Safford is situated about three hours east of Phoenix in Graham County. Email us! Contact Us Not much to write about the ascent since it just follows an obivous road the whole way to just below the summit. Editor's Note:10/4/19 Much of Mt. Open 7 days a week 6 AM to 11 PM. Shortly after checking in at the Quality Inn & Suites Safford , we went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant that has been serving the … By Jon Johnson. For the astronomers from University of Arizona the mountain was a prime location for their new observatory. Lemmon Road Conditions Managed by Pima County (520) 547-7510. Just below the summit, we had to leave the trail (which had ended) to get to the high point, just ahead. The road starts to get a bit less well-maintained and it helped the hike feel more of a hike than a road walk. Hiking info for Mount Graham, located in Coronado National Forest, Arizona. 4) SAFFORD, ARIZONA – Mount Graham. Graham – Arizona’s most challenging climb ride. Arizona 366 is a winding road, with sharp curves and no guardrails. The road to Mt. Mount Graham Safford/Mount Graham. Graham.A scenic road named the Swift Trail (Hwy 366) leads into these unique mountains and provides access to campgrounds, Forest trails, and fishing at Riggs … Swift Trail Scenic Drive starts in the desert valley and climbs With a gradient of 5.5 percent, you will start at 3,249 and peak out just over 9,000 feet in just over 20.1 miles. We have not been up there since, but will update this page when we do. TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon sued the U.S. Mt. June and July are the best months to enjoy this hike. The three great road-bike climbs in the Tucson area are Mount Graham, Mount Lemmon, and Kitt Peak. We parked at the head of a forest road, at an official trailhead for an unrelated trail. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel.The squirrel is found in the higher elevations of a southeastern Arizona mountain, where it has lived for thousands of years.The Center for Biological Diversity says that … Arizona 366 travels from US 191 west through the Coronado National Forest up to the top of Mt. Willcox is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. For more information on the Pinaleno Mountaions visit the Coronado National Forest site. Best Tucson Road Biking Climbs: Mount Graham is the most challenging hill climb in Arizona. Santa Cruz Farmers’ Market Has It Going On! The views got nicer, and my spirits rose for the hike. Find More Hikes in Tucson + Southeastern Arizona. View back Close-up back toward the road after a hairpin turn, 2/3 of the way up. The mountain reaches 10,724 feet (3,269 m) in height. Book Tucson Bike Rentals. Telephone from Safford Vicinity: (928) 428-2739 Telephone from Tucson: (520) 621-8650 Fax: (928) 428-2854 This is a 9.8 mile out-and-back hike with 1700 cumulative feet of elevation gain that takes about 3-5 hours to complete. Sierra Vista Ranger District 4070 South Avenida Saracino Hereford, AZ 85615 (520) 378-0311. Graham is an awesome alternative to Lemmon. Graham is the fourth highest mountain in Arizona after the San Francisco Peaks, Mt. Virtual workshop only - please join via Zoom Link, Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N Alvernon Way, Tucson, 85712, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, © 2010 - 2020 Southern Arizona Guide, LLC Design by Devil Dog Productions, LLC, Making Lemonade | The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Art in the Park – Exuberance: An Artistic Botanical Experience, First Sunday of the month Antique Vintage Fair, SculptureTucson & TBG to Unveil New Exhibit, International E- Conference on Nutrition and Food Science, Helping You Navigate Social Security Disability Benefits During COVID-19. However, for the San Carlos Apache tribal members Mount Graham… Mt. Here you will find some of the best campgrounds & picnic areas in all of Southern Arizona. The MGIO is a division of Steward Observatory, the research arm for the Astronomy Department at the University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ 85706 (520) 202-2700 Mt. Graham, with its multiple peaks, is a part of Pinaleño range. With a gradient of 5.5 percent, you will start at 3,249 and peak out just over 9,000 feet in just over 20.1 miles. Mount Graham (called in Nnee biyati' (Western Apache) Dził Nchaa Sí'an - ′Big Seated Mountain′) is a mountain in Graham County, Arizona, United States, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Tucson. Distance from Tucson, AZ Malmstrom A F B, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Manhattan, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Marion, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Martin City, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Martinsdale, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Marysville, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Mc Allister, MT Distance from Tucson, AZ Mc Leod, MT Distance from Tucson… Here too is the Mt. Additionally, the aforementioned crap trail eventually led to the road we were on anyway. Please enable JavaScript on your browser to best view this site. Quick Question? Graham is an awesome … Just below the high point, at the end of the road, a view looking east (Heliograph Peak visible far right). Tucson, AZ 85750 (520) 749-8700. Mt. Mount Graham 10,720 is located 13 miles southwest of Safford Arizona. The controversies surrounding Mount Graham in Arizona in the late 80’s to