HIKING OR RUNNING THE PHONELINE TRAIL IN SABINO CANYON - TUCSON, ARIZONA
Phoneline Trail - Intro - Video Transcipt
Hey, Tyler Ford here, Tucson, Arizona, EXP Realty, and welcome to this episode of Living in Tucson, your Tucson real estate connection.
In this episode, I’m going to be talking about the Phoneline Trail in Sabino Canyon.
I’m getting an early start this morning, and I’m going to be showing you Sabino Canyon and the Phoneline Trail in Tucson, Arizona. So when doing Sabino canyon, the Phoneline Trail, the one thing you need to be aware of, there is a fee to get in, and I get an annual pass, which gets me into all the parks, Grand Canyon. The other thing I like about this pass is it gets me into Saguaro National Park East, and I spend a lot of time there as well. So be prepared to get in. The daily rate right now as of this recording is $8 to get in, but if you’re in Tucson and you spend a lot of time here, it makes sense to get an annual pass to get in.
So when hiking or running the Phoneline Trail, there’s a lot of different combinations you can do. Some people stay on the trail and they do an out and back. What I like to do is do a loop where I do it counterclockwise, where I go up the Phoneline Trail, and then down Sabino Canyon. So the Phoneline Trail is all dirt. It’s a trail. And then coming down Sabino Canyon is paved. So there’s a lot of different ways to do it. You can do an out and back or do a loop. This morning, what I’m going to show you is doing the loop counterclockwise, going up the trail and then down Sabino Canyon. So on the video, I don’t know if you can see it, but right about here, you can see the Phoneline Trail. You start out in the parking lot and you run or hike about 0.8 of a mile, almost a mile to the trailhead, and then you’ve got a steady climb for a little over a mile, and then it kind of flattens out.
So a lot of the runners, too, at the beginning, it’s a little steep, so you’re doing a power hour hike or a walk. And then once it flattens out, a lot of people run that section all the way to the road and then come down. So going to go ahead and get started and show you the Phoneline Trail in Sabino canyon. So from the parking lot to the trail head, it’s exactly 0.8 miles. So I just hit the trailhead up form line. At 1.4 miles from Sabino Canyon up the trail, you’re going to hit the Blacketts Trailhead, which is right here. It’s a really popular hike. It’s an out and back. It’s really, really steep. But there’s some great views, and at some point, I will do a video on Blacketts. But if you’re looking for Blacketts, it’s the same trail going out, and at 1.4 miles, it kicks you up to Blacketts, and Blacketts is about a six mile round trip. It’s a mountain back. But another great, great hike to do.
It’s pretty steep. It’s not really that runnable just because it’s so steep. But once you get up up the trail towards the tail end, it flattens out and is runnable. So Blacketts, 1.4, there’s the trail head, and I’m going to keep going right here. That’s the Phoneline. So Phoneline kicks you up into Sabino Canyon and it’s a ridge line that parallels Sabino Canyon. So I’m about 2.4 miles up the Phoneline Trail, and the first 0.8 is flat until you get to the trailhead, and then you’re going to be climbing, and at about 2.4, it then flattens out. But Sabino Canyon is right there. The views are absolutely incredible. And we’re going to be going all the way, Phoneline trail ends right about up in there. And then it’s three miles down Sabino Canyon, back to the parking lot. But again, the views are absolutely beautiful. It’s really pretty.
And can’t wait to get down in the canyon because there is water. We’ve had a lot of rain this summer and I’m going to be getting wet. I’m going to be running across the bridges that have some water overflow and going to have fun running through the water.
Why The Phoneline Trail Is An Awesome Hike or Run
Like to talk about why I love the Phoneline. There’s so many reasons and I’ll try to hit the majority of them. But first reason why I like the Phoneline, especially in the summertime and also the winter, it’s in a box canyon and there’s not a lot of sun exposure. So I get an early start, and by the time you get done and coming out of Sabino Canyon, the sun is just cresting into the canyon. So you don’t get beat up by the sun, winter, summer, doesn’t matter the time of the year, I got a six o’clock start this morning and I’ll be protected pretty much the whole… Almost the whole probably eight miles, the last mile coming in, you’re coming out of the canyon.
