Peppersauce Canyon and Cave

The river bed is rocky and usually dry; except when it is a dangerously flooding during monsoon season.  The huge Arizona sycamore, Oak and Arizona walnut trees are beautiful and provide great shade all summer long, for campers, picnickers and clumps of poison ivy.  The trip from Oracle to Peppersauce Canyon is a short 8 mile trip with a speed limit of 35 miles an hour.  Have no fear of speeding here - this rocky, bumpy, gravel road will keep you at a very honest pace.  Do live on your cell phone and feel lost if you are not checking your Facebook every 15 minutes?  Sorry - there is no service in the canyon.

Does this have you discouraged?  It shouldn't. It is an amazing place to spend a day or a weekend. At an elevation of 4,700 feet, you experience a wonderful temperature reduction from the Phoenix or Tucson area, and usually with a pleasant breeze.  Peppersauce Canyon is close, easy access, inexpensive and an all around great place.

If you are wondering just what all you could do when visiting this area, here is a little list.  Hiking, caving, birding, star gazing, photography, wild life tracking, napping, s'more making, relaxing - need more?  Let's break it down a little more.

 Birds -
The canyon is home to a huge variety of birds.  Mostly the typical oak woodland birds such as the Acorn Woodpecker, Mexican Jay, Black-Throated Grey Warbler, Brown-crested Fly Catcher and the Bridled Titmouse.

Hiking - Hikers can find access to the Arizona Trail, which runs from Mexico to Utah, about 5 miles from the campground along Forest Road 38. 

Off Roading - Off-road vehicle trails are also available in the area.The road that leads to Mt. Lemmon, from the canyon area, is call the back side road.  I have known a few people who have made it up with high profile vehicles, but it is always best in a 4x4.

Biking - there's an 11.3 mile biking trail

Cooking - there's 30 camp spaces with fire rings and camp grills

Caving - the entrance to Peppersauce is just yards from the camp ground.  There's more info below about this little treasure.
 
Here's a list of info that is supplied by the Forestry Department

Camping: $10.00 per night per vehicle. Picnicking or other day use in Campgrounds: $10.00 per day. All fees are payable by cash, check, or money order at the time you occupy the site. Make check or money order payable to "USDA Forest Service." Coronado Recreation Fee Program passes are not required if vehicles remain in the campground. Limit of 2 vehicles and 10 persons per site. Campers must occupy site for the first 24 hours. 14-day stay limit per year.

RV Camping is 22 feet and less. No RV hook-ups. Trailers are discouraged as the sites are small and there are no pull-throughs. Pack and saddle stock are not permitted in campground or picnic area. Pets must leashed at all times.  Please "Pack it in, pack it out"

6 miles southeast of Oracle on Forest Road 38 (40 miles northeast of Tucson).

Water

Toilets Pack and saddle stock are not permitted in campgroun Build fires only in fire rings, stoves, grills or fireplaces provided; you are responsible for keeping fires under control; be sure fire is completely extinguished before leaving   Please bring your own firewood, as none is provided  To ascend the control road up Mt. Lemmon from the campground, a two-wheel drive high-clearance vehicle is sufficient; in bad weather, a four-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicle is needed; in winter, snow can quickly make the control road impassable by any vehicle  Bears and other animals live in the area; all food must be secured in the food storage lockers provided or in a hard-sided vehicle; dispose of trash in trash cans

Santa Catalina Ranger District

Santa Catalina Ranger District 520-749-8700  Within the campground- Accessible Picnic Areas Birding Campfire Circles Caving Drinking Water Grills Group Camping Hiking Host Lantern Posts Parking Area Picnicking Star Gazing Tables Vault Toilets Wildlife Viewing

Greater Than 10 Miles
Emergency Services Fuel Available	Grocery Store Hospital

GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude):
32.53833, -110.71639
32°32'18"N, 110°42'59"W

Peppersauce Cave is the most exciting part of the area to me.  My first visit was my senior year in high school with almost a dozen of my friends.  It was a frightening and exciting experience.  To say that we were ill equipped is putting it mildly.  I went back within the month, with other, and wiser friends and had a blast, again.   It became a routine of mine for many years. 

 I have many stories about my trips in this wet, slippery, and muddy cave, some of which I will share someday, but for now, I found this little story on line, that describes an adventure in the cave.  

To get to the cave, cross the street and head down into the creek. After about one minute of walking you will come to a sign for the cave. The entrance is to your left and up the hill. You will see the trail heading up. The opening is small and doesn't look like much, and you will have to crawl through.
 

At first I was a little concerned about navigating the cave, and not getting lost, but I got over that very quickly. Everything pretty much leads you back to the same spot, and if it doesn't it is very easy to back track. So, I don't have an exact route to tell you, but I can tell you that any of the multiple routes will work. We got to the point where we were checking out every possible route through the cave. Be prepared to get very muddy, and wear clothes that you might not want to wear again. I am guessing that the cave was considerably dry considering the dry winter we are having this year, but on a normal year it could be even muddier than what we experienced.
There are two different ropes that we ended up taking down. The ropes are already hung for use. We didn't do anything in the cave I would consider technical as far as spelunking is concerned. The ropes were just there to help you get down some ledges that would have been a cinch, if they weren't so muddy. The mud did make several places extremely slippery.
There is also ladder just above the main "lake" which is in the back of cave. The ladder is very sturdy and bolted down. The lake was very clear, and tempting for a swim. A friend of my had warned me the cave would be freezing cold, but instead, it was extremely hot and humid. We ended up turning off our lamps and enjoying the total darkness and total silence for about 10 minutes or so at the lake.
We were done exploring the cave after about 2 1/2 hours. There was one spot where we could have gone further, but didn't have rope and were worried about being able to get back out. Other than that, we pretty much took every turn we could fit through.
The cave was great and I would certainly recommend it to beginning cavers. Just make sure to have a backup light, because I would imagine it isn't very fun finding your way out in the complete dark. I was very disappointed by the amount of graffiti on the walls, and the trash in there. Next time, I will probably bring a garbage bag so I can pack out some the trash that has been left in there.

- Jan 29 2006 Brittany

 

 

Peppersauce Canyon and Cave is one of the most amazing, hidden little treasures of Arizona.