A Mountain

Such a great spot to take in the Tucson area. I don't know how long ago they cleaned up the trash problem but I I hiked all the way up and saw only a few pieces.

Fourth of July Fireworks show. We can see it nicely from our Patio in the back yard. Quite a display!

I was in Tucson yesterday for official business in downtown. I brought my dog along because I wanted to do a short hike. With rain in the forecast, I opted to stay in lower elevations to avoid any flashflooding. I chose Sentinel Peak Park. It's only four miles from downtown, free, and dog friendly.I followed my Alltrails.com app to get me to the trailhead, which had me parking on the lower end. Alltrails says it's a 1.7 mile loop hike, but that's on the narrow road shared by speeding cyclists. There is no map of the trails and most of the trails are unmarked.I opted for the Gilbert Escabron Jiminez trail (the former Sentinel Ridge trail) which took me on the east side of Tumonoc Hill (not dog friendly) and along a ridge before taking me to the road. Views in all directions are nice, but because alcohol is allowed in this park, careless drinkers toss their bottles and cans off the road. There is a lot of broken glass everywhere! There are also several roadside crosses in memoriam for people who died in this park. I also got annoyed at all the graffiti on the rocks. Seriously, people, do you have to trash everything?I ended up logging four miles between the two big hills. The rainy weather made this a cool, enjoyable hike so close to downtown. This is a nice place to see the sun or moon rise or set. Just be careful while walking your dog, because of all the broken glass near the tophttps://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3907107160

First the Plus: A Mountain is a Tucson landmark that you can see all over the city. It's a little difficult to find the road but it is marked once your close. GPS will get you there. A Mountain is pet friendly but you are to pick up any droppings.We parked at the bottom lot and hiked first to the small picnic area about 1/2 way up. Then we took to the hiking trails and climbed the face next to the white A. (This trail goes straight up the Mountain- wear good climbing shoes and it's not for the beginners). Once on the top there is a beautiful view in every direction. We even saw a Road Runner at the top!Next the Minus: Unfortunately, vandalism is apparent all over this wonderful place. There wasn't a lot of trash, (we saw a person picking up trash when we hiked down.) But there is broken glass everywhere and many of the signs and plaques have spray paint on them or dents and holes from rocks being thrown at them. Additional info: If you drive, be aware of the very narrow road and that pedestrians and bicyclists that also use the road. Also be aware that the edges of the road in most places are long drops and there are no barriers.

Came up here July 4 weekend and was scared out of my mind during the drive up. The road doesn't have any barriers protecting you from a steep tumble.Parking is available along the side of the winding road or in parallel spots almost to the zenith.There was a swarm of bees at the main path so we had to take the path less traveled, which was essentially bouldering over loose rock. The view was nice from up top but the peak has broken glass bottles all over the ground. Guess it's a party hangout.I was sad to see a stray puppy up there trying to scavenge from tourist litter. I would have scooped him up but he was skittish and a bit aggressive so he wouldn't come to me.

Nice spot to see downtown Tucson and view of beautiful mountains full of Saguaro trees. Great on those cloudy days, great for folks who enjoy walking and semi-hiking. There is a structure at the top where you can sit and use as a photo opp.

It's so funny to me that I was born in Tucson and grew up here until I was almost 10yrs old and always saw "A" Mountain, but never made the trek up to the namesake until returning over 20yrs later...life is interesting that way I guess!"A" Mountain (aka Sentinel Peak) has a pretty rich history (there are plaques in both english and spanish explaining the peak's importance and even where Tucson got its name). The drive up gives you pretty great panoramic views of Tucson, especially downtown. But warning, for some reason people drive up here like bats outta hell...I don't know why you would go over 25mph on the road up here when there are so many things to see on the drive up...but people are idiots and feel the need to race up the mountain. I had to pull over a couple of times to let said idiots pass me so I could enjoy my jaunt up to the top.You can park in front of the "A" itself and even attempt to climb it (though make sure you have closed toed, sturdy shoes because it is steep and there is broken glass everywhere!). But, if you make it up to the top of the "A", the photo opp is pretty epic! I will say that I went in late afternoon on a weekday (and maybe it was because of Spring Break), but among the local and out-of-state tourists, there is a certain "element" here that is blaring music, smoking blunts, and leaving trash, broken beer/alcohol bottles and cigarette butts everywhere. That just makes me sad that people cannot respect this place for themselves or for others...That being said, it was a fun little Tucsonian experience that was very nostalgic for me and would recommend if you are driving through Tucson to make the detour. I was there for just under 45mins and most of that time was climbing up and climbing down the "A" portion of the mountain.

My wife and I were on vacation in Tucson and my mother-in-law recommended that we do up to "A" mountain for the view.I went to U of A in 1992-1993 for a year on scholarship. (I know..Stupid to leave school for free to go to University of Minnesota, but a super fat guy sweated a lot in class during the late spring months.) Anyway..I never went up to "A" mountain, but I always saw it from campus in red, white, and blue.The view is nice from above. Tucson isn't a huge downtown,but this is a nice overhead view.

Man was the A hard to find! And the road was too narrow to park so we can see the AAlso, don't go in June-August!! It was friggin' hot!!! But we had to see this landmark before we leave this city..

Steeeeeeeep. But not too bad. I guess it's a good way to catch an ASU game if you don't have tickets.View was cool. You got a river on one side (which is called a lake on google maps, but whatever, looked like a river to me), stadium on another side, the city on another side, and an airport. Good way to see the bellies of planes as they come in and out of the airport.Quibble quibble let me grumble: "hike" was short. Compared to other hikes, I guess I prefer to be away from the city but this gave you a bird's eye view of it (which some people like, I respect that).