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Elephant Head Peak: Santa Rita Mountains, Southern Arizona

2/17/2020

With a second try, we made it to the lonesome summit of Elephant Head in the sparsely traveled Santa Rita Mountains, south of Tucson.

Related:

Cat Mountain

Tucson Mountains Tour

Bridalveil Falls - Esperero

Thimble Peak

Elephant Head Peak summit - Santa Rita Mountains

Trip Stats
Overview: Climb the bare-boned, steep ridge of Elephant Head Peak to witness the Shrine of the Elephant with a close backdrop of the higher forested Santa Rita Mountain range. You must first climb through old oak trees, hike out of two canyons and walk an old mining road with huge Santa Rita Prickly Pear along the way.
Location: Mt. Wrightson Wilderness - Santa Rita Mountains -  Coronado National Forest - Arizona
Distance/Type: 6.8 miles round-trip.
Elevation: Trailhead = 4,508', Elephant Head summit = 5,641'. Net elevation gain to summit = 2,000'.
Difficulty:  Moderate effort on defined trail, moderate-strenuous off-trail Class 2+ with one Class 3 pitch near summit. Experience with off-trail navigation necessary.
Reference: We used Earthline's hike directions.
Maps: Green Trails Maps Santa Rita Mountains (#2962S), our GPS tracks (below).
Considerations: No permit, no trail register.
Driving Directions: Trailhead. Leave Interstate 19 at the Canoa Road Exit near Green Valley. Take the east frontage road 3 miles south to Elephant Head Road and turn east 1.6 miles to the Mt. Hopkins Road. Drive 4.5 miles to FR 183. Turn north on this dirt road about 2.4 miles to a circular parking area with a large oak - just before the road crosses the streambed. Park here and travel back down the road a few paces to a sign that marks Trail #930 on right (north) side of road. Coordinates at parking: 31.6956 , -110.9288.
Geology: Elephant Head Quartz Monzonite (Cretaceous ~70 Ma). Not to be mistaken for granite which contains > 20% quartz, monzonite contains 5-20% quartz. Large grains indicate slow cooling below Earth's surface.
Flora: Desert grassland and oak-grassland biomes of Arizona's sky island region.

*** 1/29/23: I received a comment from someone who hiked this trail last year - she saw forestry employees who told her to remove any elephants she might find on this trail in order to keep this beautiful area more pristine.

Hike Summary

Trailhead to turn-off onto unofficial/unmaintained trail at Chino Canyon

Trailhead #930 (Quantrell Mine Trail): walk back down road a short distance from trailhead parking area where trail sign is on the right.
Walk single-track north/northwest for 1 mile to intersection with old mining road. Turn right (north).
Road narrows to single track after passing old mine; enter Mt. Wrightson Wilderness (sign). Walk 0.6 miles from sign to intersection with unofficial trail plunging into Chino Canyon. Trail marked with cairns. Elephant Head's east ridge in full view.

From unofficial trail turn-off to saddle below Elephant Head's east ridge

Steep trail leaves Quantrell Mine Trail at cairns located ~ 0.2 miles after vista and it turns in a northeast direction. The trail goes around the point labeled "USLM 3212" and leaves at its most northern aspect. Total distance = 1.9 miles (click on map at left) There may or may not be cairn to mark entry into Chino Canyon.
Descend cairned trail 500' in 0.4 miles into Chino Canyon at stream. Distance from stream to summit = 1.0 miles and 1,130' gain. Cross stream.
Trail becomes less obvious; keep looking for cairns and climb to saddle between Elephant Head (left) and Point 5,273' (right). Distance: 2.8 miles.

Saddle to Summit

Climb left up Elephant Head's east ridge for 0.6 miles, 500' to summit.
Trail runs just to the right (northeast) of the ridge which has more vegetation and oak tree limbs and trunks to help maneuver up.
Arrive at a Class 3 short wall with limited hand/footholds. It is easier but more exposed to walk to the left and climb the smaller vertical cliff.
Trail then goes up bare rock with narrower ridge. Arrive at the summit, 3.4 miles from trailhead.

"Mountains complement desert as desert complements city, as wilderness complements and completes civilization."
- Edward Abbey - from Desert Solitaire

Our Hike
On our first attempt at summiting Elephant Head Peak, a huge winter storm was blowing into southern Arizona, so by the time we reached the saddle just below the exposed ridge to the summit, we staggered against a roaring wind bent on toppling us over. We had to go back down. The storm produced a thick white blanket over the tops of the Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountain ranges overlooking Tucson. Six days later we reached Elephant Head summit on a warm, calm and sunny day, but the Santa Rita Mountain range behind us still held large patches of snow.

