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Bluff Trail #51
 
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Bluff Trail #51

Discussion for Blackett’s Ridge Trail—conditions, questions, and the demanding climb that sharpens attention with every step.

 

Bluff Trail #51 Page

A quiet trail skirting the bluffs above Sabino Creek, where the sound of water rises and fades and small pockets of shade appear like invitations to slow down and breathe. Light, rock, and wind shape each step.

 

Points of Interest

 

 

Sabino Creek

 

Around the Corner from Sabino Dam

 

 

Popular Strava Routes

 

 

Misc

 

At the top of Blackett’s, the squirrels come close. Don’t feed them. The canyon didn’t shape them to beg from people, and every crumb you offer teaches them the wrong lesson. Let them stay wild.

 

Long before Blackett’s Ridge became a line on maps and guidebooks, it was simply a steep spine rising between two canyons, a place that asked for attention from anyone who stood beneath it.
 
In the late 1930s, Don Everett—a teacher at the Southern Arizona School for Boys—was one of the few who listened. He often brought his students into the desert, believing the canyon could teach them things the classroom never could. One of those boys was Bill Blackett.
 
In 1937, Everett and young Blackett rode on horseback up the raw, exposed ridge for the first time. No markers, no switchbacks, just the two of them moving through heat and stone, letting the ridge show them where to go. When they reached the top, Everett did what he often did in those days: he gave the land a name tied to the students who had shared the moment with him.
 
He marked that ridge with Blackett’s name—not out of ownership, but recognition. A way of saying: this place shaped you, and in return, you left a trace upon it.
 
Everett named several landmarks this way, assigning them like quiet honors to the boys who learned from the desert beside him. Blackett’s Ridge is one of those places, carrying a story built not from conquest, but from presence, mentorship, and a single ascent made long before trails and signs appeared.
 
The trail is very exposed to the sun, so hikers should be prepared with plenty of water and sun protection.
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