September 11, 2023
Santa Rita east side -- Roads
A good way to get oriented to the Santa Rita east side is to start thinking about
the roads. With the exception of Arizona Highways 83 and 82, these are all Forest
Service roads, and I will do my best to designate such as "FSR".
An interesting aspect of the numbering system (pointed out by Tomasi) is that
2 digit roads (like 92) are deemed important by the FS and receive some maintenance.
More digits imply less maintenace, with 4 digit roads (like 4092) receiving essentially
no maintenance. Some of these may not be driveable even by the most skilled 4x4 drivers
with the best vehicles.
Arizona state highway 83
This is the road from I-10 south to Sonoita.
It passes a lot of interesting and beautiful country that I will
at least for the time being ignore. This is the proposed site of
the Rosemont Mine, access even now can be limited, and I am simply
focusing my attention elsewhere.
The section we will talk about here is from FSR 62 south to Sonoita.
Arizona state highway 82
This is the road from Sonoita, south and west to Patagonia.
Our interest extends a bit beyond Patagonia to the west, from there
the road continues to Nogales.
FSR-62 -- Box Canyon road
This road branches off of the Madera Canyon road and heads east, crossing the
range via Box Canyon and continuing east to join Highway 83.
(Actually, this is not quite true, see FSR-229 below).
This is a scenic and enjoyable drive. Almost any vehicle
can manage it if driven sensibly, but if you try to drive it
with a sedan you are likely to regret it.
The distance from the west end to Highway 83 is 13.6 miles.
FSR-229 -- Greaterville road
Most people probably never notice, but FSR-62 actually does not go all the
way to Highway 83. Driving from the west, at 10.5 miles, FSR-62 ends
when it meets FSR-229. You can continue east another 3.1 miles to Highway
83, or you can turn right (southwest) to go to Greaterville (and other locations).
The usual game is to drive 1.25 to a 4-way junction, then turn right and
north onto FSR-165
FSR-165 -- Melendrez Pass road
If you drive the full 4.4 miles from the above mentioned 4-way junction
you will arrive at the trailhead for the Greaterville Trail.
You can make a left turn just before getting here and continue
another 1.5 miles on a bad road to the end near a large campsite.
FSR 92 -- Gardner Canyon road
This road heads west from Highway 83 about 3.5 miles north of Sonoita.
It gives access to a multitude of interesting hikes, including what might
be the most enjoyable (albeit strenous) east side hike, the Gardner
Canyon trail to the top of Mt. Wrightson.
FSR-72 -- Temporal Canyon road
This road heads north from the east side of the town of Patagonia and
ends in Walker Basin. It is the route of the Arizona Trail for the
entire distance (12.4 miles). Almost any car can drive the first 6.5
miles to the AZT trailhead, beyond that you will want a high clearance
vehicle and almost certainly 4x4. Beyond the Temporal Canyon trailhead
at mile 10.4 the road definitely requires 4x4 and will not be enjoyable
for many people who do have 4x4. I drove my stock 4x4 Tacoma all the
way to Walker Basin, but I had my doubts in places.
FSR-143 -- Salero Canyon road
This road heads north from Patagonia. Actually, the usual thing is to
take 4th avenue north in Patagonia to Pennsylvania Avenue, then wander
southwest for several miles before heading northwest on FS-143.
This road continues north about 13 miles.
This is a decent dirt road and gets progressively worse, eventually
demanding 4x4.
After driving 13 miles, you find yourself at a Y junction
where you have two choices.
The first choice is to turning right and drive to the end,
which is the trailhead for Josephine Canyon trail.
The other choice is to turn left and drive the Bull Springs road,
which eventually will take you to the paved Mt. Hopkins road and
then to I-19. The Bull Springs road is not to be taken lightly.
I have driven it with my stock 4x4 Tacoma, but it is a rough road.
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's hiking pages / [email protected]