| About Coronado National Forest |
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| Cochise Trail |
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Difficulty:
More Difficult
Usage:
Light
USGS Maps:
Cochise Stronghold
Trail Number:
279
Length:
4.5 Miles
Elevation Gain:
1,000 Feet
Beginning Elevation:
5,000 Feet
Ending Elevation:
6,000 Feet
Reservation:
No
Season:
Spring - Fall
From Tucson, Take I-10 east 72 miles to US 191. Turn right (south) and drive 12 miles south to Ironwood Road. Turn right and drive 8 miles to Cochise Stronghold Campground.
Location Information
In the 1860's, the charismatic leader, Cochise, adopted the rugged canyons that cross the midsection of the Dragoon Mountains as the refuge for himself and his people. The place came to be known as Cochise Stronghold. One feature of this natural fortress that made it so well adapted to this purpose was that the two rocky canyons, one from each side of the mountain range, early meet high in the Dragoons. With their outlandish rock formations and thick oak-juniper vegetation, they offers a concealed escape route in either direction.No one knows how man times Cochise and his people used these two canyons and the trail that connects them to move across these mountains. Today, Forest visitors travel this route as a portal back into this area's colorful past, as well as an access route to its scenic present. This trail extends between the Cochise Stronghold Campground on the east and a 4 WD road (FR 688) into West Stronghold Canyon on the west side of the Dragoons. It is possible to travel all the way to Council Rocks at the mouth of West Stronghold.
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