Catalina State Park

Catalina state Park is, by far, one of the most scenic places I have ever been. While tucked away from the bustling city just down the road, you would never know that! The saguaro cacti are breathtaking. I highly recommend camping here.

We came as day users to walk the canyon loop trail. It was a Sunday, but we were still able to park at trailhead @1030 am. Lots a of great views, we walked counter clockwise. We were there in early March, you will get your feet wet crossing the creek several times. I went in sandals and was happy with the choice. This a dog and horse friendly trail, our dogs did well on the wide path. No restrooms once you leave the trailhead. Bring lots of water.

Beautiful place to camp or just go for an evening walk in the sand. Not too far from Tucson and tucked up against beautiful mountains that give great views for the sunset. As the park grows quiet you can hear all the sounds of nature coming alive for the night. Great trails for kids and adults alike. Perfect spot for a photographer for both landscapes and as a background for people. Plenty of picnic spots. Bathrooms are clean and stocked vaulted toilets. They even have nature programs on weekends.
This is the perfect park for anyone in the family.
Always remember leave no trace.

Amazing park with a lot of trails and parking. We went on the 50 year trail and loved the views and liked the nice wide trails. It was not too hot when we went. Would definitely go back and explore more of the trails and would like to go at sunset to see the views at that time as well. Happy to have this here.

Beautiful park surrounded by mountains with a cool stream flowing in the winter and spring. Hiking trail requires walking across stream and getting a little wet. Dogs allowed on leash.

A very beautiful place to visit! On this visit we saw a desert tortoise. They offer Camping grounds with Electric, R.V sites, they have picnic areas all over the park with Grill's. If you do cook out NO WOOD when grilling only CHARCOAL. Lots of trails so come prepared and ready with lots of water, snacks, and food. Your Furry friends are also allowed to be part of the journey here at Catalina State Park and are allowed on the trails with you. Make sure they are on a leash at all times. They have a little placita with benches and they do have music and little events through our the year, you'd have to check the website for those events. So much to do here they even have a larger grilling area with multiple picnic tables and grills for larger events, birthday parties, anniversary, ETC. Restrooms located through our the park. There is a daily fee and a fee for camping. My family and I live in Tucson but we come here often. It is so beautiful, calm, tranquility everywhere and lots of history!

Originally known by the Tohono O'odham Nation as Babad Do'ag, the Catalinas were later named in 1697 by Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Francisco Kino in honor of St. Catherine who was the patron saint of Kino's oldest sister.

Beautiful scenery with many different hiking trails to choose from. My wife and I did the Canyon Loop on a beautiful March morning. The trail was just the right length and difficulty for two novice hikers. The views at certain points are truly breathtaking.

Great park. Lovely camping sites. Beautiful trails. Restrooms and showers kept very clean. Friendly volunteers. BbGreat for families

Nice easy 4.5 mile out and back trail with a nice waterfall at the end. Best time to go is after the snow starts to melt or heavy rains

3/5/2018
This park is a very nice State Park. The rangers are very helpful and pleasant. There are trails that come into the park including a horse trail. The scenery is very nice anywhere in the park.
We have not been able to return for awhile but definitely want to.

The park is so beautiful with some amazing views of the mountains and night sky. Living in the city we don't get to enjoy the night sky with the Milky Way visible like here at Catalina State Park. There was only one thing that detracted from the experience was several RV'S and some trailers had the led string lights and led rope lights on and left on for the entire night and were glaringly bright and made it hard to fully enjoy the amazing night sky. That isn't anything to do with the park itself but it is an issue if you are there to enjoy the stars and the Milky Way and night photography or viewing the sky through a telescope. I wish more were aware of this issue with the led string lights.
The park was very clean and also had bins for recycling. The rangers we interacted with were very nice and helpful.
We would definitely stay here again.

It is a beautiful state park with great spaces for RV's. Clean and amply lighted restrooms with nice showers.

