Mount Lemmon is one of the top attractions in the Tucson area. It’s a beautiful destination with stunning views and pine forests galore at higher elevations but even the lower elevations have a lot to offer.
The Babat Duag Trail is one of the best trails in the lower elevations of Mount Lemmon offering sweeping views of the area along with encounters with lots of saguaros.
Babat Duag Trail Overview
The Babat Duag Trail is it perfect role for someone looking for a decent work out, great views, and a memorable experience with saguaros. There are a number of areas along the trail perfect for relaxing and picnics, making this a pretty family-friendly trail, although it is a bit rocky.
- Distance: 4.4 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,298 feet
- Route Type: Out and back
- Pets: Yes
- Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
- Time needed: 2 to 2.5 hours
Getting to the trailhead
The Babat Duag Trailhead is located near the base of Mount Lemmon. Head up the Mount Lemmon Highway and a little bit past the Soldier’s Trail, you will see the parking lot for the “Babad Do’ag Scenic Overlook” oon the right.
That is where you will need to park for the hike.
Because this trailhead and overlook parking lot is at a lower elevation and so accessible, it can get crowded on weekends. So if you were planning on doing this hike on the weekend, be sure to get there a little early.
You will then have to cross the highway about 100 feet up the road to get to the trailhead.
Be extremely careful because this is a windy part of the highway and it is difficult to see cars coming from either way.
As you walk on the side of the road, preferably on the left side, you will see the trailhead sign.
Trail conditions
The trail was in great condition overall.
During certain portions, especially in the beginning, you will be hiking over slick rock but eventually the trail becomes more defined.
Some sections of the hike have a lot of loose rocks, so be ready to deal with that.
Overall though I did not think the terrain was that difficult to navigate so it is not a major issue.
Route description
The trail begins with ascending slabs of slick rock. During this portion of the hike, you’ll get up and close to a lot of saguaros so it’s a great hike for people new to the area.
Due to the elevation, you have some great views from the very beginning of the hike.
The 1st mile of the hike is a pretty steady increase in elevation.
You’ll be gaining close to 600 feet in 1 mile which is a pretty decent incline. Since the trail is a bit rocky during this portion, I would say the 1st mile is where the “moderate” difficulty ranking comes into play.
Also, there is virtually no shade on this trail so if you are doing this during a hot time of the year when the sun is out, be prepared with a lot of water because you will need it.
It seemed quite a few people stopped at the 1 mile marker and then turned around. There’s actually a pretty awesome viewpoint around that time so if you wanted to just relax and maybe picnic that would be a great spot.
I would advise you to keep going though because the views get even better and the elevation gain is pretty mild from that point forward.
Once you get to about 1.5 miles in, you’ll soon encounter an interesting rock formation. You can scramble up to the top of this rock formation pretty easily as we saw small kids even making it to the top.
As you pass up the rock formation, you’ll start to notice the vegetation starting to shift.
This is an interesting hike because it takes you through the transition zone where saguaro cactuses get replaced by other forms of education like oak. You’ll also encounter other high desert plants like agave and sotol.
As you continue along, you’ll start to see some amazing views of the neighboring peaks.
You’ll then make your way up to the saddle where you will have terrific views on either side of you.
You’ll see the Mount Lemmon Highway running beneath you and might hear some faint sounds of vehicles off in the distance. (You are still far away enough from the traffic to preserve your nature experience which is nice.)
The wind picked up big time when we got up on the ridge so if you are visiting during a cool time of year you might want something to help you break up the wind.
As you head along the ridge, you will eventually see the end of the hike which has a small sign post telling you that you have arrived.
Just before you get to the sign post there is a steep little drop-down portion of the trail that has a lot of loose dirt and some rocks. We almost slipped and the hikers behind us almost had a fall as well so watch out for this area.
It looks like there was a trail that continued beyond the termination sign but I was not sure where it went and we did not explore it that day.
You’ll exit the same way that you came as this is an out and back hike. The hike back will give you some alternate views of the surrounding landscape which is truly impressive.
Overall, this was a great hike.
I like trying out new gear on moderate hikes and on this hike I tried out some new Darn Tough hiking socks which I thought worked great. I also paired them with some new Fox River liner socks.
I also tried out the new Cotton Carrier CCS G3 vest.
This vest allows you to avoid carrying your camera with your hands or leaving it hanging from your neck. I thought that it worked pretty great but I still need to play around with the straps to get the perfect fit.