My dad drove my family up the dirt road backside of Mt Lemmon when I was a kid in the1950's in an old sedan. We were completely all terrified!. My dad was a jet pilot so he had an adventurous, risk taking personality. Seeing sheer drop offs and tthe slippery, rocky gravelly road was so nail biting. Even scarier was when another vehicle was encountered. Of course, my grandfather told my Dad to take the wheel for the first time to cross up Pike's Peak with drop offs on both sides, when he was 16 or 17. So Mt Lemmon was a walk in the park. Loved going up the paved road to picnic and run down the slope from the tall pines to see if my parents could catch us. Great times as a kid in Tucson.
I love Tucson Arizona! I just moved here from Illinois, and I’ve been to Mt. Lemmon a few times. But on the paved road, and it’s breathtaking driving through the twists all the way to the top! But I’ve been searching for a dirt road where I can drive my Jeep Wrangler through, and thanks to you, I’ve finally get to explore that beautiful mountain the way it supposed too! Off-roading!👌😎👍thank you!
Imoved here from Waukegan IL 27 years ago & I hate it. It's become woke & it's full of desert rats. I quit the back road to mt Lemon. I area is dangerious. Rock wall on one side long drop off on the other. Only room for 1 jeep. Since it's in paved if there's a rut or the trail got washed away, ya can't turn around & backing up would be a pain. This area is close to the top. Ya come tru a medow & after this area your in pine.
We built two 50,000 gallon water storage tanks up in mt lemmon with Darrell Thompson Tanks. Beautiful place to visit, I will always remember those amazing sites..
The road down the backside of Mt Lemmon and the main paved road on the south side of the mountain are 2 of my favorite roads in the entire United States. Redington Pass, Douglas Springs Trailhead, and Box Canyon are incredible too. Tucson is a SUPER nice place.
I have driven this road many times from Oracle to Summerhaven and vice versa sometimes with my little 4x4 Nissan and sometimes with my 2WD pickup. It definitely can get a little dicey in a few spots and guaranteed to sometimes get rough enough to rattle the fillings out of your teeth. Something I have seen a couple of times when climbing from Oracle is meeting cars full of snowbirds driving down from Summerhaven and I'm talking low slung boats like big Buicks and Cadillacs. I assume they came up from Tucson and saw the sign and decided to keep going and I've always wondered if they made it down to Oracle in one piece.
Do you know how many people are going to want a "walking stick" from the desert spoon now? I really enjoyed the video and it's information. Just a little worried that people will search out the cacti and destroy it..
Funny story... in the late 90s I drove down the control road in a 1990 civic hatchback without a spare tire! Lol, me made it, but pierced the oil pan on a rock on the way.
My dad drove my family up the dirt road backside of Mt Lemmon when I was a kid in the1950's in an old sedan. We were completely all terrified!. My dad was a jet pilot so he had an adventurous, risk taking personality. Seeing sheer drop offs and tthe slippery, rocky gravelly road was so nail biting. Even scarier was when another vehicle was encountered. Of course, my grandfather told my Dad to take the wheel for the first time to cross up Pike's Peak with drop offs on both sides, when he was 16 or 17. So Mt Lemmon was a walk in the park. Loved going up the paved road to picnic and run down the slope from the tall pines to see if my parents could catch us. Great times as a kid in Tucson.
I love Tucson Arizona! I just moved here from Illinois, and I’ve been to Mt. Lemmon a few times. But on the paved road, and it’s breathtaking driving through the twists all the way to the top! But I’ve been searching for a dirt road where I can drive my Jeep Wrangler through, and thanks to you, I’ve finally get to explore that beautiful mountain the way it supposed too! Off-roading!👌😎👍thank you!
Imoved here from Waukegan IL 27 years ago & I hate it. It's become woke & it's full of desert rats. I quit the back road to mt Lemon. I area is dangerious. Rock wall on one side long drop off on the other. Only room for 1 jeep. Since it's in paved if there's a rut or the trail got washed away, ya can't turn around & backing up would be a pain. This area is close to the top. Ya come tru a medow & after this area your in pine.
We built two 50,000 gallon water storage tanks up in mt lemmon with Darrell Thompson Tanks. Beautiful place to visit, I will always remember those amazing sites..
The road down the backside of Mt Lemmon and the main paved road on the south side of the mountain are 2 of my favorite roads in the entire United States. Redington Pass, Douglas Springs Trailhead, and Box Canyon are incredible too. Tucson is a SUPER nice place.
Thanks for posting. I've added this video to the Tucson/Catalina Mountains section of my Arizona playlist.
I have driven this road many times from Oracle to Summerhaven and vice versa sometimes with my little 4x4 Nissan and sometimes with my 2WD pickup. It definitely can get a little dicey in a few spots and guaranteed to sometimes get rough enough to rattle the fillings out of your teeth. Something I have seen a couple of times when climbing from Oracle is meeting cars full of snowbirds driving down from Summerhaven and I'm talking low slung boats like big Buicks and Cadillacs. I assume they came up from Tucson and saw the sign and decided to keep going and I've always wondered if they made it down to Oracle in one piece.
So it does connect to summerhaven. Last time I was there was 1980. Lots of improvement?
Chuck is a treasure to this earth
Fantastic! Oh, my heart is yearning for a decent 4WD
Did ya buy a 4x4?
Does back road connect with catalina hiway on top at summerhaven?
Yes! Just used the control road to visit Oktoberfest up in Summerhaven this weekend.
Do you know how many people are going to want a "walking stick" from the desert spoon now?
I really enjoyed the video and it's information. Just a little worried that people will search out the cacti and destroy it..
Pretty sure my little Honda Civic would not make it up this road
Funny story... in the late 90s I drove down the control road in a 1990 civic hatchback without a spare tire! Lol, me made it, but pierced the oil pan on a rock on the way.
Drove this drunk as hell w benetione.,scared him bad....lol
What 2 losers didnt like the video? What wasnt accurate about it??????
No shit,lots of fun doing azbacktrails