Green Mountain Trail Santa Catalina Mountains Tucson, Arizona Distance: 8.4 miles Type: asphalt & singletrack loop Time: 3-4 hours Season: Summer-Fall Elevation Range: 5900-7280 ft Permit Required: Catalina Mountains or Madera Canyon pass Quick Rating: Beat me up, Scotty! Trail Map (600 Kb PDF) About the map and trail profile Updated 1/9/06

Description

This is a great trail to try when you start feeling you can ride anything. The singletrack section is some of the most beautiful and treacherous Mount Lemmon has to offer. It's not so much a trail you ride as one you survive. In the years since this page was first posted, much has changed: fires have come and gone, Catalina Highway construction has made the road safer and added a new trailhead, and trail work has added hiker-friendly 'steps' to the trail in Bear Canyon.

Rating

This is one of the most challenging trails we've found in the Catalinas. You'll need lots of lung, skill, and nerve. Knee, shin, and elbow padding is also highly recommended.

How to get there

If you don't have a Forest Service pass, pick one up at the gas station on the south side of Tanque Verde Road just before the Catalina Highway intersection ($20 year pass, $5 day pass). If you forget, the pass station above the Molino overlook may be open. You can pick up day passes ($5) from a self service station at Molino Basin.

Take the Catalina Highway to the Bear Canyon picnic area (mile marker 11.5) and park. Ride the highway up to the Green Mountain trailhead. If you pass San Pedro Vista you've gone too far. There are no facilities (including trash) at this trailhead.

Trail Log

0.0	Start from Bear Canyon picnic area. Expect at least 45 minutes of road time from here to the Green Mountain trailhead.
2.2	Pass Windy Point Vista. Watch for pedestrians in the crosswalk and out.
5.5	Green Mountain trailhead on right. Trail heads up through the pines near the information sign.
5.6	Saddle. An unmarked trail goes right to Green Mountain. Don't take it.
5.7	Approach a rocky knob. An unmarked trail joins from the left. Turn right.
5.8	Marked trail splits left, Brush Corral Trail #19. Stay right.
6.4	Marked trail left to Brush Corral Shortcut. Stay right.
6.6	Marked trail left to Maverick Spring. Follow the trail straight to Hitchcock.
6.7	Marked trail left to Guthrie Mountain. Stay right. From here on it's all downhill.
8.4	If you survived you're back at the picnic area, hopefully the same one you started in.

Notes

Start early to avoid traffic on the Catalina Highway. Improvements have made the road wider but only slightly safer for bicyclists. A better road means faster drivers.

Drop your seat post half and inch to an inch for the Green Mountain trail downhill. We've found that it improves bike handling and lets you sit back further on the bike in steep sections.

Watch out for hikers and yield the trail, smile, and wave. In most cases they will encourage you to pass, possibly thinking that anyone crazy enough to try and ride this trail needs all the help they can get. The popular hiking section is the last 2.7 miles of trail between the Guthrie Mountain fork and the picnic area.

Watch weather conditions. After a heavy rain the trail gets soft and seemingly dry roots and rocks will slide you down the hill before you know it.