The almost ghostly figure of bare Elephant Head Peak stands out in stark contrast against the base of the dark brown and green Santa Rita Mountains in the Santa Cruz Valley near the southern Arizona border. The Cretaceous-age Elephant Head formed much later than the Triassic-age Mt. Wrightson rocks at the higher elevations of these mountains.

Elephant Head Peak, 5, 641' in Mt. Wrightson Wilderness in the northwest Santa Rita Mountains

First attempt: bracing against the wind on saddle beneath Elephant Head Peak, 5,641'.

On the way to the bottom of Chino Canyon looking at Elephant Head Peak. Hike to saddle on the right following cairns.

This hike packs in a wide variety of plants, views and terrain for its relatively short distance and manageable elevation gain. Begin by crossing the stream in Agua Caliente Canyon to walk through knee-high bunch grasses, then pass by the intersection for Little Elephant Head (Peak 5,139'). Catch the first glimpse of Elephant Head Peak on the horizon. Magenta and red fruits of huge Santa Rita prickly pear cacti dot the sides of the trail. Tall rock walls that support an old mining road still stand looking down Chino Canyon. Suddenly, around a corner, an enormous view of the pinkish-tan hulk of Elephant Head Peak overlooks deep Chino Canyon, its rounded rocks and southern cliffs dotted with green shrubs and a few trees. A steep drop with occasional Arizona Rainbow cacti growing in moss brings you to a soothing waterfall. The final ridge climb is the funnest part of the hike, as it requires using old oak tree branches and plenty of rock hand-holds. The rock affords great traction as the ridge drops on both sides for a huge view of all the major ranges to the north, including Baboquivari Peak, the native Tohono O'odham peoples' most sacred place. A close-up to the east of the rugged Santa Rita Mountains provides a beautiful backdrop.

One mile into the hike, intersect with mining road built in the early 1900's and an old Santa Rita prickly pear and take a right past sign.

Arizona Rainbow (Hedgehog) cactus

If you look closely at Elephant Head Peak, you will see the shape of an elephant head and ears, its trunk descending the east ridge, this hike's route. At the top, numerous elephant statues are bunched tightly together in a rock "corral". The elephant-headed Ganesha is an important god in the Hindu religion because it is a symbol of new beginnings and a remover of obstacles. In India, the elephant also symbolizes majesty and strength - appropriate for this summit with its majestic views of southern Arizona, and the Santa Cruz Valley just below.

One mile into the hike, the trail meets Trail #141, an old mining road coming up Chino Canyon built in the early 1900's. Take a right to stay on Quantrell Mine Trail (see photo above). It's amazing to see the rock walls of some portions of the road still holding solid and strong. Shortly, pass the sign for Mt. Wrightson Wilderness, then a 0.6-mile moderate climb gets you to the turn-off to the trail to Elephant Head, which may or may not be cairned. You plunge into Chino Canyon just at the northern-most aspect of Quantrell Mine Trail. It was a well-cairned "unofficial trail", easy to follow to the creek at the bottom of Chino Canyon at the time we hiked it, but requires more attention on the other side of the creek up to the saddle, as there are fewer cairns. At this point, you leave the Quantrell Mine trail and plunge 500' in 0.4 miles, heading north.

Cairn marking cross-country trail that crosses Chino Canyon to ascend to saddle to the right (southeast) of Elephant Head Peak.

Chino Canyon at creek crossing

Losing major elevation while the summit is in sight can be frustrating because it has to be regained and then there's the summit to climb. But the scramble up the ridge is too much fun to pass up and the awe you feel on the summit will always be remembered.

Once the saddle is attained, cairns lead the climber toward the right side of the ridge, where old oak tree branches, rock ledges and troughs aid in getting up the final bare and steep ascent. The Class 3 pitch near the summit is a rock wall with sparse places to put hands and feet; an alternate way to get past this climb is to skirt around this wall to the left, hoisting up more exposed, but less steep rounded rocks.

Once past this obstacle, enormous views open as you hike on the top of the ridge, a perch high above the Santa Cruz Valley. Arrive at the summit of the elephants, bunched together as if protecting themselves from the vicious wind that we experienced a week before. Madera Canyon, one of the most famous birding areas in the U.S., lies below to the north/northeast. The trailhead for Mt. Wrightson, the highest peak in the Santa Ritas, begins in this canyon.

This elevation is too high and cool for saguaros to grow. This hike travels through the transition between desert grassland and oak grassland biomes of Arizona's Sky Island region. The ocotillo "forests" are remarkable and so are the mature Santa Rita Prickly Pears; they tolerate the cooler winters. Their pads can turn purple during the winter.

So many things make this a repeat-hike in the future: solitude, desert wilderness, route-finding, fun Class 2-3 climbing, and views. Plans: Elephant Head Peak plus Little Elephant Head (Peak 5,149').