The Green Mountain Trail is a seven-mile path that crosses through the Santa Catalina Mountains. Located roughly 35 miles to the northeast of Tucson, this trail is one of the most heavily accessed hikes found along the range. Many visitors stop at the two trailheads, located at the San Pedro Vista and General Hitchcock Campground, as pitstops on the way up to Mt. Lemmon and Summerhaven. Both locations serve as entry points and are easily reachable by car, as there are parking lots located near both entrances.
The directions to get to the beginning of the Green Mountain Trail are pretty straight-forward. If you're coming from Downtown Tucson, your drive consists of going east on Speedway Blvd. for a few miles until taking a left on Tanque Verde Rd. From there, you head up until making another left turn on the Catalina Highway. From there, it's a beeline on the Mt. Lemmon Highway for almost 22 miles until you reach the San Pedro Vista, which serves as the upper trailhead of the Green Mountain Trail.
Visitors leaving the parking lot will be greeted with a dense patch of forest filled with pine trees and pine cones. The surface at the beginning of the Green Mountain Trail is very uneven, as getting uphill is quite steep. Once getting over the tough patch, however, one will see the eastward-looking views of the valley down below and the ranges following behind it.
The valley to the east of the Green Mountain Trail is mainly inhabited. However, the tiny towns of Redington and Cascabel are visible from the lookout point. At a certain point in the trail, there are northward views of the surrounding area as well. The town of San Manuel, located about 15 miles to the north of the Santa Catalinas, is easily visible during the day. At night, visitors may see the lights of the town, as well as the light pollution from Phoenix reflecting in the sky.
As the trail winds on, hikers will see a wide variety of forest creatures. Mammals such as white-tailed deer, mountain lions, and black bears, call the Santa Catalinas home and are often spotted away from the vehicle traffic of the Mt. Lemmon Highway. Other animals like the Arizona Woodpecker, the Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, and Canyon Treefrog, are also others that live in the surrounding mountain habitat.
The trail eventually gets to the top of Green Mountain, which is one of the several peaks found in the Santa Catalinas. The path continues through a lush forest filled with Ponderosa Pines and Douglas Firs. The landscape of the surrounding fauna slowly starts to change as the trail slopes downwards to lower elevations. Hikers will suddenly see that Oaks and Yuccas replace the mountainous shrubs, but the views remain just as fantastic.
Around the halfway point, the pathway meets a formation known as Bear Saddle, which is the trailhead of Bear Canyon. Stunning views of the north and east are visible at this lookout point and is away from most of the pedestrian and vehicle action. The Green Mountain Trail begins to descend downwards along Bear Canyon until reaching the lower trailhead that is General Hitchcock Campground. Once there, hikers will see picnic tables and a parking lot that marks the other entry to the trail.
The best times to visit this trail are from March to October, as the summertime heat may not be as ideal for backpacking and hiking. Even though it may be hot at times during the summer, the Santa Catalina Mountains often serve as an escape point for local Tucsonians to leave the 100+ dry heat and head up to be greeted with temperatures sometimes over 30 degrees cooler than at the base. Between December and February, portions of the Green Mountain Trail may be covered with inches and sometimes feet of snow, as winter storms associated with atmospheric rivers from the Pacific Ocean dump significant amounts of precipitation in the mountains and valleys. The Mt. Lemmon Highway sometimes closes to visitors when there is a large presence of ice and snow and is only accessible to certain vehicles and the residents of Summerhaven, the town located near the highest point of the Santa Catalinas.
For novice hikers and adventurers, this trail isn't too much of a stealthy trek. However, it is enjoyable for people of all ages and experiences and is definitely a must-visit for people trying to escape the scorching hotbed of Tucson summers, as well as for those wanting to get a taste of wintertime. The views that the Green Mountain Trail offers are unbeatable, and off the beaten path to most visitors going up to Mt. Lemmon.
