Tanque Verde Falls

map

TucsonAZ  United States

A short ways up Redington Road, a steep, dirt trail across from a parking lot leads down to Tanque Verde Falls. This canyon area has usually year-round water, a wide variety of native plants, scenic waterfalls, and deep, natural swimming holes with lovely, clear water. Sometimes, as it is here, the...

4.17 (6 reviews)

Hiked in on 18 Sept 2019

Return to Discussions

I hiked in today, starting at 10:20am and 92F. I parked at the "third" parking area; which is really just some small parking spots on the edge of the road.

The hike to the falls took 30 minutes. At the trailhead, I saw a couple leaving on the trail that I think goes straight to above the falls. I saw others hiking on this later in the trip.

I was the only one there and shed my clothes and hung out in the shade under the cliff. After about 20 minutes, a guy walked up, looking for the falls where you could cliff jump. He stood about 20 feet away, me sitting turned to the side. We talked for just a few minutes as I could not really hear him well over the sound of the water. He then turned and headed back downstream. I later saw him hiking out.

After about an hour, a military helicopter started a low pass up the canyon from downstream. I put my shorts back on, wanting to avoid possible trouble. I am sure they saw me anyway. As I watched it pass overhead, that is when I noticed a man standing on the cliff above the falls. He was nude, so I returned to my nude state also. He was watching the helicopter, not me. He then turned and continued up the trail. He was the only other nude person I saw the whole time.

Later I saw one other person up above, wearing shorts. I later saw him also hiking out.

After staying two hours, I then prepared to hike out. I put on some sunscreen, put my hydration pack back on and tied my shirt to my head for sun protection for my head and neck. Since I saw so few people the whole time, I carried my shorts rather than put them back on. I watched carefully for others the entire hike out, but saw no one. Hiking out nude was nice. I finally put my shorts back on when I got within sight of the road, near the top of the hill.

The day before, Tuesday, I hiked from the lower parking area up to the falls where people cliff jump. That hike took an hour and was more challenging. On Tuesday I also saw more cars up at the third parking area than I did on Wednesday.

Overall, I would definitely go again. I would like to test out the trail going straight to the beach area. But I definitely like being below the falls, in the shade. There was a nice breeze also.

This topic was edited