Arizona Trail: A National Scenic Trail

The trail designation was part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act signed Monday by President Obama. The act, made up of more than 150 individual environmental bills, provides protection for 2 million acres of wilderness and preserves national monuments and conservation areas across the country, including sites in Arizona.

"Scenic is such a fitting description" of the Arizona Trail, said Dave Hicks, executive director of the Arizona Trail Association. "The trail displays the diverse and spectacular beauty of our state. The scenic views are just magnificent."

The designation makes the Arizona Trail one of 11 routes with National Scenic Trail status, Hicks said.

"This recognition will help protect the trail in the future," he said.

Segments of the trail pass through the Rincon Mountains east of Tucson and the Catalina Mountains north of the city.

First proposed in the mid-1980s by Flagstaff school teacher Dale Shewalter, the route includes previously existing trail segments and about 300 miles of new trails, Hicks said.

"This is the result of a great effort by many people in Arizona — individuals, people in public agencies and people in businesses all working together," he said. "It's a pretty amazing feat."

Although many people have traveled all or parts of the trail route on foot, bikes or horseback, it's not quite officially finished.

"It's 95 percent complete," Hicks said. "We still have about 40 miles to go."

Terri Gay, a Tucson hiker who has trekked nearly the entire trail in segments over several years, said she is "so pleased that the trail has finally been recognized as the amazing treasure it is."

"So many Tucsonans have helped build it and now enjoy biking, riding and hiking it," Gay said. "We should all celebrate this milestone. We're now up there with the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, only better."

In addition to designating wilderness lands and expanding the scenic trail system, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act protects some 1,000 miles of scenic rivers and blocks mining and drilling on millions of acres of federal land.

Among Southern Arizona sites affected by the measure are the Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert national monuments, the San Pedro Riparian and Las Cienegas national conservation areas, and the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.