Contact Information
Federal Building
300 W. Congress
6th Floor
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-670-4552
Anyone who's driven Interstate 10 through southern Arizona knows that the region's lowland desert - - bone-dry, dusty, and often searingly hot - - isn't the most hospitable of American landscapes. And from the roadways, the steep, wrinkled topography of the mountain ranges that rise here and there from the desert floor doesn't look much more user-friendly; some green is visible here and there, but when it's 110 degrees where you are it's hard to grasp the difference that a few thousand feet's elevation can make. Wend your way up into those mountains, however, and you'll learn the astonishing truth: the environment of these ranges is a total departure from what you'll find on the flats. Temperatures are far lower, water is relatively abundant, and the wildlife and flora are largely what you'd expect to find high in the Rocky Mountains. Coronado National Forest protects twelve of southeastern Arizona's sky islands, the real treasure houses of the region. Views are spectacular from these mountains, and visitors may experience all four seasons during a single day's journey, spending the morning wandering among giant saguaros and colorful wildflowers, having a picnic lunch under the brilliant golden leaves of a cottonwood tree, and playing in the snow later in the afternoon. The mountains are year-round playgrounds for outdoor recreation, from hiking and mountain biking to some of the best bird-watching anywhere in the world.
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