Second reason I like it, especially in the summertime is that in all of 30 years, and this is disclaimer, as soon as I say this, I’ll probably see one today, is that I’ve never, ever seen a rattlesnake on the Phoneline Trail. Which to me is just amazing because in the summertime, especially out in Saguaro National Park, I do a lot out there, there’s just tons and tons of rattlesnakes and you got to be really careful. So disclaimer, they’re still out there. You got to be careful. Especially in the summertime. In the wintertime they disappear. Third reason I really like it, and this is more in the summertime, when we get a lot of rain in the summer, a lot of our trails get overgrown by Bermuda grass and just all sorts of stuff and you get itchy and I get hives because I’m allergic to that stuff.
But the Phoneline Trail doesn’t get overgrown, which is awesome. Another reason I love it is that the views are absolutely amazing. The Phoneline Trail parallels Sabino Canyon and the views are epic. It’s super quiet for the most part. When you’re on the Phoneline trail, before you get to Sabino Canyon, you’re not going to see a whole lot of people. You might bump into one or two, maybe three people along the trail. So you’re not going to see a lot of people. Another reason I like it is it’s a good mixture. You got a little bit of everything. You got trail, you got climbing, you got some flats on the trail, and then you get to come three miles down pavement. So you get a mixture of everything when you’re doing the Phoneline, and it’s just a good play place to be for me. Gets my head in the right place. It’s just really pretty.
Also, like right now when we get into Sabino Canyon, depending on the time of the year, there’s monsoons, there’s water in the canyon in the winter. When we get snow and the snow melt, there’s going to be water in Sabino Canyon, which makes for some just really pretty views. You’re going to get a little bit wet depending on the time of the year. It’s just water, even in the winter. Run through it. Have fun with it. I like to splash through it, which we’re going to do as I’m coming down. So those are my reasons. It’s probably a lot more reasons. Curious if you’ve ever done the Phoneline. Why do you like it? And if you’ve never done it and you’ve got questions, you can always comment below and be more than happy to answer. I’ve lost track. I mean, I’ve been doing it for over 30 years and I don’t know. If I were to guess, probably done the Phoneline, I don’t know, 200 to 300 times. I’ve totally lost track. But those are my reasons. I’m sure there’s a lot more. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Phoneline Trail Favorite View
This is one of my favorite views on the Phoneline Trail, and it’s one of those things, you take a picture or video and you show it to somebody on your phone or share it on social media and it just doesn’t do it justice. Well, this is that. You got to get it up here to experience. But in the distance there there’s Tucson way in the back, there’s Tucson mountains. And then you can’t even see it, but you can see downtown Tucson from here as well. But again, this spot, I’m at about 3.75 miles up the trail and it is awesome. And the view at about 3.7 miles, you can see Tucson in the background and it’s a beautiful view.
Coming Down Sabino Canyon After The Phonline Section
So I finished up the Phoneline section on the trail and now I’m at the top of the Sabino Canyon road. It’s 3.7 miles back down to the parking lot and I’m going to run the majority of the road. It’s all paved. It’s pretty much all downhill. There’s a little, about a quarter mile, a little kicker at the end climb to get you up and over and down into the parking lot.
But I think some of the bridges, there’s… I’m going to get the number wrong. There’s probably about four or five bridges. And again, it’s September, we’ve got a lot of rain, monsoon season, there’s water flowing, and probably going to get a little wet crossing some of the bridges. Nothing better than doing the Phoneline in Tucson in the morning. So depending on the time of the year, some of the bridges can have water flowing over them. We’ve got a lot of rain this summer, like I’ve been saying, and a couple of the bridges have water over them, and for the most part, just run through them, especially in the summertime, it’s refreshing in the wintertime it could be a little bit cool, but that’s the fun of it, right?
Phoneline Trail Finish in Sabino Canyon Parking Lot
So that’s it. I’m done. That wraps up the Phoneline and Sabino Canyon, and back in the parking lot.
And as you can see, there’s a ton of cars. Another big reason to get an early start, especially in the wintertime, when the winter visitors are here, the parking lot can fill up and you won’t have a place to park. I always like to get an early start, but if you like this video, go ahead, give me an internet high five by liking it.
You can always subscribe to the channel for more awesome videos about living in Tucson, your Tucson real estate connection. And if you have any questions about Sabino Canyon or the Phoneline, or even Blacketts Trail, comment below and I’ll get back to you.
And in the show notes below, I’ll have a link to the map, the profile map of the Phoneline, so you can get a better idea of what you’re getting into. But again, it’s an awesome hike run, just a great way to check out Sabino Canyon and get some incredible views.
Phoneline Trail Map and Elevation
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