Name: Rincon Mts: Cactus Forest Trail to the Lime Kilns and Falls
Start: 2025-11-20T10:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-11-20T14:00:00-07:00
Location: Broadway Trail head

*Welcome to Mike's Quiet Hikes*

This out and back hike follows the Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro National Park. The route is meandering and gently rolling.

• Length: 6.5 **+ -** miles Out and Back
• El gain 400'
\*Rating: Intermediate
\*\***RESTRICTIONS**: No guests, dogs, firearms, vaping or tobacco
• Cell phones SILENT during hike
[Route on Google MyMaps.](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1OWiExB3V3vFluGIytzbf0dz-INRkWJw&usp=sharing)

Along with beautiful desert scenery and mountain views, we will see the remains of two century-old kilns, stone structures where limestone from nearby slopes was processed into lime for mortar and plaster used in buildings. We will also see, not one, but two Crested Saguaro and the remains of an old line shack.
After taking a look at the kilns we will continue on to the falls for our snack break before returning by the same route.

***By RSVP-ing "Yes" to this event you are agreeing to hold the event host/organizer not liable for any personal injury, death or property damage that occurs during the event or in transit to and from the event.***

**RSVP etiquette:**
• Sign up only if you really intend to come
• If you need to cancel, do so BEFORE the RSVP deadline so someone can get your spot
• If you change your mind, take yourself off the Going or Wait list
• Please don't be a no-show
Be sure to bring adequate water, food, trekking poles, etc.
**As always - Hike at Your Own Risk**
Questions:
Cell: 304 290 8066
WV-Mike
\-\-\-\-\-
*About the kilns:*
Trek to century-old lime kilns at Saguaro Park
November 13\, 2015 \| Arizona Daily Star\, The \(Tucson\, AZ\)
Author/Byline: Doug Kreutz Arizona Daily Star \| Page: A02 \| Section: Metro
A trek on the Cactus Forest Trail at Saguaro National Park east of Tucson offers spectacular views of the Sonoran Desert and something else: a glimpse into Tucson’s industrious past.
Tucked into hillsides along the trail are the remains of two century-old kilns, stone structures where limestone from nearby slopes was processed into lime for mortar and plaster used in building.
A recently added short loop trail leading to the base of the kilns lets visitors get a close-up look.

*How trees killed the kilns*
The kilns — and a few others in more remote parts of Saguaro Park — were in use from the 1880s to 1920, said Jeff Wallner, a park guide.
"The limestone came from a hill to the east of the kilns," Wallner said. "I don’t know if they blasted it out or just broke it up."
The process to convert limestone into lime, sometimes known as quicklime, involved placing the limestone into the beehive-shaped kilns and heating it to high temperatures by burning palo verde and mesquite wood cut from trees in the area.
"The limestone turned to powder when it was heated, and it was used for plaster, mortar and whitewash,” Wallner said. "The story is that some of the lime was used in mortar in the walls of volcanic rock at the University of Arizona.
A dispute over trees led to the kilns’ closure in 1920.
"Ranchers in the area wanted the trees because their cattle were feeding on the beans of mesquite,” Wallner said. "The ranchers had grazing rights, and the kiln people didn’t have rights … the ranchers took the lime kiln guys to court, and the kilns were shut down.”

Hikers on the Cactus Forest Trail, which connects two points on the park’s Cactus Forest Loop Drive, had to scoot down steep and rocky slopes to get to the base of the kilns. Now access is easier and safer.
A new side loop trail, completed in late spring, takes hikers down the slopes at a gradual angle. It’s easy to spot trail access points, but Wallner said plans call for signage to identify the short loop route.
*© Copyright (c) 2015 The Arizona Daily Star ©2025 NewsBank, inc.*
**\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~\~**
FROM: [Modern History - Saguaro National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/historyculture/modern-history.htm)
There are six lime kilns in [Saguaro National Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro_National_Park) (SNP) — four in the Rincon Mountain District (RMD) and two in the Tucson Mountain District (TMD). Lime was an important building material for any developing community. Many lime kilns were constructed in the mountains around Tucson, and as the town grew in the 19th century, so did the demand for lime. Lime kilns were usually built near the source of limestone but may also have been built near the construction site. The earliest use of lime dates to present-day Turkey between 7,000 and 14,000 years ago, and many ancient civilizations used it to create mortar to hold stones together. The Romans, however, took lime a step further, mixing it with various other ingredients to create an early version of cement.

A lime kiln is used to produce quicklime through the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate). This reaction takes place at 900 °C, but a temperature around 1000 °C is usually used to make the reaction precede quickly. Quicklime was used to make plaster and mortar for building construction. By adding sand to the mix, bonding between the sand and the lime results in a hardened product (either mortar or cement) that keeps its shape over time. Another lime-based product was whitewash, which was quicklime that had been saturated with water, and then mixed with glue. After processing, products derived from limestone have the unique ability to return to their original chemical form. The lime cycle consists of first burning of limestone to form quicklime. Hydrated lime can then be produced by adding water to the quicklime. At this point, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or from industrial processes reacts with hydrated lime to convert it back to limestone. This cycle is called the lime cycle.
Limestone is a naturally occurring and abundant sedimentary rock consisting of high levels of calcium and/or magnesium carbonate, and/or dolomite (calcium and magnesium carbonate), along with small amounts of other minerals.
FROM: [Modern History - Saguaro National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/historyculture/modern-history.htm)

**RSVP etiquette:**
• Sign up only if you really intend to come
• If you need to cancel, do so BEFORE the RSVP deadline so someone can get your spot
• If you change your mind, take yourself off the Going or Wait list
• Please don't be a no-show
Be sure to bring adequate water, food, trekking poles, etc.
**As always - Hike at Your Own Risk**
Questions:
Cell: 304 290 8066
WV-Mike

WV-Mike

Betsy Breiding

The Tucson Hiking Meetup Group

Travel & Outdoor

Hiking

Outdoors

Camping

Fitness

Outdoor Fitness

Outdoor Adventures

New In Town

Social Networking

Adventure

Exercise

Wilderness Hiking

Women's Hiking

Social

Weekend Adventures

Walking

Rincon Mts: Cactus Forest Trail to the Lime Kilns and Falls

Nature

Broadway Trail head

Share

The Tucson Hiking Meetup Group

Rincon Mts: Cactus Forest Trail to the Lime Kilns and Falls

The Tucson Hiking Meetup Group

Details

Members are also interested in