Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Overview
This paved road is closed to vehicles (except for limited bicycle and shuttle traffic)
and provides walkers, joggers, parents with strollers, and folks in wheelchairs with a
gorgeous hiking experience—it's the best place in Tucson to get into the wilderness
with a wheelchair. The tour shuttle has a flat fee that allows all-day on-and-off priv-
ileges at any of its nine stops, and can be used to access the
Hutch's Pool Trail
or to
hike the
Phoneline Trail
in reverse.
Route Details
With its nine single-lane bridges crossing Sabino Creek, Sabino Canyon Road was
a civil construction project in the 1930s, and some of the blocky bridge architecture
echoes that era. Tucson families used to drive up here to take advantage of the cool
water holes until the road was closed in the 1970s. Today the road remains in great
condition (for the open-air shuttles) and accesses plenty of swimming holes and pic-
nic sites near the bridges and shuttle stops. The best time to go for a dip is spring and
fall—the creek dries up in summer (mid-May-August) and is icy-cold in winter.
Begin hiking on the road, heading straight (northeast) from the shuttle-ticket
booth. Just past the shade ramada behind the ticket booth on the right side of the road,
you'll see a foot trail that parallels the road for about 0.5 mile. Most people walk the
road, but you can take the parallel trail, just a stone's throw away. Even though you're
just a few steps from the parking lot and visitor center, keep your eyes open for wild-
life ranging from roadrunners to deer. A mountain lion was seen and photographed
