Southern Arizona Christmas trip
- Thread starter Wag
- Start date
Off-Road Ranger I
YES! I'm based out of Tucson, AZ and have some pretty decent knowledge of southern AZ and most of the borderlands.
Here's some of my past posts specifically about the southeastern borderlands:
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/road-trip-through-arizona.17417/#post-238058
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/arizona-border-road.12420/#post-197015
I'll also recommend the Chiricahua Mountains and the Pinaleño Mountains as must-visit locations - but be aware that the evening temps up in the mountains will be cold-cold this time of year (well, for us Arizonans at least).
I'll PM you a route and some camp spots for the Pinaleño mountains as some of the spots i'd rather not put fully out into the wild just yet.
as for the Chiricahua mountains, there's a bunch of really cool routes through there and fantastic dispersed camp spots to be found everywhere you look. Here's my Gaia folder where I toss most of my Chiricahua tracks and research, sorry it's kind of a mess. I have a tendency to got a little crazy with my research and waypoints sometimes.
https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/folder/145eb35f-917f-45b9-9363-a754bec7502c/?layer=usparcels,usfs-mvum,GaiaTopoRasterFeet
Some notes: there's kind of two main places to explore the Chiricahua Mountains, the north and the south. In between the north and south is the Chiricahua Wilderness Area, which is only open to foot traffic.
The south route is Tex Canyon, and from there you can branch off up to Rucker Canyon. There's also a great USFS campground called Rucker Forest Camp - it's at the very northern end of Rucker Canyon, will run you $10 a night (bring cash or check to leave in a dropbox) and has pit toilets. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recarea/?recid=25402 We don't typically stay in organized campsites, but this one is one of our favorite spots regardless. We've camped here maybe three or four times, and the most we've ever seen is one other vehicle camping up there.
All along Text canyon you'll find a network of USFS trails to break off and explore. On the south eastern entrance/exit to the Chiricahua Mountains you'll find yourself in a very interesting landscape littered with cinder cones and volcanic craters.
The north section of the Chiricahuas includes Chiricahua National Monument on the northwest side, and it's a must-stop, even if all you do is just a scenic drive down the road that bisects the park. There is fee camping inside the park, but we've never stayed there, so i'm not sure how much it costs or how fast it fills up. I suspect that this time of year you'll have no problem finding a spot if you decide you want to camp inside the park boundary. The main road that cuts east/west in the north side of the mountains is Pinery Canyon Road or Trans-Mountain Road depending on which end you start on. We generally know it as Pinery Canyon Trail.
Off of Pinery Canyon Trail you'll find a slew of other really cool trails to explore. There are little spur trails that head up to abandoned mines, like El Tigre Mine, and longer trails that go deeper into some of the steep walled canyons. We love Pine Canyon and Barfoot Park, both have great camping options like this spot next to a creek in Pine Canyon, and this spot in Barfoot Park away from the main campground and near the Barfoot Helispot (with great cell signal!) - a note about this Barfoot Park spot, you'll come across the Barfoot Park campground on the way, just keep going on past the organized campground, there may be some rough washouts that kind of act as a gatekeeper, make your way through these and you will come to a sharp right turn in about 1/4 mile or less, follow that trail and you'll be treated to some really great dispersed spots. This time of year, camping right on the helispot might also be a great option, as it will get the most direct sunlight to keep you warm during the day.
Some notes about the north end of the Chiricahua Mountains, there was an absolutely massive fire that devastated that whole area a few years back so you'll find that some of the routes i have marked in that folder no longer go all the way through. There's still a bunch to see and explore there, just be aware that trails that look like they connect on maps may no longer connect or even exists anymore. Pinery Canyon Trail definitely goes through and provides access to countless other exploration options.
