Catalina State Park, AZ

Nature Trail, Catalina State Park

Our Site in Catalina State Park

We’ve come back to Catalina SP where we stayed in 2007 and met Brain, Cheryl, Tom and Trudy.  Because we were visiting around Tucson with them we spent very little actual time in the park and this visit  will rectify that.   We’ve hiked every day in comfortable weather (the mornings are very cold – outside temperatures of just above 0 but once the sun comes up it warms up quickly but a nice breeze keeps it from getting too hot).  

Yesterday we joined an early morning bird walk with 2 volunteer rangers and saw, and identified, more birds than we have ever seen in a day.   We saw Coopers and Red tail hawks, an American Kestral, a curve billed thrasher, 3 types of wrens, a lesser Goldfinch and two types of flickers.  Best of all was a Vermillion Flycatcher (brilliant red breast and head with a black back and eye patch) that posed in a tree with a Northern Cardinal so we could compare the reds.   We also saw a Red Tailed Hawk trying to steal food from a Raven in flight.  The hawk soared and dove, twice coming very close to the Raven but the Raven out maneuvered the hawk and flew away the victor.  

This morning we walked the Romano Canyon trail, a 1,000 climb over 3 miles with a beautiful set of pools  separated by small waterfalls as the reward for the climb.   That and great views west and north over Tucson, the park and the valley headed north up the I 10.    There were 20 or so young people at the pool when we got there (and we left the trail head at 7:30) and more arrived every 10 minutes or so while we were there and we met lots more on the way back.   Great swimming hole and lots of rocks to dive off (the pools seemed to be deep enough so this was not a problem).   In the evenings we walked the Romano Ruins trail that circles a Hohokum Indian ruin.   

We feel that this is park rates as one of our favorite state parks:  the spacious sites, especially in the non electric section; the view of the mountains where we have taken several hikes; the feeling of isolation as you wander through beautiful desert settings; the perfect weather,  all have made us feel that this is a park we would love to return to.