Hike Tower Peak Tucson Mountain Park, AZ

Nov 07, 2022 — Tower Peak is a nice little mountain in Tucson Mountain Park, best accessed from a paved pull-off at Gates Pass. This is a popular scenic overlook with historic structures scattered around the pass. Bren Peak and Golden Gate Mountain are seen to the south just across the pass. The initial slope used to reach Tower Peak is eroded from lots of humans hiking up to an old building just above the pass. I headed up to this building and continued on one of many social trail options just right of the ridgeline. I was able to keep on the trail without issue almost the whole way to the summit.

The trail weaved around small outcroppings and often I needed to choose between one or two options, since multiple social trails divert before rejoining. After a mile or so along the ridge I reached the base of a false summit. The trail continues left around this and follows a wide ramp to gain a viewpoint of Tower Peak just ahead. A short drop in the ridge leads to the base of the peak, where the social trail starts to become a little more difficult to follow. More loose, light Class 2 terrain led in an ascending traverse toward a weakness on the peak's south side. I scrambled a short Class 2+ move to gain the summit of Tower Peak. The views toward Tucson, the Santa Catalina Mountains, and the surrounding desert peaks were nice.