Hikers: Commercial horseback rides are damaging popular Oro Valley trail

Hikers are fighting to put an end to commercial horseback rides that they say are damaging and defiling the popular Linda Vista Trail in Oro Valley.

Hiker Donald Harner said he has collected about 145 petition signatures from others who want the trail rides — from the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort — to no longer be allowed on the Coronado National Forest trail.

The petitions will be presented to the forest’s Santa Catalina district ranger, Ken Born, before the use permit for the commercial rides comes up for review next month, Harner said. Coronado Forest officials say they plan “to do an evaluation to see what the trail looks like” before making a decision on the permit.

Ghee Alexander, general manager of El Conquistador, at 10000 N. Oracle Road, said, “We want to make sure that the guests who come here are able to experience a great Southwestern ride. But we don’t want to cause any degradation of the land.

“We really want to maintain it and make sure it’s a great experience for everybody,” Alexander said. “If (the use permit) goes away, it will definitely have an economic impact on us and the area.”

HIKERS’ COMPLAINTS

“The Linda Vista Trail is a place for an enjoyable hike in a beautiful setting, but the horses have really worsened the condition of the trail,” said Don Ystad, a winter resident of Oro Valley who hikes the route frequently.

“I counted 114 piles of horse droppings on a recent 1.8-mile hike,” Ystad said. “Another problem is how the trail is being destroyed. A lot of the footholds established for safe climbing have been destroyed. It’s become a loose, almost gravelly surface.”

He called on the Coronado Forest to “do the right thing and don’t renew the use permit.”

Harner said he began collecting petition signatures after determining that the trail “is not appropriate for commercial equestrian use.”

“Horses unquestionably are degrading the trail,” Harner said. “Another complaint I hear is that if you come up behind a string of horses, you can’t go around and have to wait until the horses start moving. And if you meet horses coming in the opposite direction, you have to step off the trail.”

Gail Light, who walks from her nearby home to the trailhead on Linda Vista Boulevard about two blocks east of Oracle Road, said that “overuse by horses is the issue. It’s breaking down the trail.”

“I think the permit should be denied,” Light said. “But if they choose to renew it, there would need to be stipulations — how many horses are allowed and how many times a day.”

THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE

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Alexander, the Conquistador general manager, said the trail rides began about six months ago and are operated by guides from Pot A Gold Stables.

Prices for guided rides start at $60 for one hour, with higher rates for longer rides. The number of guided rides and horses on the trail varies from day to day depending on customer demand.

“What we are trying to do is to show the people who come to Tucson and stay with us what the true Western experience is like,” Alexander said. “To me, nothing does that like an equestrian ride.”

He said the guides leading the rides “want to make sure (the trail) looks good for anybody who visits the area. From a cleanup standpoint, they do quite a lot of cleanup.”

Alexander said he was “saddened” to hear of hikers’ complaints about the state of the trail and that “it’s important to us” that they be resolved.

Heidi Schewel, spokeswoman for the Coronado Forest, said an evaluation of the condition of the trail will be completed before a decision is made on renewal of the use permit in May.

“Horseback riding is an acceptable activity on national forest land,” Schewel said. “This is outfitter guiding, and it’s permitted on the national forest. … A lot of uses of forest land are harmonious, but sometimes they are in conflict.”

No other commercial company currently has a permit for horseback tours in the Catalina Mountains, but some have held permits in the past, Schewel said.

She said the Conquistador permit allows for a maximum group size of 15 riders, including one guide per six riders. Rides can be conducted any day of the week.

The permittee’s responsibilities include “hiring a trail crew for post-permit mitigation and ongoing maintenance to our trail standards throughout the term of the permit,” Schewel said.

She couldn’t immediately provide the amount of revenue generated for the forest by the permit.

“For revenues, 3 percent of outfitter guide permit gross revenue comes to the U.S. Forest Service, with 95 percent of that going to the forest where the activity occurs, in this case, the Coronado,” she said.

Part of the concern of the people who have signed a petition opposing the horseback tours is that the Linda Vista Trail is very near the metro area and therefore gets lots use by hikers, trail runners, photographers and even plein air painters. Does the almost urban nature of the trail make a difference?

“That is being considered as we evaluate the situation,” Schewel said. “At this point, there is no indication whether the permit renewal will be issued or denied.”