present day make us think about the “age-old” debate of religion v. science. Tucson Interagency Fire Center 2646 E. Commerce Center Pl. Fish and Wildlife Service today for failing to protect habitat essential to the survival and recovery of southeast Arizona’s highly endangered Mount Graham red squirrels.. Today’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson… My site is free to use, but consider sending me a few bucks to help keep it running. Graham red squirrel. For more things to do in Graham County, visit our Graham County page. Here too is the Mt. Mount Graham International Observatory 1480 W. Swift Trail Safford, AZ 85546. Mt. Graham is near Tucson, Arizona, in the Apache San Carlos reservation. JAVASCRIPT IS DISABLED. David Capo Though the fire was extinguished, work will continue to make sure the affected areas are stabilized. Climbing Mt. Another factor for your search, Mt Graham is 3.5 hours from Tucson, and I would never drive that mountain range after dark. There are three telescopes on mount graham, which is near Safford AZ, about one hundred and twenty miles north east of tucson. Above all, though, it is the single most sacred site of the Apache Nation. Dzil Nchaa Si An , otherwise known by the local natives as ‘Big Seated Mountain’ because of its distinctive profile, is an … Graham, a 10,000-foot peak in the Pinaleño Mountains, is home to a University of Arizona observatory, a telescope owned by the Vatican, an abandoned church camp, and 14 privately owned summer cabins — all of which threaten the Mt. The road was added to the state highway system in 1961-62. This page is about doing all three in a day, on May 24, 2014. Graham Regional Medical Center - The Eastern Arizona Hospital You Can Trust! 520-260-8293 . This is a 9.8 mile out-and-back hike with 1700 cumulative feet of elevation gain that takes about 3-5 hours to complete. The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity has sued the U.S. Located about 100 minutes from Tucson, Graham is the challenging hill climb in all of Arizona to most locals. At 3200 metres it is one of the highest peaks in Arizona. The Mount Graham subspecies was thought to have been extinct in the 1950s, but small numbers of squirrels were "rediscovered" in the 1970s. The road emerges from the trees after a boring forested road walk. To the southwest of Safford is 10,000 foot-high Mt. The road left the forest and the slopes of Mount Graham opened into wide meadows and expansive views of the surrounding Arizona desert below. Hiking info for Mount Graham, located in Coronado National Forest, Arizona. The only problem is that you can’t take any larger rigs up … Mount Graham rises 10,711 feet from a sparsely populated patch of the Arizona desert near Safford, about 115 miles east of Tucson. Call/TXT/Whatsapp Us at: 520-260-8293 . 191 a few miles south of Safford. We were surprised at how gorgeous the views were for the second half of the hike. It seems like many people take a bushwhacky trail to the west of our start point. For Great Picnic Ideas Click here. Mt. Graham (elevation 10, 720) and the alpine forest atop the Pinaleño Mountains, about a 3 hour drive east of Tucson. The Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG) operates the 1.8m Alice P. Lennon Telescope with its Thomas J. Bannan Astrophysics Facility, known together as the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), at the Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO) in southeastern Arizona where sky … Mt Lemmon is a little over an hour. This recreation area is the home of the Coronado's most extensive mountain range, the Pinaleños, and topped by the highest peak in southern Arizona, 10,720 foot Mt. Looking back as we continue to Mount Graham. For more ideas on what to do this Summer, see our Cool things to do in Summer page. Thanks in advance! The logging will assist in restoring habitat for the Mount Graham Red Squirrel along with fuels reduction as a precaution for future wildfires in … The neat thing about Mount Graham is that you can drive all the way to the top! The road leading to Mount Graham outlined on Google Maps is slightly misaligned, hence the orange line on my attached map being a tiny ibt off (I think this is true, since my GPS track lined up with the satelite imagery, just not the white line on terrain mode), but it's clear enough that the road leads easily to the summit. Riggs Flat Campground and Riggs Lake are both open for use on Mount Graham. Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope The Large Binocular Telescope [world's largest until a bigger one in chile is built; this one is truly … Fish and Wildlife Service, when the estimated population in 1986 was fewer than 400. Starting past the locked gate along the road that would serve as the Mount Graham route. A short, easy bushwhack leads to the true summit. An Interview with an Elder of the Tohono O’Odham Nation. Baldy, and Escudillo Peak, in that order. There are three very large telescopes, including the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope & the Large Binocular Telescope. The Mount Graham red squirrel population was cut from 252 to just 33 squirrels in the wild after the Frye Fire destroyed much of their habitat in 2017. The squirrel was added to the federal endangered species list in 1987 by the U.S. There's a nice picnic area about 8 miles up this road from Rt. Consider Mt. Looking for a cool summer getaway? 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