Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists

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Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists Our mission is to educate and inspire people of all ages to explore the wonders of Sabino Canyon and the Sonoran Desert.

We envision a community where people of all ages understand, value, and actively steward its natural and cultural treasures. It’s not permissible for people to advertise on this page, go off topic, or act in a profane or mean-spirited manner. Posts will be hidden if they:
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Help us celebrate a fantastic hiking summer! We’re planning a potluck lunch after the hike. So bring something to share ...
08/25/2026

Help us celebrate a fantastic hiking summer! We’re planning a potluck lunch after the hike. So bring something to share and join the fun.

Friday, August 28th, will be our last public hike on Mt Lemmon for the season. It will be a nice easy 3.0-mile hike thru a beautiful alpine meadow, then on to the historic Fire Lookout house.

Hike starts at 8am at the Summit Trailhead (turn right at milepost 24.6 then drive 1 mile past Ski Valley parking lot.

A restroom and picnic tables are near the trailhead. If these tables aren’t available when we complete the hike, we’ll drive down to Inspiration Point Picnic Area.

For carpooling or caravanning meet at the McDonald’s parking lot at Tanque Verde and Catalina highway by 6:45am.

Look how happy this Pygmy nuthatch is to see all the birders from all over the world who are in Tucson for the Southeast...
08/14/2026

Look how happy this Pygmy nuthatch is to see all the birders from all over the world who are in Tucson for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival!

The birders who stop at the Palisades Visitor Center on Mt. Lemmon are seeing the best and brightest of the mountain birds, including this joyful Pygmy nuthatch.

This is the smallest of our 3 nuthatches on Mt. Lemmon, and you can recognize it by it's diminutive size and lack of white on its head. It also has an adorable "dog squeaky toy" vocalization, and can usually be found with several of its closest friends.

The birds of Mt. Lemmon are sprucing up and looking good, just in time for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival!Stop b...
08/10/2026

The birds of Mt. Lemmon are sprucing up and looking good, just in time for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival!

Stop by the Palisades Visitor Center on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings to enjoy watching the birdy antics and learn more about our favorite backyard mountain.

Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists will be on hand to answer questions and share fun and interesting facts about our feathered friends.

Are you loving all this green and the tall trees???? Join a Volunteer Naturalist led public hike this Friday, August 7t...
08/06/2026

Are you loving all this green and the tall trees???? Join a Volunteer Naturalist led public hike this Friday, August 7th, on Mt. Lemmon. Hike starts at 8am at the Bigelow Trailhead located at milepost 19.5 of the Catalina Highway. This approximate 3.5 mile hike will start out as a nice ramble along Organization Ridge Road then the Palisades trail with an optional steep detour to a beautiful spot along a small creek. We might be allowed to explore the Whispering Pines Girl Scout Camp on the return trip. Elevation gain approximately 500'.
For carpooling or caravanning meet at the McDonald's parking lot at Tanque Verde and Catalina highway by 6:45am.

Good news! Hummingbirds are humming, the chickadees are chick-a-dee-dee-deeing and everyone is happy for the return of t...
07/31/2026

Good news!
Hummingbirds are humming, the chickadees are chick-a-dee-dee-deeing and everyone is happy for the return of the bird feeders at the Palisades Visitor Center!

Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists will be there on Saturday from 9-noon to educate visitors about the wonderful world of Mt. Lemmon with the Ask a Mountain Naturalist table.

They will also be there on Sunday from 9-noon with Bird the Lemmon, which is a fun way for visitors to learn about our mountain birds. Loaner binoculars available to use on site.

Come sit with us, watch the birds, and enjoy the cooler temperatures on Mt. Lemmon!

The next Summer Lizard Walk is this Saturday August 1. Come learn about the reptiles and amphibians that inhabit Sabino ...
07/31/2026

The next Summer Lizard Walk is this Saturday August 1. Come learn about the reptiles and amphibians that inhabit Sabino Canyon! The walks are free, and no reservations are required.

Meet in the plaza outside the Visitor Center by 7:30 a.m. with your water bottles, close focus binoculars, trail mix to keep your electrolytes in check (lizards like it hot), etc. If you don’t have close focus binoculars, we will loan you a pair. Open-toed shoes or sandals are not recommended. The walks take about 2-1/2 hours, although you are free to leave at any time.

Sabino Canyon has over a dozen species of lizards, including the Gila Monster. We may also find snakes, toads, frogs, or a Desert Tortoise.

All event status updates or cancellations will be posted on the SCVN calendar by 6:30 am the day of the event.

Join SCVN this Friday, July 31st. Let’s celebrate the last day of this extremely hot month. This 3.4-mile hike will st...
07/29/2026

Join SCVN this Friday, July 31st. Let’s celebrate the last day of this extremely hot month. This 3.4-mile hike will start at 8am at the Carter Canyon Road trailhead. Since this area was burned in the Aspen Fire it will be sunny most of the way but there are lots of new Aspen trees and ferns along the way, and some great views. Hopefully we will find water and mint at the spring. We’ll stop at shady Marshall Saddle for a snack before returning to cars. For carpooling or caravanning meet at the McDonald’s parking lot at Tanque Verde and Catalina highway by 6:45am.

The last Summer Storytime for 2026. I bet you can't guess, the theme was DEER 🦌
07/23/2026

The last Summer Storytime for 2026. I bet you can't guess, the theme was DEER 🦌

Join SCVN this Friday for a 6.4-mile hike. Hike starts at Ski Valley, turn right at milepost 24.9 and park at Irondoor R...
07/22/2026

Join SCVN this Friday for a 6.4-mile hike. Hike starts at Ski Valley, turn right at milepost 24.9 and park at Irondoor Restaurant parking lot. We’ll start out up the steep Aspen Draw trail to the top of the ski lift then after a short rest, on up a bit more to the Summit parking lot. From there its on to the historic Mt Lemmon Fire Lookout house and a beautiful alpine meadow. Elevation gain of 1200′ makes this quite a workout, but a really enjoyable downhill on the return. For carpooling or caravanning meet at the McDonald’s parking lot at Tanque Verde and Catalina highway by 6:45am

The children were spellbound as "Cactus Hotel" was read by the grandchildren of one of our Sabino Canyon Volunteer Natur...
07/10/2026

The children were spellbound as "Cactus Hotel" was read by the grandchildren of one of our Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists. Then, they made a fun cactus puppet, and were able to see baby saguaros, saguaro fruit & seeds, and the insides of a saguaro.🌵

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5700 N Sabino Canyon Road
Tucson, AZ
85750

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