A preliminary plan aims to reshape and modestly grow the 250-mile trail system in the rugged Santa Catalinas north of Tucson.
The plan would shape future hiking, biking and climbing in the area.
It was developed by staff from the Santa Catalina Ranger District, which administers the Catalinas, along with recreation staff on the SCRDβs parent Coronado National Forest. The plan is based on 861 public comments and 2,377 reactions captured during a comment period from December 2021 to January 2022 and follow-up meetings with 73 trail user, partner and management organizations. Commenters made specific trail suggestions on an interactive βstory map.β
Nothing in the plan is a done deal β itβs a conceptual document that sets priorities for improving trails, connections, trailheads, and parking areas; adopting a few βunauthorizedβ trails and even closing some lesser-used, remote and/or impossible to restore trails. It proposes an exciting new scenic trail and new provision for mountain bikers, climbers and users with limited mobility.
This is the first comprehensive planning process for Catalina trails. It began in June 2021, prompted by the Bighorn Fire of 2020 that damaged 50% of trails. After the fire burned almost 120,000 acres, the Forest Service closed almost 207 miles of trails in the burn scar.
Most trails have been reopened, but some heavily burned segments are damaged beyond repair. The draft plan seeks to create a sustainable trail system with improved management of popular areas.
Any new projects approved in a final plan would be formally assessed for environmental benefits/concerns under National Environmental Planning Act requirements.
People can comment on the Forest Service plan, available at bit.ly/3sPYKmR until Dec. 2. Written comments can be submitted by email to sm.fs.scrd@usda.gov.
A virtual public meeting will be held 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, via Microsoft Teams at bit.ly/3fr9gy8.
For those who prefer people and paper maps to the internet, the Forest Service will host a public meeting from 5:15 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center ballroom, 3800 E. River Road. Child care is available for children up to 12 years.
Photos: Exploring Peppersauce Cave near Oracle in 1948
A couple explores a chamber inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
Ann Snow, of Lennox, Mass., explores a narrow fissure while studying stalactite formations inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
A group explores a chamber inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
University of Arizona student John Ellinwood explores a chamber inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
A woman examines stalactites in Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. It appears some have already been broken. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
University of Arizona student John Ellinwood and Ann Snow, of Lennox, Mass., negotiate a ladder on a slippery, clay-covered ledge that drops sharply to an underground pool inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
A couple takes a break as they explore Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
William H Woodin, III, right, pauses in a chamber with Ann Snow and Coburn Haskell inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
A group of explorers pause in a chamber in Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
Once outside, William H Woodin III, Coburn Haskell and John Ellinwood examine some ancient sea fossils found in the limestone inside Peppersauce Cave in January, 1948. Located off the Mt Lemmon Control Road, the cave, between eight and 10 miles outside Oracle, Ariz., is limestone and is in the Santa Catalina Mountains. According to Wikipedia, the cave was made known to the local public in February 1948 by an article in Desert Magazine. However, it was already a well-explored cave when it was mentioned in an Arizona Daily Star story in January 1948. It is open to the public, has no guided tours and for the most part is relatively humid. It has a big room, a slide, a rabbit hole and a signing room.
Outdoor enthusiast and former Arizona Daily Star reporter Doug Kreutz celebrated the early fall colors in the Catalinas in 2016. Video by Doug Kreutz.
