Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Overview
This trail affords excellent views of Tucson and its surrounding mountains from dif-
ferent angles—bring a city map and binoculars to pick out the streets and landmarks.
and Pontatoc Canyon in the front ranges of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The hike
ends at an old mine that gives the trail its name.
Route Details
The trailhead, at the north end of Alvernon Way, about 100 yards from the parking
lot, is shared with the
Finger Rock Trail
and features informative notices about the
bighorn mountain sheep that roam the area. Two very short, fairly steep switchbacks
bring you to the signed trail fork where Finger Rock Trail #42 heads north and Pont-
atoc Trail #410 heads east (right).
Pick your way down a little drop-off where the trail isn't quite obvious: Look for
it below you as it goes east, past a row of several upscale residences to the right of
the trail. Within a few minutes the trail veers northeast, away from those nice-look-
ing homes and into even-nicer-looking wilderness scenery, dominated by Finger Rock
views to the north and Pontatoc Ridge, a roughly triangular, blocky-looking outcrop,
to the east. Near the top of the ridge, you can see black caves that are the entrances to
old mines.
About 0.6 mile from the trailhead, you'll cross a wash (dry almost always) and
start climbing along the right side of the wash until you reach a signed fork 0.75 mile
