About this place

This trailhead provided improved access to the Arizona National Scenic Trail at the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains, ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham and Chiricahua Apache. This once-popular parking area had been closed for nearly 20 years due to natural and cultural resource impacts from off-highway vehicles. The ATA has been diligently to restore public access, and we were delighted to have been granted permission to construct a trailhead at this scenic location. In addition to earthwork and steel fence construction, the trailhead also includes two steel gates and an interpretive kiosk that celebrates the Santa Rita Mountains as a cultural landscape that was developed in collaboration with the Tohono O'odham Nation. Oak Tree Canyon is located just west of Hwy 83 between mile posts 44 and 43, north of Gardner Canyon Road. The trailhead provides ideal access to the oak woodlands of the Santa Rita Mountains - just follow FR 4037 for one mile to the AZT. The trailhead is large enough to accommodate up to 40 passenger cars plus 8 trucks and horse trailers. Oak Tree Canyon Trailhead is located approximately 45 minutes southeast of Tucson, and 9 miles north of Sonoita off Highway 83. If you're traveling from Tucson, travel east on I-10 to exit 281 (Hwy 83 toward Sonoita and Patagonia). Travel south on Hwy 83 for 15 miles to 0.8-mile past milepost 44. Oak Tree Canyon Trailhead is located just west of the highway.