Romero Pools (Catalina State Park)

In my opinion the best time to hike in Tucson (and other desert locales) is the winter, while temperatures are still manageable. You will not find me hiking in the desert during the long hot summers, where temperatures can literally be deadly, and surviving the heat takes precedence over enjoying your surroundings. Average February temperatures in Tucson are supposed to be around 68 degrees, but on the day we hiked to the Romero Pools in Catalina State Park, we were in the midst of almost record breaking temperatures, with a heat wave inching the mercury up into the high 80’s. We hit the trail early(ish) at 9:30 a.m. so we could leisurely cover the 5.8-mile round trip hike before hitting the heat of the day. We weren’t entirely successful on that count, hot is hot, and it didn’t take long for things to warm right up. Still, we managed to get to the Romero Pools and back in one piece along a sometimes rugged trail that climbed nearly 1000 feet. 

The Romero Canyon trail is probably the most popular destination in the Catalina State Park area, and taking the trail up to the pools (created by snowmelt from the surrounding mountains) leads to a wonderful spot to swim, relax, have a bite to eat, and listen to the water tumbling down over huge rock formations. The first part of the trail is a wide dirt road, but after about a mile you begin the descent to the top, scrambling over rocks and negotiating footing in many areas. The first signs of spring were already showing themselves. We saw bright green leaves beginning to emerge on the ocotillo cactus, a stray wildflower blooming here and there, and a couple of blooms on the cactus. We were very pleased and excited to see a group of Bighorn Sheep feeding on the side of a hill, who seemed to stop and pose for us as we rounded a corner on our way down from the pools. The desert is a beautiful place that, despite what logic seems to dictate, is a vibrant ecosystem teeming with diversity and a wide variety of lifeforms.