Many people who visit Tucson, Arizona may be surprised to find out that with a relatively short drive, you can head up into some thick conifer forests that resemble nothing of a desert. There are multiple opportunities to do this but one of the places you can venture up to is the Santa Catalina Mountains which is home to Mount Lemmon.
Up there, you can choose from a lot of trails but one of my favorite trails that we have done so far is the Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail. It’s truly a beautiful trail and also well-suited for hikers of all difficulty levels. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the hike.
Coronado National Forest
The Coronado National Forest is made up of several districts but the district with Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail is the Santa Catalina Ranger District which comprises the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincon mountains which are also part of Saguaro National Park East.
Included in the Santa Catalina Ranger District is the highest peak of the Santa Catalinas, Mount Lemmon along with the rugged Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area, and Sabino Canyon.
Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail Overview
The Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail is an easy to moderate loop hike approximately 4.2 miles long and with a gradual elevation gain of 840 feet. This is a fantastic trail for anybody looking to escape the desert heat and stroll through thick forest with pine trees, douglas-firs, and trails adorned with ferns. It also offers great encounters with aspen trees and some beautiful views of the city of Tucson and surrounding mountains.
- Distance: 4.2 miles
- Elevation Gain: 840 feet
- Route Type: Loop
- Pets: Yes
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Getting to the trailhead
The Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail head is located high up on Mount Lemmon not too far from its Summit. If you are driving from Tucson, it will take approximately one hour and 20 minutes to reach the trailhead after you wind your way up to Mount Lemmon, along its extremely scenic roadway.
It’s a fun drive and very interesting to watch the vegetation change as you climb thousands of feet higher than the city of Tucson. Be sure to make time to visit a few of the overlooks because they offer some pretty spectacular views.
The trailhead is located at a dead end on North Sabino Canyon Park and you will see signs for the trail as you approach.
Before you reach the trailhead, you will pass through the Summerhaven area with a couple of restaurants and a general store so if you want to refuel with some snacks these places are a good place to stop.
If you are a fudge person, the Mt Lemmon General Store & Gift Shop is where you want to stop.
There are a few different parking lots that you can use when you arrive. Some of them are not directly adjacent to the trailhead but you can easily walk along the creek (Sabino Creek) and cross the bridge to where the trail heads are located.
If you can’t find a parking space, you can park along the side of the parking lot. Just make sure you are not blocking anybody in and pay attention to the no parking signs in some areas.
The no parking signs specify that you cannot park on the pavement which makes me think that you could in theory park on the side of the road as long as your car is small enough to fit.
The parking lot was full on a Monday morning which makes me think that this trail is very popular so I would advise to get here early to secure a parking spot. Plus, there is a nice picnic area nearby which I think attracts even more people.
There is a fee that you will need to pay here but we use our annual national park pass to get in to the national forests for free. Otherwise, be prepared to pay $8 for a day pass.
You can choose to do the Aspen Trail first or the Marshall Gulch Trail first.
For this hike, we started on the Marshall Gulch Trail but I may have preferred to do the Aspen Trail first since I like the idea of finishing up while hiking along side a soothing babbling brook.
While this is a loop trail, there are two separate trailheads for the Aspen Trail and the Marshall Gulch, though they are very close (~40 feet) to each other.
Trail conditions
The Aspen Trail and Marshall Gulch Loop Trail is in good condition. There are a few segments where it is a little bit rocky and you may have to deal with some large steps on the Aspen Trail but overall it’s a pretty easy trail to traverse.
There were some complaints online about fallen trees over the trail but we did not encounter those issues. The trail is also very easy to follow although we did witness one family wander way off trail at one point.
Route description
The trail begins with a gradual incline and you will immediately find yourself in a cool, thick forest of pine and douglas-fir and white-fir trees.
Between all of the western brackenferns lining the trail at times and the dense conifer trees, it’s a very lush and shady trail experience that you will be grateful for/blown away by if you are accustomed to the hot desert terrain below.
The great thing about a trail like this is that you can hike it in the middle of the day during the summer and heat is not an issue.
We encountered wildflowers along the way including these beautiful arroyo lupines.
While there is a steady incline it is pretty mild and at times it often flattens out making this more of an easy than moderate hike if you ask me.
But you are hiking around an elevation of 8,000 feet so the altitude can make things a little bit more challenging than they otherwise would be. (At 8,000 feet, there is approximately 29% less “effective oxygen.”)
Initially, you will be hiking on the ridge of the gulch above the brook but you will soon make your way down to it while still hiking uphill.
There will be a couple of times when you need to cross the brook but you should not have an issue finding a couple of stones to step on to make your way across.
Pro tip: use the sturdy stones to cross the brook and not the wobbly logs.
I really enjoyed the sights and sounds of the brook and like I mentioned above, I would have preferred to finish up the hike heading this way. It’s just an incredibly scenic and peaceful stretch of the route.
Eventually, you will say goodbye to the brook as you continue to climb in elevation.
The hike will eventually open up to some more open scenery where there are quite a few burned trees to the north.
At this point, do you lose a lot of shade but because you are at such a high elevation of approximately 8,000 feet, it’s still very comfortable hiking experience even when the temperatures back down are high.
Keep making progress on your hike and you will continue to come across some very beautiful conifer trees.
It’s very interesting to see the young groves of pine trees up on the mountain. There are a handful of these groves that you will encounter on this hike and on a few cases you will be walking on a path directly through them.
At about 1.5 miles into the hike and after a nice little stretch of inclined hiking, you will come to the main trail junction with a few other trails including the Wilderness of Rocks Trail and Mint Spring Trail. If you are doing this loop, you will need to head south (left) on the Aspen Trail.
As you head away from the trail junction, you’ll come across a few areas with large rock outcroppings that are a cool place to sit and relax and perhaps enjoy a hiking snack or drink. You can also enjoy a nice little view from the top of the rocks.
The next stretch of the hike is where you will be able to enjoy some great views. You won’t have sweeping views the entire stretch of this segment but there will be a couple of times when the views open up looking south and include some fantastic views of the lower mountain ridges.
After getting your first taste of views, you will make your way through another thick grove of juvenile pine trees. As the views open up once again, you’ll have an awesome view of Mount Wrightson — the highest peak in the nearby Tucson area.
And eventually, the city of Tucson also sits directly beneath you.
At about 2.8 miles into the hike you have reached the last apex and enjoy your last sweeping views looking out from the mountain as it’s time to begin your descent.
The descent is a little steep at times and so it could be a little rough on your knees but it’s definitely not an overly strenuous or overly steep path back down the whole way. Trekking poles could be helpful but are not necessary in my opinion.
As you make your way back down, enjoy all of the pines and douglas-fir trees that you will pass through.
You will pass through some dense vegetation, especially at the 3.3 mile marker.
After making a considerable drop in elevation you will finally encounter the aspen grove which I thought was one of the highlights of the hike. I could only imagine what it would be like hiking this portion of the trail during the fall when the color change hits.
It’s a relatively thick grove that you will be passing through although it’s pretty a short stretch of the trail. Enjoy it while you can.
Right after we made our way past the aspen trees, I spotted a horned lizard — the first I’ve ever seen in the wild!
Shortly after that, we arrived at the end of the trail and simply made our way back to the parking lot.
Final word
If you were looking for that true forest experience in the mountains, this is a great way to get a good dose of that. Some have this hike ranked as a moderate hike but I think it is closer to easy and could be a great trail for the family and for your pet.