Catalina Highway (Mount Lemmon)

Tucson desert floor to alpine Mount Lemmon, climbing 6,000 feet through stacked switchbacks

The General Hitchcock (Catalina) Highway climbs roughly 6,000 feet from the saguaro desert outside Tucson to the pines near Summerhaven, passing through a sequence of life zones often likened to driving from Mexico to Canada. The grade is steady and the corners are constant, with cyclists, motorcyclists and rock climbers all sharing the road. It is paved the whole way and the surface is generally good. Mind cyclists on blind bends, sudden ice and snow near the top in winter, and falling rock through the lower switchbacks.