Madera Canyon Birding Adventure

Let's carpool to Madera Canyon for a day of birding in the upper elevations of Mt Wrightson and Mt Hopkins. It's an easy drive south out of Tucson and Madera Canyon Road ends at a parking area where a trail starts for a popular birding - photography area. We'll gather at the Lodge/Visitor Center.

We will definitely see birds that you won't see in the city! All kinds of Sparrows, Warblers, and Wild Turkey for example. This is a day/week fee use area of the Coronado National Forest. Please read through the post carefully. Thank you!

From the Friends of Madera Canyon website:

## Visitor Information About the Canyon

There is no gate or sign indicating you are in the Canyon, except for a sign on a right-hand turn to the Visitor Information Station where volunteers greet visitors and provide information on facilities and safety and direct visitors to features of the canyon that best meet their needs. Bird Checklists, Trail Maps and Brochures (but NOT canyon passes) are available here. Station volunteers:

• answer questions about the Canyon,
• provide literature about the canyon and other important facts,
• act as a link to US Forest Service personnel.

This is also the entrance to the Proctor parking area, (handicap) Accessible trail, and beginning of the Bud Gode Interpretive Nature Trail. Continuing up the paved road will bring you first to the Whitehouse parking and picnic area. The next parking area is the Madera parking area with picnic sites on both sides of the road. Next is the Santa Rita Lodge on the right, where you can park to look at birds at the many feeders, visit the gift shop and make plans to stay overnight.
Further up the road, now at about 5,000 feet elevation, is the Amphitheater parking area on the right with access to the Nature Trail. Above this is the Madera Kubo Cabins on the left, then another bridge and the Chuparosa Inn B & B on the right, and finally the large Mt. Wrightson Picnic Area and Trail Heads with parking, many picnic sites, rest rooms, and trail heads.

Be sure to display your National, Recreational, or Golden Age pass, or your Day or Week-use fee receipt on your dashboard. You are subject to a fine for parking in the Canyon if there is no pass evident on your dashboard, or for parking along the road outside of a parking area.

https://friendsofmaderacanyon.org/aboutmc/

## Fees, Passes & Parking

Madera Canyon is in a National Forest Recreation Area where many facilities are provided by the Forest Service, requiring a local Forest Pass or accepted Inter-agency Pass. While parked you must clearly display whichever of these passes you have purchased on your dashboard.

• A $8 Day Fee to the U.S.Forest Service can be purchased at 5 parking area fee stations in the canyon — only with correct cash or check. You must park in a designated area or you will be ticketed, or towed. If you prefer you can purchase online here.
• National Inter-agency passes; Golden Age Passport, Golden Access Passport, Golden Eagle Passport, and the National Parks Pass with a Golden Eagle sticker affixed. Purchase/Info Online
• Coronado Recreation Annual ($40) and Weekly passes ($10) can be purchased in the canyon at the Santa Rita Lodge, the Tumacacori National Historic Park south of Tubac, or a Forest Service office.

A clearly displayed Recreation pass, National pass, or Monthly, Weekly, or Daily pass is all you need to park/visit any location in the Madera Canyon Recreation Area.

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Car Pool Information: TBD but we want to be at the Madera Canyon Parking area by 9:00 am. We'll be at 5,000+ once we are parked at the canyon and it'll be cooler temps so please be prepared. If you want to drive down directly then that is fine too! Let us know please.

We'll take I-19 S to the Continental Road Exit in Green Valley. Turn left or east and continue to White House Canyon Road where there is a stop light and La Posada Retirement Village is on the corner (to your left). Turn right and the road eventually becomes Madera Canyon Road and will guide you into the canyon.

We'll first bird watch at the Visitor Center (Lodge)(where a day pass can be purchased) where they have several bird feeders and benches to watch the bird activity. We'll decide as a group where we want to go and bird watch from the Lodge, there's a couple of choices OR you can stay at the Lodge if you so decide!

Going to Madera Canyon is always a great day of birding and cooler temps too! I hope you can make it!