Catalina Camp Trail, AZ

The Hartman mine trail starts at Dan Saddle on Oracle Ridge and continues west down to Canada Del Oro and the trail with the same name. There are no roads to this trailhead, but it can be accessed via the Oracle Ridge Trail from the north at Rice Peak or as I did from the Oracle Ridge Trail from the Oracle Ridge Trailhead just off the Catalina Control Road.


The trail from Dan Saddle heads west along an old 4WD road that is now more of a wide trail than a road. For the first miles, the road drops steadily 800 feet, and then for the last quarter mile to the Hartman Mine, the trail does a couple of switchbacks, dropping another 300 feet. It was a steep trail, but I didn’t find it overly difficult ( of course, I was going down ). Just after the switchbacks, on the south side of the trail, is a shack that looks like it is still used occasionally, complete with folding chairs and a barbecue grill. Not sure if this is the location of Catalina Camp or just the Hartman mine. I was not able to get inside the shack because the door was locked when I was there. I have heard other people have been able to go inside. There is a mine just to the north of the shack and lots of old Equipment scattered. I looked online under Hartman Mine and Catalina Camp, and there is a lot of history about this area, stories about Gold, lost mines, names like Buffalo Bill, and rare, valuable stones with names like the Cody Stone. Not enough time or space to go into it here, but worth looking up before visiting this area.After leaving the shack, the trail begins to level out a bit but still going down, and after about a half-mile, you come to the junction of the Red Ridge Trail. The Red Ridge Trail heads up a ridge and ends up on the road to the ski area on Mount Lemmon. The creek to the south of the Trail is a side creek to East Fork Canada Del Oro Creek. There was water in this creek when I was there. The trail follows this creek for a short distance and then skirts around a small hill on the north side before re-entering a creek which is now the East Fork Canada Del Oro. The trail follows this creek for a little over a mile to the terminus of this trail at the Canada Del Oro Trail. The trail along this last mile was a little overgrown in some areas but not enough to lose the trail.

Since this trail does not have a trailhead that can be reached by a vehicle, it is typically done in conjunction with the Oracle Ridge trail or the Canada Del Oro trail and is just one trail in a string of trails and not a destination. The exception would be those interested in the Catalina Camp area for its mining history and want to visit it. If the latter is the case, I would recommend the Red Ridge Trail because it is the shortest route. Whatever your reason, it is a great trail.

2017-04-14 markthurman53