This was my first time here and it was such a cool experience! I loved every second of walking in the foothills of mountain! You can walk up close to the saguaros and take really neat and cool photos! We walked around a 3-4 mile ring that was amazing every step! I love seeing all the plants and nature around you! There was people all around but everyone keeps there distance so you feel like you’re alone there! It was a fun and neat experience !!! I will for sure be back! Very unique experience!!!

We wanted to ensure we got in a couple of state parks around Tucson before we headed further west. After asking around and checking reviews we decided to check out Catalina State Park. One of the Important factors for us was dogs being allowed on the trails.

The first trail we did What is the Romero Ruin Interpretive trail. This trail was only .4 miles/.9 km and a very easy walk. There are some stairs that you need to climb to get to the top however they are not difficult and nice and wide. The interpretive guide signs explaining The history were very clear to read and in good shape; not like some other places we have been to. We met a couple up there that explained about the pottery that was scattered about and if they didn’t show us what a piece looked like we would never of known; now we know what to look for. But once again please do not remove anything from the park and keep it there for others to enjoy!

We spoke to one of the Rangers on our way in and he said his favourite spot to watch the sunset was on the ridge of Natures Trail. We parked and started this particular hike around 4:40 pm and got to a perfect spot where there was a rock to sit on to watch the sunset; which was scheduled for 5:20pm. It was a beautiful sunset like every Arizona night we have seen; it’s so nice to see it from different perspectives.

We didn’t see too many animals while we were in the park however we did see a tiny gopher/marmot, coyote birds, horses and deer prints. The kids were looking for a snake although I don’t think they really wanted to find one as we have experienced rattlesnakes up close and they are kind of scary :-)

Somebody on the trail told us to watch out for tarantulas- The only thing we really saw on the ground or lots and lots of ants.

This was a great place to go and stretch your legs!

Gorgeous views, my husband ran a marathon there and I enjoyed the area while he was gone. Recommend for a family adventure for sure 👍🏼

We have traveled the country over in our RV, and this is one of our all-time favorite places to be. Spectacular views, one of the best possible state park set ups with spacious gravel pads and wonderful views. It’s uncommon for a state park to have electric and water hook ups, but you will find them here. No dump hookups at the sites, but dump station is easily accessible. A bit far from town, which is the only drawback. We love that hiking trails are within feet of where we are camped. When the weather is delightful, be sure to get reservations well in advance. Will come back again!

Well marked trails, it was only 7 dollars a car. There are rear benches everywhere the creek was flowing.There are spaces for RV’s, and other places to car camp. Very enjoyable place

I added this stop at the last minute to break up the drive from Mesa AZ to Deming NM, and I’m so glad I did! The campground is well laid out, the folks in the visitors center are friendly and helpful. We loved that the RV spaces have plenty of room and the views from our campsite were spectacular. The showers were some of the best we’ve found in state parks. We chose to visit Saguaro NP rather than hike the trails within Catalina, but will do that the next time we’re passing through, which we definitely will do!!

Worth the price of admission! What I love most about this park is the variety of trails. Whether you’re looking for an easy relaxing interpretative trail or a challenging canyon hike this park has it all. I recommend Birding trail for a short relatively easy relaxing hike (stairs both ways in this loop but even with a bad knee a hiking pole makes the stairs easy to tackle). Canyon loop trail for a moderate 45-50min hike with stream crossings and great views and Romero pools for an elevation gaining heart pumping but epic view worth the climb! There’s also a great picnic and parking area for enjoying lunch 👍 Jan - April best times to visit. Only $7 per car 🚘 less than a cost of a movie with lots more adventure!

This is an absolutely beautiful state park, with excellent choices of hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping. There are different trails with different levels of difficulty. It gets busy by 10am so for a quiet morning hike in the AZ sun, get there before! But absolutely beautiful scenery..a fire here( caused by lightning, encouraged by an idiot with a drone) caused some damage but still beautiful.