Discussion for Sabino Dam Trail #33—conditions, questions, and the short approach to the dam and the seasonal crossings that shape the start of the canyon.

❖ Sabino Dam Trail #33 Page

A brief, gentle path leading to the dam and the wide crossing of Sabino Creek. The trail changes with the seasons—sometimes dry rock, sometimes flowing water and cool air rising from the canyon floor. It’s one of the most visited places in Sabino, yet still feels ancient when the creek is running and the desert quiets around it.

Points of Interest

Sabino Dam Coordinates

Popular Strava Routes

The story of this trail continues—updates will follow.

Misc

The Sabino Dam you see today was built in the late 1930s as part of a Depression-era public works effort, carried out by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was one piece of a much larger plan to develop Sabino Canyon for public recreation—and part of a bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to push a road all the way to the top of Mount Lemmon.

Early Proposals (Early 1900s)

At the turn of the 20th century, long before the dam was built, Tucson officials considered constructing a large reservoir in the upper canyon to help supply water during severe drought. The idea stalled under its own weight—too costly, too ambitious, and lacking political support. The canyon remained untouched.

New Deal Era Construction (1930s)

During the Great Depression, Sabino Canyon became a priority for development. Federal New Deal agencies—including FERA, the WPA, and the CCC—supplied funding, planning, and labor.
Workers began cutting an access road, constructing nine bridges across Sabino Creek, and eventually building the present-day small diversion dam.

In 1935, the WPA secured the funds needed to complete the bridges and finish the dam, envisioned as the anchor for a modest recreational “swimming lake.”

Purpose and Abandoned Road Project

The dam, the road, the bridges, the picnic areas, and the Lowell Ranger Station were all part of a single integrated plan:

• Create jobs during the Depression

• Develop Sabino Canyon as a recreation site for the public

• Build a full road to the summit of Mount Lemmon

The last goal never succeeded. The terrain above the canyon proved too steep, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required local interests to contribute $500,000 to finish the project—money the region simply did not have.

The road ended where it ends today.

Current Status

For a time, the dam backed a small lake popular for swimming and fishing. But decades of monsoons, flooding, erosion, and sediment movement have filled the basin with silt and sand, shrinking the lake to a shallow pond whenever Sabino Creek flows.

Today the dam serves not as a reservoir, but as a scenic gathering point—one of the most visited spots in the canyon—where people wade, rest, listen to the water, and watch the desert shift around them.