Catalina State Park covers 5500 acres at the base on the Catalina mountain range near Tucson. The trail system explores foothills, canyons, and streams (with seasonal water crossings) amid desert flora and fauna. Visitors can hike, bike, ride horses, and go birding. Or run on all of the trails in one day.
Trail map:
https://azstateparks.com/catalina/explore/maps
This FKT includes all of the following named trails on the park map:
50 year (to the park boundary)
Birding
Bridle
Canyon Loop Connector
Link to 50 Year
Nature
Romero Canyon (to the park boundary)
Sutherland (to the park boundary)
Romero Ruin Interpretive trail is not included in the above list. I believe we should leave it off in order to be respectful to the cultural site.
Note that there are other trails in the park, but they are not on the official map and not included in the FKT. The mapped route is a suggestion for linking up the trails listed above. They can be done in any direction/any order.
Logistical details:
Day use = 5 am to 10 pm daily
Park entry required
Water fountain at the main trailhead parking
Comments
I ran the trails this morning and can confirm that the gpx track for the route is good. Some additional notes:
* Be aware that the park boundary (turn-around) for the Romero Canyon trail is higher up than you might expect. It's not the first "No dogs" sign but further up the rocky trail at the Pusch Ridge Wilderness sign.
* The Link trail has a parallel doubletrack (rocky road) and singletrack (unknown condition). Either one is fine to take, and hopefully someone can report back on how the singletrack looks.
* Route finding in the north end of the park is not obvious. From the first time you leave Catalina State Park until you return to the park for the final time, there are confusing areas and lack of good signage. I'd suggest scouting it or having a way to follow along on a map.
* Canada del Oro Ridge Trail and Alamo Canyon Loop are listed on the website and signed on the ground, but they are not on the park map. Perhaps a variant could be created that includes these 2, if anyone is interested.
I reran this route today in 3:29:11 (submitted). I tested out the Link trail (parallel to the Link doubletrack road) and I like it better. The road is full of rocks and rather frustrating. The trail still has rocks but many fewer of them. It's not a fast trail, just more enjoyable in my estimation.