Pass Mountain Trail

We hiked Pass Mountain Trail this week, a 7.1 mile trail around the base of the mountain in Usery Park.  We began in the same parking lot where the Wind Cave trail starts.

The total hike time was 2 hours and 30 minutes, we kept at a quick steady pace and didn't stop to rest. 


Since this trail is a loop, you can head either left or right... our favorite direction is to go right in a counter-clockwise direction.  When you go this way, you begin the hike with the least scenic and flat portion... and then hit the steepest part of the trail going up.  We prefer steep climbs upward to downward steep angles if we have the choice!

Thankfully, I remembered to bring my actual camera on this hike, as opposed to my cell phone camera which has captured the bleak photos for the last couple posts.

Example of the flat terrain at the beginning of the hike

As the trail begins to climb, we hardly noticed because of the surrounding beauty and hints of green from the recent rain.

Before we knew it, we were higher than we realized!  What a beautiful, overcast day!

The terrain became steeper, but we knew it would only last a short while before flattening out to circle the mountain on the north side... where you experience some of the most amazing and serene undisturbed desert views.  These views continue as the trail begins to wrap peacefully around the west side of the mountain.

Despite the narrow trail, some mountain bikers brave the rocky terrain and steep drop off.  We passed two bikers on our hike and one of them said it is his favorite trail.  It was his second time biking it that week!  Pass Mountain is less frequently traveled than Wind Cave, we passed about 8 other people on our hike.

The last part of the hike is a series of up and down hills and stretches of flat ground.  Both sides of the trail are populated with hundreds of saguaro, quite an amazing experience.

I think this trail would be perfect for out of town visitors looking for a lengthy hike through the desert terrain.

I also think Pass Mountain makes a great alternative to hiking the Wind Cave twice... the length of time for either option would be similar, but Pass Mountain is much more beautiful!  Don't get me wrong, I love the hiking the Wind Cave once, its the perfect length of time to squeeze into a busy day.