Trail: Arivaca Cienega Trail
National Park: USFWS
Features: Archeo/paleo/historical
Creek(s)
Geological feature(s)
Scenic viewpoint(s)
Wetland(s)
Activities: Dogs - On leash
Pedestrian - Walking/Hiking/Running

Miles: 1.25 miles
Desc: This 1.25 mile loop trail was esigned as wheelchair accessible with gentle surfaces and no slopes. About half is a five-foot wide boardwalk. The boardwalk section is straight with a few gentle curves, with railing along portions that rise above open water or wetlands. The trail includes two overlook decks at significant desert wetland open ponds. One deck features two telescopes, one at an accessible height.
The boardwalk was built by the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). It is given annual maintenance by the YCC or refuge volunteers. The Tucson Audubon Society conducts guided walks on the trail every Saturday from November through April.
The trail preserves habitat because the boardwalk extends over the seasonally wet areas, preventing compaction of sensitive vegetation and soil. The habitat surrounding the trail is the westernmmost and lowest elebation cienega in the U. S. southwest. Cienegas, Spanish for “a hundred waters,” are spring-fed marshes, particularly rare and precious in the deserts of Arizona, attracting an abundance of birds and other wildlife.
Lying close to the Mexican border, this site attracts species that are unusual to most of the United States, especially subtropical birds. Arivaca Cienega regularly attracts gray hawks, northern beardless tyrannulets, blackbellied whistling ducks, tropical kingbirds, and green kingfishers. Endangered and threatened species at the site include the yellow-billed cuckoo and southwestern willow flycatcher. a regular treat is the brillant and fluorescent vermillion flycatcher.
The trail lies at the eastern edge of the small community of Arivaca