Took Back Way to Mt. Lemmon, Tucson, AZ

[shwamo83]

My BS BL (Bronson is his name) easily transversed the back way up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ a couple of weekends ago. Here are a few pics from the trek. Enjoy!

Sponsored

 

[Meanderthal]

Mt. Lemmon is where I learned to snowboard over 30 years ago. I graduated from UofA 30 years ago this month.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

My BS BL (Bronson is his name) easily transversed the back way up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ a couple of weekends ago. Here are a few pics from the trek. Enjoy!

This looks like an amazing adventure with Bronson! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[NMhunter]

My son did that road in the snow with his GMC 1/2 ton 30 years ago. He had chains on all 4 wheels and said there were drifts where he could reach out the window and touch the snow.

 

[sajohnson]

My BS BL (Bronson is his name) easily transversed the back way up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ a couple of weekends ago. Here are a few pics from the trek. Enjoy!

What is the back way up Mt. Lemmon? I'm asking because 30+ years ago my wife and I were out there on vacation. We rented a 4WD Jeep Cherokee so we could explore a bit. I remember driving the back way (from the south) up a mountain with an observatory -- either Lemmon or Graham.

Back then, all we had were state hwy dept. maps. The AZ and NM maps would show a Jeep trail as if it was a maintained county road! We figured the road we were on would be no problem. It started out OK, but got rougher as we climbed. It ended up looking like a dry river bed!

Finally we ended up with 2 diagonal wheels off the ground, rocking back and forth. Because the Jeep had traditional 4WD (open diffs front and rear) the 2 tires hanging in mid-air spun and we could not go any further. We ended up backing up until we could find a place to turn around.

I remember it being Mt. Graham, but I was just looking on Google Maps and could not seem to find that road.

 

[shwamo83]

What is the back way up Mt. Lemmon? I'm asking because 30+ years ago my wife and I were out there on vacation. We rented a 4WD Jeep Cherokee so we could explore a bit. I remember driving the back way (from the south) up a mountain with an observatory -- either Lemmon or Graham.

Back then, all we had were state hwy dept. maps. The AZ and NM maps would show a Jeep trail as if it was a maintained county road! We figured the road we were on would be no problem. It started out OK, but got rougher as we climbed. It ended up looking like a dry river bed!

Finally we ended up with 2 diagonal wheels off the ground, rocking back and forth. Because the Jeep had traditional 4WD (open diffs front and rear) the 2 tires hanging in mid-air spun and we could not go any further. We ended up backing up until we could find a place to turn around.

I remember it being Mt. Graham, but I was just looking on Google Maps and could not seem to find that road.

This is what I took. It was mostly easy but there was about a mile stretch was very rocky and I bottomed out at one point a bit because I took the wrong line.

https://funtreks.com/off-road-trails/backway-mount-lemmon/

 

[sajohnson]

This is what I took. It was mostly easy but there was about a mile stretch was very rocky and I bottomed out at one point a bit because I took the wrong line.

https://funtreks.com/off-road-trails/backway-mount-lemmon/

Thanks! The section in the photo looks fine, but I gather that's the "mostly easy" you referred to.

I like this review:

Justin says
"Took my 2023 Hyundai Accent up this trail. Very enjoyable, wonderful views, and it was a great time. Would not recommend anyone trying this in a Hyundai Accent ever."

I don't recall as many trees along the road we took, it was more scrubby I'm thinking it was Mount Graham, but it's been 30+ years.

 

[jarred Wilson]

Amazing photos !

192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1​

Sponsored