The Box Camp Trail, which begins at a well-marked trailhead between mile markers 21 and 22 on the Catalina Highway northeast of Tucson, extends for 7.1 miles, mostly downhill, to Sabino Basin. From there, it’s another 2.5 miles to the upper end of the road in Sabino Canyon.
At this time of year, the most pleasant hiking begins at the upper end of the route at a relatively cool altitude of 8,050 feet. Some of the most scenic terrain is in the first two miles — a high-country world of evergreen forests, vast expanses of ferns, countless clumps of wildflowers and a small stream that creates pools along its winding way.
Hikers also pass areas that were severely burned in a forest fire. It’s an opportunity to observe how a forest comes back after fire, with wildflowers, ferns, vibrant young pine trees and shrubs leading the way.
Hikers who plan to continue down the trail as it descends will encounter zones of oak and piñon pine trees and, much lower, desert vegetation. If you venture into those zones, be sure to have plenty of water, sun protection and energy food because the return, mostly uphill, hike can be demanding. The trail’s “Box Camp” name is said to be a reference to early trail users who nailed boxes to trees to store their camping food out of animals’ reach.
