Part 7 - Sabino Canyon.

Part 7 - Sabino Canyon. 

We had heard great things about this place, and even watched a few Youtube videos about different hikes here. So, while still staying on the West side of town, we took the 50 minute drive to the Sabino Canyon recreation area. 

Our first hike was on the Nature Trail Loop near the Visitors Center. The trail was basically a loop through the flat desert lowlands with beautiful views of the Catalina Mountains. Markers along the trail acted as name tags for the different flora of the Sonoran Desert. 

The most rare of Saguaro Cacti can be seen here, it is a Crested Saguaro, and only 25 exist within the boundaries of the Saguaro National Park. 

Here is our picture of the Crested Saguaro at Sabino Canyon.

One of the most unique features about this area are the Trams that operate in both Sabino Canyon and neighboring Bear Canyon.  The Sabino Canyon Tram is a 3.8 mile narrated tour which allows visitors to get off the tram at any of the 9 drop off points and re-board for a ride back to the Visitors Center. The Bear Canyon Tram is a 2 mile ride that provides access to the trail head for Seven Falls.

Below is a picture from an overlook on the Sabino Canyon Trail. The road for the tram can be seen near the center of the picture and the small trail on the top left is the Phoneline trail.

The Bear Canyon tram is a great way to shave a couple of miles off of the hike back to Seven Falls. It is always a good thing to see water in the desert, and this trail follows a fairly active creek that leads you back to its source at the falls.

There are several creek crossings on the Bear Canyon Trail, and fording the creek and moving upstream takes you further into the canyons steep walled depths.

The trail keeps climbing, and eventually rises far above the creek, not descending until you reach the first of the 7 falls. If you look closely at this picture you can see people standing around the several pools formed by the falls.

We were surprised to find these lovebirds when we got to the largest pool at Seven Falls.

If you are in the Tucson area to do some hiking, you will regret not taking some time to explore the trails in Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.

If you want to read more about our adventures in Tucson, you can catch up on the previous entry here:

Part 6 - West Side

Here is the link to our next article.

Part 8 - Cactus Country RV Park Review.