Knagge Trail

The top of the Knagge Trail - much of this trail has been impacted by fire and sections of the trail were overgrown and hard to find after the summer rains in 2013. May 2012.

Overview

The Knagge Trail #18 takes you by the remains of the Knagge cabin and a nearby mine that they worked in the early 20th century – the old cabin site is an amazing place to sit and contemplate what life must have been like here in the 1920s! Even without the historical sites along the trail this would still be an attractive hike with great terrain and beautiful views as it drops down the ‘backside’ of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Before fires burned thru this area this trail worked it’s way down to South Edgar Canyon and over to Peck Basin, but – at least as far as I can tell – fire/time/nature have erased the lower section of this trail and any attempt to reach Peck Basin will be an off-trail adventure!

Hike Stats

Out and Back
3.9 miles
2,200' Elevation Gain
2,200' Elevation Loss
Highest Elevation: 8,100'
Lowest Elevation: 6,600'

Location

General Hitchcock Highway - Santa Catalina Mountains, north of Tucson, Arizona.
Start/End: Knagge Trail (Finger Rock Trail)

Details

Fee: No
Dogs: Yes
Bikes: Yes (With currently poor condition of the trail and no connection to other trails I would not recommend this as a ride.)

Drive

0 Minutes from Speedway and Campbell
Vehicle Access:

Knagge Trail Elevation Profile

Driving Directions

Suggested driving directions from the Speedway and Campbell intersection in Tucson to the Kellogg Trailhead:

Drive East on Speedway (5.0 miles)
Left on Wilmot and continue on Tanque Verde (4.3 miles)
Left on Catalina Highway (23.7 miles)
Right on Incinerator Ridge Road (0.4 miles) - in winter (December 15 to March 1 depending on the weather) this road is gated and closed to vehicle traffic (it remains open to travel on foot) - there might be room to park near the gate without blocking it, but it may be easier to use the parking pullouts just up the highway.
The trail parking is located at the end of the road. The condition of Incinerator Ridge Road varies - while passenger cars (low clearance cars not recommended) often make it up the road it can be quite rough and a vehicle with a more clearance is recommended.

Google Maps Directions from the Speedway and Campbell intersection in Tucson to Kellogg Trailhead.

The trail has received some care in recent years (which is very much appreciated!) - but in places you will have to look carefully and use all available clues to find it. September 2013.

Trail Notes

[CueListWarning/]

0.0 miles, 8000′: Start at the Kellogg Trailhead and take the Incinerator Ridge Trail. [Waypoint IR TH]
0.1 miles, 8050′: The signed junction with the Knagge Trail is located at a large well used campsite. [Waypoint J IR K]
From the junction the trail descends – in places this trail requires some care and attention to follow – keep your eyes open!
1.0 miles, 7200′: The trail crosses a rocky area and drainage [Waypoint K01] and then goes by the Knagge cabin site [Waypoint K02], this spot has great views and would be a great destination for a shorter hike..

The rocky drainage - the trail crosses this drainage before the cabin site. September 2013.

1.2 miles, 6950′: The trail passes the old mine [Waypoint K03] and then crosses a steep rocky section of canyon [Waypoint K04].

From the trail the mine looks ominous - but when you get closer you can see it has been filled in... May 2012.

1.3 miles, 6900′: The trail crosses a wash. [Waypoint K05]
1.9 miles, 6600′: The obvious/maintained trail ends at several old camp sites. [Waypoint K06]
While clearly drawn on every map I am aware of I have had very little luck finding the trail past the campsites at 1.9 miles – while you may find a few traces I suggest you consider anything beyond 1.9 miles an off-trail bushwhack (see this post for some pictures from an off-trail hike down…)

For more information on John Knagge and the Knagge Family see this newsletter from 1997 by the Archaeology Southwest (formerly the Center for Desert Archaeology) and Look to the Mountains, An in-depth look into the lives and times of the people who shaped the history of the Catalina Mountains.

Maps

[MapSahcCatalina] – The SAHC map shows a Trail all the way to Peck basin, as noted above beyond the campground at 1.9 miles I do not believe the trail currently exists.
[MapGreenTrailsCatalina] – The Green Trails map marks this trail as ‘Unofficial/Unmaintained’ – however I think even that is optimistic, as noted above beyond the campground at 1.9 miles I believe this trail is currently best considered an off-trail adventure.

Download GPX

Resources

HikeArizona
[GuideYellowBook]

Posts on HikeLemmon.com:

Pictures

2019 February Knagge Trail

1903 Trail work on the Knagge Trail
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1902 Large Cairn and Carsonite Sign marking the end of the maintained section of the Knagge Trail
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1902 Knagge Route along the Ridge
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1902 Looking towards Guthrie Mountain from the Knagge Trail
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1902 Ice
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1902 Knagge Cabin Site
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1902 Ice at a canyon crossing on the Knagge Trail
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1902 Mine off the Knagge Trail
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1902 Ridge above Edgar Canyon
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1902 Cliffs above Edgar Canyon and the San Pedro River Valley
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1902 Snow covering the top of the Knagge Trail
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2018 February Knagge Trail

1802 Crossing a small stream on the Knagge Trail
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1802 Gear Testing
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1802 Knagge Cabin
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1802 Looking down into the clouds near the top of the Knagge Trail
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1802 Looking off into the clouds near the current end of the Knagge Trail
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1802 Mine below the Knagge Cabin
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1802 A Waterfall in the Distance
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2018 February Point 7556 near the Knagge Trail

1802 Big View from Point 7556 near the Knagge Trail
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1802 Guthrie Mountain
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1802 Incinerator Ridge Trail near the Kellogg Mountain Trailhead
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1802 Looking down on Edgar Canyon from Point 7556
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1802 Sun and Shadow
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2015 January Knagge Trail in the Snow

1501 Driving Snow
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1501 Junction of the Knagge and Incinerator Ridge Trails
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1501 Snow starting accumulate on the trees along the Incinerator Ridge Trail
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1501 Into the Storm
From an overlook just off the Knagge trail.

