Santa Rita Scenery - Camping Up a Wooded Canyon in the Forests of Southern Arizona

After two weeks in the desert grasslands below, I was pleasantly surprised to find beautiful forested terrain in the canyons of the Santa Rita Mountains of far southern Arizona. One of the many ‘sky island’ mountain ranges interspersed throughout the desert terrain of this area of the American southwest, the Santa Ritas stand out as they have some of the highest peaks around, and little did I know also a very unique landscape for this area.

As I drove further and further up the canyon, the terrain slowly changed from the usual high desert scenery of grasslands covered in mesquite trees, cacti and other desert plants, to relatively thick forest and gorgeous wooded canyons.

I had no idea such a scenic gem was hidden below high peaks and surrounded by endless miles of dry, hot deserts in every direction. I was even more surprised to discover running water in the creeks, and found myself an amazing spot high up the canyon near the end of the forest access road to setup camp. A great place to hit my 17th month anniversary of the off-grid nomadic lifestyle.

Nestled in the wooded canyon and set back a bit off the main forest road, right next to creek and below the snow-capped peaks above me I found the perfect place to call home for the next couple weeks or so.

The area is covered with evergreen oaks and junipers, with a few tall pines rising above the forest canopy, more sparsely trees grassy southern slopes, and the fallen dead leaves of the scattered deciduous trees lining the creek beds.

The diversity of the landscape really blew me away, with a few cactus and a variety of other desert plants also scattered amongst the trees.

Very peaceful and quiet during the week, with the whole area practically all to myself during the week, turning into a busy popular weekend getaway when Friday evening rolls around, but apart from all of the surrounding campsites filling up it stayed relatively quiet without too many 4-wheelers roaring by. I don’t think I’ve every been in a place with such a radical difference in traffic between weekdays and weekends! And so far, as of early Friday evening as I am writing, this weekend looks to be shaping up to be much quieter than last week, so who knows, I may not even have any close neighbors this weekend, but we’ll just have to wait and see. There is no shortage of available campsites around with two forest roads running alongside the two main creeks in the area, and even still nearly all two dozen or more campsites were filled up last weekend! Regardless, the busyness of the weekends is well worth enduring for the amazing quiet and solitude during the week, and I can see why it is such a popular weekend getaway destination for the city dwellers in Tucson.

I especially appreciate the soothing sound of running water and waking up to the sound of all the songbirds in the morning, as there are tons of birds around, which is awesome.

Definitely the most birds of any place I’ve camped in all my months of the off-grid camping lifestyle. Apparently southeast Arizona is a popular destination for birders due to the incredible variety of birds that make the area their home, and now I know why! They aren’t shy either, and a few of them fly into my tent every day - looking for food scraps I imagine .

With one really little one once getting stuck trying to escape through a closed screen window one day, so with a little dedication I was able to catch her and release her out the front door!

All of the ones I have seen are such pretty birds, and I’ve often heard woodpeckers hard at work.

The views are stunning, the abundant shade a welcome escape from the warm intense afternoon sunlight, but with plenty of sunny openings for collecting solar energy and sitting in the warmth of the sun on chilly mornings. The temperatures have been mild, some cooler and some warmer days, with most nights dropping into the 20s and most days rising into the 60s or at least high 50s.

A wonderful place to be for another full moon, the sunsets have been amazing, with the stars not quite so epic on the dark nights as they are in the open desert of course, due to the trees blocking much of the sky, but still pretty decent stargazing.

Firewood is also abundant and easily accessible, and I appreciate having access to the combination of the fast/hot burning juniper with it’s wonderful aroma and the much slower burning oak wood, being a hardwood. There’s also great trail access nearby, with easy access to both the Arizona trail that runs the entire length of the state from the Mexican border to the Grand Canyon and beyond, and also the peak trails that take you as far up as Mount Wrightson, the tallest peak in the range at over 9,400 feet plus good mountain biking on the forest roads and 4 wheel trails too.

No cell service in the canyon, but good signal all around on most of the ridges and high points on the trails, so easy to get into service at least once a day.

And I even found cool little pond up one of the 4-wheeler trails...

All in all, definitely one of the most diverse and scenic areas I’ve had the pleasure of discovering during my travels, and by far the most awesome place I’ve found to camp in southern Arizona. And while nothing lasts forever, I sure am enjoying every bit of my time here before I head off to find new adventures wherever my next destination ends up being. And Dakota’s pretty happy too.