Sabino Canyon

The earliest sign of man in Sabino Canyon, just northeast of Tucson, appears to have been 12,500 years ago. The occupation was mostly nomadic and the Hohokam villages found today were below-- most likely because the canyon is prone to fierce floods which even today wipe out whatever man has built.

In 1887, a big earthquake in Mexico tumbled rocks in the canyon. You can still see the results; and when I hike there, I always think of what it must have been like to have been up there when it happened. The people living in Tucson said they saw the clouds of dust rise high over the canyon.

During the Great Depression, stone bridges were built to cross the creek nine places. They were structured to allow the water to cascade over them when the creek is high (photo is that happening).

Before I found Catalina State Park, Sabino was my favorite hiking place. I first was there in 1965 when you could still drive the canyon road to the end-- 3.8 miles. It was narrow, with pull- outs for parking and climbing down to the water to picnic and wade-- a few pools deep enough for children to swim.

As Tucson grew, the number of people wanting to use Sabino grew; and in 1978, the road was closed to motorized vehicles. except for paying a fee to ride noisy, smelly trams (does that sound bitter?), biking and hiking.

The park has been closed now and then due to storms. The most recent was in July of '06 where for 6 days and nights, the skies poured forth 10" of rain, resulting in flash floods that wiped out the bridge over Rattlesnake Creek, a usually dry tributary to Sabino, and destroying parts of the road up the canyon. The trams still cannot go to the top, but evidently they plan to have it rebuilt by next fall and tourist season. They will never rebuild the outhouse building at the top as part of that heavy rain launched a landslide of gigantic rocks burying it.

Sabino now charges an admittance fee which can be paid once a year for unlimited use, or daily for tourists. In my case, as soon as I turned 62, I bought my Golden Age Passport for $10. With it, for the rest of my life, I will gain admittance to all national parks-- camping extra. We had always bought the Golden Eagle anyway as we feel to support these parks is well worth doing. I just hope they all stay open for future generations to reap the same benefits we have.

To walk into Sabino Canyon you leave the visitor center and head up the old road. There always seems to be a lot of people ahead and behind. Yet somehow once you get into the canyon, they spread out and you begin to have a solitary experience-- mostly.

After about half a mile, you reach the first overlook of the canyon, can look up at the high walls and in the distance see Tucson. From that point is where the real enjoyment of Sabino begins. At places you are above the creek and others you are right down alongside-- and in the case of this trip-- in it as the rains had water flowing over many of the stone bridges. The mileage is marked and I usually settle for walking two miles up, stopping many times along the way to wade in the creek, look for flowers, birds, and the illusive perfect photograph that will capture the feeling of this place.

I usually see cardinals but this last time I was disappointed that while I could hear their song, I didn't see any. I assumed too many people in the area; then got back to the visitor center and there was this beauty with his mate. So much for the too many people theory.

My first time at Sabino was with our friends, Parapluie and her husband. A few years later we brought our small children to Arizona and Sabino Canyon, a trip repeated many times until they formed families of their own. I still hope someday to get them back there with our grandchildren to share this special place with another generation.

For me, there are many good memories in Sabino Canyon. Every time I am there, I see young families beginning what I have now finished. Sometimes I come with someone, sometimes alone, but always I feel the magic of the canyon for whatever time I spend within its walls.