hit the alternate PS Peak last time they were here I decided to cover my bases as well. Glad I did. The views from up there far exceed those from the peak(s) under the text name on the map.

Got stopped by border patrol on the way down. After ribbing the poor guy a bit at my surprise that he was out of his truck and actually hiking on a trail, I answered a bunch of his questions and pointed him toward the only questionable things I had seen on my loop. After showing him the soles of my shoes, I continued on.

He must have lost a bet or something cause two other officers were at the bottom relaxing in their truck and waiting for him to radio down when he had had a chance to check out what he was investigating. They asked if I was the owner of the vehicle down the road with the, uh, art, on it. I confirmed. Lol.

I did the trailhead drive as a loop to figure out which is faster. No contest ... through SV and around the south side over Montezuma Pass was almost half an hour shorter than the dirt road to Parker Canyon Lake and Sonoita. Though that is one of the prettiest drives in the state. I also drove that 35mph road like Andretti at about 60, so it might technically be even longer than that. In review, get there by going around the east side through SV. Don't listen to Google, sometimes it really has no clue.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bear Spring

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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Nov 01 2018

markthurman53

Guides 187
Routes 989
Photos 12,068
Triplogs 864

72 male

Joined Jun 27 2015
Tucson, Arizona

Oversite Ida Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Nov 01 2018
		markthurman53 • Triplogs 864

Hiking	7.17 Miles	2,238 AEG

Hiking	7.17 Miles	3 Hrs 56 Mns		2.16 mph
	2,238 ft AEG	37 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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Ida Canyon Trail #110

Oversite Canyon Trail #112

Crest Trail #103

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Headed down to the Huachuca Mountains west slopes south of Parker Lake to complete two trails I haven’t been on before. The Oversite Canyon and Ida Canyon Trails to the Crest trail were meant to form a good loop hike. This is a 7.3 mile loop with an AEG of about 2000 feet and impressive views to the southwest. I chose to start at the junction of Cave Creek and Ida Canyon on FR771 off of the West Montezuma Canyon Road. Definitely need a high clearance vehicle to get the last .5 miles of FR771

From my starting point I headed South up a two track along Cave Canyon to the Junction with Oversite Canyon and the Miller Peak Wilderness boundary. The Oversite Trail officially starts here. I did not see the cabin that is near this junction but I wasn’t really looking because I was unaware that it was/is there. Ben Telly in his description of the Oversite Ida Canyon Loop has more details and a photo of this cabin. The Oversite Trail is fairly easy to follow with cairns marking some of the tricky spots as it crosses the creek. This trail is a serious uphill climb the whole way but not unreasonable with switchbacks along the steeper climbs. I like trails that know where they are going and don’t waste a lot of time meandering around needlessly. This trail has an elevation gain of about 2111 feet and an AEG of about 2133, that’s just 22 feet of aimless meandering, COOL! After reaching the Saddle between Oversite and Ida Canyons the trail levels off quite a bit as it heads along the upper reaches of Ida Canyon to the Crest Trail. There was a short 100 to 200 yard stretch just about .5 miles up from this saddle that is a bit overgrown. I thought it strange that for a trail that was so easy to follow that it would suddenly become faint and overgrown. With knowledge of where the trail is heading and a little bit of imagination getting through this section wasn’t a problem. There was no water flowing in Oversite Canyon except at the two springs, one at the beginning of the trail and the other just before the ascent up to the Saddle. There were a few small pools and it looked like the creek may have been running a week or so earlier.

Once on the crest trail it was a quick .5 miles to the junction with the Ida Canyon Trail. The upper portion of the Ida Canyon Trail is steep as it descends down to Bear Springs. Easy to follow and I considered it a well maintained trail. The trail around Bear Springs gets a little faint hidden by pine needles but wasn’t an issue. I saw another bear, Ironically at Bear Springs, standing in front of the Bear Springs Sign. The bear saw me first because I was busy looking for the trail and I was unable to get a photo. It was a very nice looking Black or very dark brown bear. I also saw a couple of White Tail Dear in this area. There was water at the spring. From the spring the trail heads around the ridge that separates Bear Canyon from Ida Canyon and then descends down into Ida Canyon. There were remnants of a mine and some mining equipment along the switchbacks going down into Ida Canyon. I thought the switchbacks along this trail were a little overdone taking way too much time to get where they were going, Might make ascending this trail a little easier though. The creek in Ida Canyon was dry on the lower end. The Ida Canyon Trail ends in the creek and it was a short .3 miles to where I parked the vehicle at the junction with Cave Canyon Creek.

