Ironwood Forest National Monument

Dec. 20, 2024

The BLM is consistent with bad roads and lack of signs. I had to drive through open range cattle area to get to the trailhead including opening and closing several gates and waiting for a calf to move off the road. The roads would not be passable in the rain. The monument lands are snuggled up against the western portion of Saguaro National Park and a county run Tucson Mountain Park. The trails and roads in these two are in much better condition. I went to Cocoraque Butte which was a sandy wash trail up to a butte for a decent view of the valley. On the walk down, I picked up an unintended hitchhiker: a piece of cactus on my shoe that was incredibly hard to remove.