Hike Agua Caliente Hill Coronado National Forest, AZ

Feb 22, 2022 — Agua Caliente Hill is a lump on the horizon when viewed from Tucson, AZ between the larger peaks of the Santa Catalina Mountains (Mount Lemmon) and the Rincon Mountains. The trail leading to its summit is fairly popular, but that means it's in excellent shape and makes for a nice out-and-back to a local mountain. Austin and I started along the trail, which initially leads along one of the southwestern ridges of the peak before descending for a short time down to Cat Track Tank. This little water source is dirty, but provides a nice contrast to the surrounding cactus-filled landscape. Past the tank the trail ascends through a drainage and makes its way up to the west ridge of Agua Caliente Hill, where the slope grade of the trail becomes more steep and slightly more rocky. At the top of the slope on the ridge, we reached a trail junction, where heading right continues to the summit. Once along the ridge crest, the views became pretty excellent, especially toward the Santa Catalinas.

A false summit a short time along the ridge tricked us, but Agua Caliente Hill was now visible ahead. A pleasant meadowy-feeling stroll along the ridge took us to the final steepest part of the hike, which led to the summit of Agua Caliente Hill. We returned the same way after admiring the massive bulk of Mica Mountain and Mount Lemmon on either side.