1501 Rushing water in the drainage near the Knagge Cabin
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1501 A dusting of snow on the Knagge Trail
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1501 Old Fire New Snow
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1501 Incinerator Ridge Road
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1501 Walking up the highway
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1501 View from Windy Point
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2014 March Peck Basin and Araster Spring via the Knagge Route

1403 Near the top Knagge Trail at the end of Winter
With the plants along the trail mostly brown and flat the trail was easier to follow than in September of last year.

1403 Being watched on the Ridge below the end of the Knagge Trail
This deer seemed unusually unconcerned about me.

1403 Open Grassy Area on the Ridge below the Knagge Trail
The ridge below the Knagge Trail has some lovely open grassy sections.

1403 Water in Granite in the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
To me it was stunning the amount of clear water in the canyon - flowing, no slime/sludge to be seen, beautiful.

1403 Fallen Shelter along the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
I believe this old shelter is mentioned in the Cowgill and Glendening guide - although I think it may be in different condition now... it had an old barbed wire fence around and the fence line went up the hill. On the way back I didn't see this shelter - I was not looking hard and took a different route, but I think it is a little harder to see than the picture shows...

1403 Balloon Floating in the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
Arg! There are long stretches of this hike where I didn't see any trash - this really stuck out...

1403 Looking down on the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
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1403 Araster Spring
Nearly covered by leaves - there was quite a bit of water and, underneath the leaves, it looked quite clear - certainly used by the cows. Note that in on the USGS Maps this canyon does not have a name - in the Cowgill and Glendening guide this is called Edgar Canyon (which is one drainage south on the USGS Maps).

1403 Fence Across and Path Near Araster Spring
There were some beautiful areas near the canyon, but I was surprised the cattle were this area... Note that in on the USGS Maps this canyon does not have a name - in the Cowgill and Glendening guide this is called Edgar Canyon (which is one drainage south on the USGS Maps).

1403 Above Araster Spring
Note that in on the USGS Maps this canyon does not have a name - in the Cowgill and Glendening guide this is called Edgar Canyon (which is one drainage south on the USGS Maps).

1403 On the hillside above Araster Spring Looking towards Point 5681 and Point 6060
Point 5681 on the left, below it is Point 4863 where I camped for the night.

1403 The Locals
Not the only cows I saw on this hike... There trails and patties were, seemingly, everywhere.

1403 Trashed Campsite
Not far from the Davis Spring and Knagge Trail Junction Sign I found this trashed campsite - it was spooky at first until it became more clear that it was fairly old - needs a clean up!

1403 Setting up in the Sunset
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1403 Junction Sign for the Davis Spring and Knagge Trail
I found it first when coming off the hillside/ridge on the way back from the Peck Basin and Araster Spring area - pure luck. After sunset I spent a few minutes trying to follow the Davis Spring Trail - by headlamp it didn't take too long before I was just walking along the canyon.

1403 Looking up Edgar Canyon and the Davis Spring Canyon from Point 4863
The canyon on the right contains Araster Spring, the canyon on the left is Edgar Canyon on the USGS maps.

1403 Cliffs and Ridge North of Edgar Canyon
The cliffs below Point 5817 are a prominent feature when looking down into this area.

1403 Looking down Edgar Canyon from Point 4863
Looking down canyon towards the Davis Spring area.

1403 Camping above Edgar Canyon with the Lights of Mount Bigelow in the Background
It might have been more practical to camp a little closer to the water but it was a great view!

1403 Sunrise
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1403 View from Point 4863
Great view! On the far left you can see the ridge the the Knagge Route takes, Edgar Canyon and the Araster Spring Canyon are also both visible - on the skyline Green Mountain, Barnum, Leopold Point, Kellogg, Mount Bigelow and the great ridge north of Edgar!

1403 Water in the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
Signs of cows extended some way up the canyon, but eventually disappeared leaving the South Fork of Edgar one of the most beautiful places from this trip.

1403 One of several larger old cairns I found along the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
For a few minutes these cairns provided some really quite easy walking - I lost these after a few cairns and did not have time to search so headed back up the ridge.

1403 Hiking Up from the South Fork of Edgar Canyon
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2012 June Knagge Trail

1205 Top of the Knagge Trail
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1205 Remains of the Knagge Cabin
Check out www.lpl.arizona.edu/~mclean/0catch/hikes/cm/tn.html for an image from before the fire.

1205 Butterfly on the Knagge Trail
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1205 Knagge Mine
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1205 Knagge Mine Area
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1205 Alison on the Knagge Trail with Incinerator Ridge in the background
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1205 Knagge Cabin Site Lower Center
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1205 View from across the canyon from the Knagge Canyon 1
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1205 View from across the canyon from the Knagge Canyon 2
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1205 Green
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1205 Pleasing Fungus Beetle
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1205 Shells
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1205 View From the Incinerator Ridge Trail
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mclean – note the picture of the Knagge cabin before the Aspen Fire!

Update Notes

2019/3/14 – Add new photo sets
2017/12/23 – Switch the name of the Incinerator Ridge Parking Area over to Kellogg trailhead to reflect current signage
2017/8/15 – HikeLemmon posts added to Resources
2017/8/11 – Fix broken image, Img Srcset update, add link to Peck Basin and Araster Spring via the Knagge ‘Route’ post
2014/7/9 – format update
2014/3/24 – updated map with new track and waypoints, new picture set
2014/3/6 – updated for WordPress
2013/10/13 – updated pictures/format, added more definitive notes about the lower section of the trail