I really like the Huachuca Mountains, Especially the west slopes. The expansive views to the west and south leave you thinking that a time warp could have transported you back 150 years and you would never have known it. Borders are a man made phenomenon and in this area the US and Mexico just kind of blend together on the grasslands of the San Rafael Valley. Sounds kind of science fictiony but why not since I just got done hiking two trails that have some kind of space time warp occurring that allows the travel in one direction of the trail to be shorter than travel in the other direction (at least that’s what the signs say).

	Bear Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Seepage at spring

	Spring - Oversite Canyon	Dripping	Dripping
	Water in pool at spring

	Spring - Prospector's Cabin	Dripping	Dripping
	Not sure what the flow rate was but I could here it running

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Sep 23 2014

BenTelly

Guides 1
Routes 1
Photos 64
Triplogs 12

44 male

Joined Sep 30 2014
Borderlands, AZ

Oversite Canyon - Ida Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Sep 23 2014
		BenTelly • Triplogs 12

Hiking	7.80 Miles	2,048 AEG

Hiking	7.80 Miles
	2,048 ft AEG

no routes

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Oversite Canyon Trail #112

Crest Trail #103

Ida Canyon Trail #110

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I feel particularly lucky to be able to experience the Huachucas during the monsoon. Water everywhere - in every drainage, spring, gully - t'was amazing. Due to these conditions I couldn't drive to the "Cave Canyon"/Ida-Oversite trailhead. The washes were too deep, even for the old pickup. I parked about a mile from the "official" trailhead and walked the road to the wilderness boundary - hence the 7.8 mile loop rather than the +/- 7 miles listed elsewhere. The riparian corridor in Oversite is beautiful, lined with sycamores and large oaks. Excellent bird habitat. The prospector's cabin (I've seen this listed as Happy Jack Cabin) is still standing, but probably not for too much longer. Behind the cabin are two trails, both leading to caves (one called Happy Jack Cave) that have evidence of mining activity.

Part of the fun of the Oversite trail is route finding, but it's route finding in a fairly narrow canyon so it's never too difficult to get off track. Plus, every so often there are massive cairns that are impossible to miss. The switchbacks near the head of the canyon are - as the description states - difficult to navigate and hastily built. I chose to come UP Oversite and DOWN Ida for this reason. Easier to navigate on the ascent, and safer given the trail conditions.

The trail levels out and the hike to the junction of the Crest Trail and then Bear Saddle is great. Nice views and tall pines along this traverse that takes you out of Oversite and above Ida. I paused for a spell at Bear Saddle and enjoyed the cool breezes and views down into Ramsey to the east, Bear and Ida to the west and southwest. The slope down to Bear Spring is an old burn area and oaks are growing back, but not many conifer seedings. There are a number of downed trees along this descent to the spring and the going is a little slow. At Bear Spring the trail junction of Ida Canyon and Bear Canyon looked completely washed out. The spring was roaring, creating cascades through the mixed conifer forest. It's a beautiful area, but like many west range springs and canyons the area was strewn with trash. I filled a small bag with empty water bottles, making a note to bring a larger trash bag next time.

The trek down to Ida Canyon was pleasant, traversing up the east slope of Bear Canyon and along the divide between Bear and Ida. I love this mixed conifer forest with the occasional giant huachuca agave patch. The switchbacks are well built and easy to follow, at least compared to the set at the head of Oversite. A series of cascades highlighted the final stretch of trail down Ida Canyon to the trailhead.

