Bog Springs Trail Review | Coronado National Forest

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I love venturing to the Mount Wrightson area because you can find some beautiful places to hike at higher elevations that have some pretty cool temperatures in the summer. I recently tried the Bog Springs Trail and thought it was okay although it did not blow me away. Here’s everything you need to know about the hike.

Bog Springs Trail Overview

Bog Springs Trail is a moderate out and back hike 3 miles long and with an elevation gain of 922 feet. It’s not the most impressive hike in terms of views or scenery but it is a nice uphill workout through mostly shaded paths and for that I think it’s worth something given how exposed to the sun you typically are on hikes in the Tucson area.

  • Distance: 3 miles
  • Elevation Gain: 922 feet
  • Route Type: Out and back
  • Pets: Yes
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Time needed: 1 to 2 hours

Getting to the trailhead

The trail head is located in Madera Canyon which is home to quite a few other impressive trails and hikes including the hike to Mount Wrightson, the tallest peak in the Tucson area.

When heading down South Madera Canyon Road, you’ll see a turn off sign for the Bog Springs campground and you will need to take a left and follow the road (Forest Road 70A).

There are some campgrounds located right off the road and there is no parking lot directly adjacent to the trailhead so you need to loop around a little bit and you will see the parking lot for trailheads, which also has a bathroom.

Note that this is a fee required area.

Trail conditions

About 1/3 of this hike is over some extremely loose rocks which is not the funnest portion of a hike for sure. Beyond that, the trail is pretty well-maintained and very easy to follow. It is also very well shaded so hiking this in higher temperatures can be done.

Route description

The trail begins by crossing a dry creek bed and then heading up to what appeared to be an old Forest Road.

This is where you will have to contend with all of the large loose rocks which are just a nuisance.

There are some patches where it looks like a trail is starting to form but you’ll still have to deal with the rocks. So watch out for your ankles and be sure you have proper ankle support for this portion of the hike.

While I wasn’t a fan of the rocks, I did enjoy all of the vegetation spotted on the hike.

You’ll come across some of the common trees out here like alligator Juniper, Mexican pine, and Edelman oak. It didn’t quite have that intense pine scent that the Madera Canyon Nature Trail had But it was still pretty “foresty.”

After you get through half a mile, look for the sign for Bog Springs and you’ll begin the truly uphill portion of the hike.

The grade is not very intense but it rarely levels off.

As you gain elevation, the views will open up a bit on the hike but it felt like they are mostly teasing you.

There are probably about three decent spots to catch the views but if you want good views of the area, I would check out the Madera Canyon Nature Trail.

Eventually, about 1 mile into the hike you’ll cross into the Mount Wrightson Wilderness Area.

Shortly after this sign, there is a cool little viewpoint right off the trail. It’s a little exposed getting to the viewpoint rocks so just be careful heading down on it.

As the trail gains elevation, it does become more narrow and at times it is right along the edge of a ravine so it does feel slightly exposed.

The thing is, this was my first moderate hike to do since I came down with a pretty bad case of vertigo so it probably felt worse than it actually is.

As you continue to wrap around this ravine, the vegetation becomes much thicker.

As I continued to make my way up the hike, I came near where the endpoint showed on the AllTrails app. But I still did not find the actual spring for Bog Springs. So I just continued on the trail and I eventually received an alert that I had wandered off trail!

I wasn’t sure what happened so I went back down to the point on the map that showed where I departed but there was nowhere else to go. So I’m not sure exactly where the spring is, perhaps I was just a few steps from it when I turned back.

But given some of the vertigo issues I was facing and the fact that this was also my first solo hike and I had not seen a soul since I started, I was not really in the mood to go exploring and head back up.

Perhaps next time.

Anyway, the descent was pretty easy and there was only one pretty steep portion but it was very short.

I also spotted some really cool looking lizards on this trail.

I will say that coming back through the loose rocks was a pain and I nearly slipped at least two or three times. But if you can look past that rocky section, the rest of the hikes pretty enjoyable — just not very spectacular.

Final word

This is a nice trail for getting a good workout in the shade. Like I mentioned above, it’s not terribly common to find a nice trail with a lot of shade in the Tucson area so I always enjoy them. I love hiking at higher elevations because the heat is much less of a factor and that is even more the case when you have ample shade.

I think I would like to try the longer version of this hike and see how that goes. Perhaps I will find the spring on that go around!