If you have any questions or want more information about any specific area that I have or haven't mentioned, gimme a holler! These kinds of posts consume quite a bit of time to put together so I gotta limit myself or i'll sit here typing all day! hah. I'll send you a PM today with information about the Pinaleño Mountains
Here's some of my past posts specifically about the southeastern borderlands:
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/road-trip-through-arizona.17417/#post-238058
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/arizona-border-road.12420/#post-197015
I'll also recommend the Chiricahua Mountains and the Pinaleño Mountains as must-visit locations - but be aware that the evening temps up in the mountains will be cold-cold this time of year (well, for us Arizonans at least).
I'll PM you a route and some camp spots for the Pinaleño mountains as some of the spots i'd rather not put fully out into the wild just yet.
as for the Chiricahua mountains, there's a bunch of really cool routes through there and fantastic dispersed camp spots to be found everywhere you look. Here's my Gaia folder where I toss most of my Chiricahua tracks and research, sorry it's kind of a mess. I have a tendency to got a little crazy with my research and waypoints sometimes.
https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/folder/145eb35f-917f-45b9-9363-a754bec7502c/?layer=usparcels,usfs-mvum,GaiaTopoRasterFeet
Some notes: there's kind of two main places to explore the Chiricahua Mountains, the north and the south. In between the north and south is the Chiricahua Wilderness Area, which is only open to foot traffic.
The south route is Tex Canyon, and from there you can branch off up to Rucker Canyon. There's also a great USFS campground called Rucker Forest Camp - it's at the very northern end of Rucker Canyon, will run you $10 a night (bring cash or check to leave in a dropbox) and has pit toilets. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recarea/?recid=25402 We don't typically stay in organized campsites, but this one is one of our favorite spots regardless. We've camped here maybe three or four times, and the most we've ever seen is one other vehicle camping up there.
All along Text canyon you'll find a network of USFS trails to break off and explore. On the south eastern entrance/exit to the Chiricahua Mountains you'll find yourself in a very interesting landscape littered with cinder cones and volcanic craters.
The north section of the Chiricahuas includes Chiricahua National Monument on the northwest side, and it's a must-stop, even if all you do is just a scenic drive down the road that bisects the park. There is fee camping inside the park, but we've never stayed there, so i'm not sure how much it costs or how fast it fills up. I suspect that this time of year you'll have no problem finding a spot if you decide you want to camp inside the park boundary. The main road that cuts east/west in the north side of the mountains is Pinery Canyon Road or Trans-Mountain Road depending on which end you start on. We generally know it as Pinery Canyon Trail.
Off of Pinery Canyon Trail you'll find a slew of other really cool trails to explore. There are little spur trails that head up to abandoned mines, like El Tigre Mine, and longer trails that go deeper into some of the steep walled canyons. We love Pine Canyon and Barfoot Park, both have great camping options like this spot next to a creek in Pine Canyon, and this spot in Barfoot Park away from the main campground and near the Barfoot Helispot (with great cell signal!) - a note about this Barfoot Park spot, you'll come across the Barfoot Park campground on the way, just keep going on past the organized campground, there may be some rough washouts that kind of act as a gatekeeper, make your way through these and you will come to a sharp right turn in about 1/4 mile or less, follow that trail and you'll be treated to some really great dispersed spots. This time of year, camping right on the helispot might also be a great option, as it will get the most direct sunlight to keep you warm during the day.
Some notes about the north end of the Chiricahua Mountains, there was an absolutely massive fire that devastated that whole area a few years back so you'll find that some of the routes i have marked in that folder no longer go all the way through. There's still a bunch to see and explore there, just be aware that trails that look like they connect on maps may no longer connect or even exists anymore. Pinery Canyon Trail definitely goes through and provides access to countless other exploration options.
If you have any questions or want more information about any specific area that I have or haven't mentioned, gimme a holler! These kinds of posts consume quite a bit of time to put together so I gotta limit myself or i'll sit here typing all day! hah. I'll send you a PM today with information about the Pinaleño Mountains
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We did a trip along the entire southern border of AZ. Beautiful country. Especially crossing the San Rafael Ranch. You can read about it on our blog,
Amazing info thank you !! We are definitely thinking about the Chiricahua s. I'm still working on the route.
