Summit Trailhead

The Summit Trailhead parking is the gravel area on the left. August 2017.
The Summit Trailhead parking is the gravel area on the left. August 2017.

Overview

Location

Driving Time and Distance from Tucson

  • 1 Hour and 25 Minutes from Speedway and Campbell
  • 41.4 miles from Speedway and Campbell
  • Miles up Highway: 27.5 miles
  • Side of the Highway: Down-mountain
  • Vehicle Access: Paved Roads/Passenger Car (Mountain Road - be careful of weather conditions!). Closed to motor vehicles in winter (December 15 to March 1 - dates subject to change depending on weather/conditions).

Fees and Services

  • Fee: No
  • Restrooms: No
  • Water: No

Additional Notes

  • The final 1.5 miles of the drive to this trailhead are closed to motor vehicles in winter (December 15 to March 1 - dates subject to change depending on weather/conditions) - while the road is still open to non-motorized travel consider accessing this area via Summerhaven and the Aspen Draw Trail or from the Mint Spring Trailhead and the Mint Spring Trail+Aspen Trail.
  • The 0.2 miles up the road is the Mount Lemmon Recreation Area - which, unlike this trailhead, is a fee area and does have restrooms, picnic benches and trashcans.

If you are curious about the fenced off area at the top of the mountain the University of Arizona SkyCenter runs programs inside the Mount Lemon Observatory Area.

Driving Directions

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

  • Drive East on Speedway (5.0 miles)
  • Left on Wilmot and continue on Tanque Verde (4.3 miles)
  • Left on Catalina Highway (29.1 miles)
  • Turn right on Ski Run Road (2.7 miles). Note that 1.4 miles up Ski Run Road at Ski Valley and the Iron Door Restaurant there is a gate that is closed seasonally that blocks the last 1.7 miles of the road (Lemmon Rock Road) - when the gate is closed foot traffic up the road is still allowed but consider using the Aspen Draw Trail to access this area (it won't save you time compared to walking the road but has good parking in Summerhaven and is very beautiful!)
  • The trailhead is a large unsigned gravel parking area on the down-mountain side of the road. At the corner of the parking area a road (closed to vehicles) leads out to the Aspen Trail. Near upper edge of the parking area a trail marker will help you find a short trail to the Mount Lemmon Recreation Area for access to the Meadow Trail, Lemmon Rock Trail and Mount Lemmon Trail.

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

All Trailheads - Map

Update Notes

  • 2019/1/29 – Resources section added, tags updated
  • 2018/8/26 – Main image added
  • 2017/8/7 – Img Srcset update, split this and the Mount Lemmon Recreation Area into different pages (the backstory here is that several years ago the Forest Service added picnic benches to the top of the mountain trailhead where ‘everyone’ parked (I think ‘Summit Trailhead’ may not have been a completely official name but everyone understood) and it is now a fee area called the ‘Mount Lemmon Recreation Area’. Along with that they have now signed the gravel area that this page covers as the ‘Summit Trailheads’ where you can park without paying a fee. In addition to leaving no-fee parking for users who just want to park off the side of the road and hit the trail this is also probably a useful change just to provide more official parking at the top of the mountain since for years the Summit Parking was overflowing on popular summer weekends!