What do I love about the Huachucas? One reason (of many) is that I seldom see anyone else on the trail. And when I do, it's usually some stand-up, good citizen out enjoying the same world I love. The Oversite - Ida loop seems seldom visited and I wasn't surprised when I didn't see anyone all day. But this has happened to me numerous times in the past month or so. It's like I'm the only biped out there. I know I'm not, especially when I check other triplogs, but the landscape - and especially the Miller Peak Wilderness Area - provides that most wonderful characteristic that is solitude.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Yellow Columbine

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Oversite Canyon

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May 11 2012

MAVM

Guides 1
Routes 43
Photos 666
Triplogs 78

60 male

Joined Mar 15 2012
Sonoita, AZ

Ida Canyon Trail #110

Tucson, AZ

Ida Canyon Trail #110

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		May 11 2012
		MAVM • Triplogs 78

Hiking	6.67 Miles	2,746 AEG

Hiking	6.67 Miles	5 Hrs 37 Mns		2.03 mph
	2,746 ft AEG	2 Hrs 20 Mns Break	18 LBS Pack

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I decided to put-off my desire to bag 'Miller Peak' until the beginning of June to allow for full foliage of Aspen Groves & Blooming Yucca, etc. Ida Canyon would provide plenty of elevation - views and an interesting perspective on Miller Peak just the same.

I conversed at length with the Border Patrol Supervisor on duty while turning off of West Montezuma Canyon Rd. (FR 61) onto FR 771 (Cave Canyon Rd.) - I inquired as to the recent fire in the region west of Parker Canyon Lake toward the San Rafael Valley earlier in the week, as well as the sustained rain that had fallen for a good potion of Wednesday afternoon, etc. She gave me a helpful overview of the happenings and I informed her that I was heading-up Ida Canyon Trail to Bear Spring and back down. She informed the other BP in the area and I was not questioned for the balance of the day while in the Canyon. Just friendly waves and such as it was just myself and the BP in the lower elevations. The fact that Ida Canyon with its topside permanent watering hole is a well-known spur route of the Pan-American highway make such a connection before heading-up into the Miller Peak Wilderness a valuable exchange so as to be left unassailed, etc.

I intended to spend a portion of the hike doing detailed botanical photography (NOT part of the photo set). I found Ida Canyon Trail - to spite the occasional trash (mostly gallon H2O jugs) - to be in very well maintained condition, with no hindering overgrowth to the trail until the heavy conifers near Bear Spring, where a handful of downed trees have fallen across the trail at regular intervals for the last kilometer approaching the spring. The pool at Bear Spring spills-over, with a mat of lush green carpet cataracts, cascading downhill below. Several side tributaries are active as well...no bears sighted.

I decided to take the old mining trail cut-off on the route back down so as to mix-it up a bit. Steep!!! as the Topo would imply, but not as difficult as I had imagined from researching the map. Probably not as fun going up I thought... Returns you back to the mining area with slow-rusting truck remains & wench with cabling. A hand-crank engine with spark plugs intact is just what you'd expect at this elevation! The remainder of the hike was sustained bliss all the way down as the views are tremendous...

Note: GPS Route begins about 1/3 of a mile before the roundabout at Ida Canyon & Oversite Canyon Trailheads - Elevation correction has been applied to the AEG calculation

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Huachuca Agave Watercress

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bear Spring Ida Canyon Sutherland Peak

	Bear Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	The pool at Bear Spring spills-over, with a mat of lush green carpet cataracts, cascading downhill below. Several side tributaries are active as well...no bears sighted.

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The MaNtiS - Assume & be Damned!
http://www.mavm.com

Sep 17 2011

hikeaz

Guides 6
Photos 346
Triplogs 225

69 male

Joined May 13 2002
Tempe, AZ

Ramsey Canyon Loop

Tucson, AZ

Ramsey Canyon Loop

Tucson, AZ

Hiking		Sep 17 2011
		hikeaz • Triplogs 225

Hiking	10.40 Miles	2,830 AEG

Hiking	10.40 Miles	5 Hrs	2.84 mph
	2,830 ft AEG	1 Hour 20 Mns Break

no routes

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Miller Peak via Miller Canyon

Ida Canyon Trail #110

Ramsey Canyon Trail

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What a wonderful loop! Trail is in great condition and as of 9/17/11 the section of the Crest Trail used in this loop is garbage-free.
On some hikes I occasionally feel that I 'endure' some sections to get to the 'good parts'; not so with this loop - I enjoyed every step and every view.
Bear sighting near, you guessed it, Bear Saddle.

I would suggest using SR83 and SR82 through Sonoita for at least ONE of your routes; the scenery is awesome and you will lose little if any travel time vs. 90/I-10.

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
George Bernard Shaw

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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