It’s incredible that you can drive 45 minutes from the dry, hot, desert and arrive in the cool beautiful pines on Mt Lemmon! We love to escape the summer heat and drive to Mt Lemmon. It offers so many fun things for families: fishing, hiking and relaxing. You can spend the day, camp, or rent a cabin. I don’t camp so we stay in a cabin, I like to call it “glamping” or glamorous camping.
Cookie Cabin– http://www.mtlemmoncabin.com/localbusiness.html
Summer hours are: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
The Cookie Cabin is located in Summer Haven. It is the cutest log cabin with limited seating inside and plenty of seating outside in the cool mountain air. If you are hungry, arrive early and order your pizza, they get busy fast. The pizza is good but save room for the cookie and ice cream, it is delicious!
Sawmill Run Restaurant– http://sawmillrun.com/
Summer hours which will include breakfast Saturdays and Sundays from 9-1130AM. Monday-Thursday 10:30am – 5:30pm, Friday 10:30am – 8pm, Saturday 9am-8pm, and Sunday 9am-6pm. The Sawmill Run is located next to the general store in Summer Haven. They have a nice extensive menu and plenty of dining inside.
Iron Door at Mt Lemmon Ski Valley- http://www.skithelemmon.com
During the summer the Restaurant is open: Mon, Thur, and Fri 10:30am-5:00pm. Sat and Sun 9:00am-5:00pm. The restaurant is located next to the Ski Valley. They are open for breakfast and lunch and they serve a nice assortment of sandwiches and great chili.
Mt Lemmon Ski Valley– http://www.fs.usda.gov/coronado/
Chairlift rides: 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Adults, $9; children, $5; families, $20. 1-(520)-576-1321.
Camping– http://camprrm.com/2009/08/tucson-catalina-mt-lemon-campgrounds/
Call ahead and book your campground early. They fill up fast. We have visited friends at the Whitetail campground and it was very nice. The kids enjoyed riding scooters down the hill and building forts. They had limited bathrooms and there are no showers.
Cabins-
If you are looking for a large family vacation home here are some beautiful cabins:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rentals/arizona/mt-lemmon/r64932
https://www.airbnb.com/s/Mount-Lemmon–AZ?type=cabin
If you are looking for something smaller for your family here are some other great options:
There are some really nice cabins to rent on Mt Lemmon. Again, I would book early. It is a wonderful place to visit and it will fill up fast.
Come Prepared
If you are camping or glamping come prepared! There is only one store in Summer Haven and it is very limited. There is no gas station or hotel, so don’t drive up the mountain without a plan. The temperature change on Mt Lemmon can be drastic. The sun will shine and it will be warm, but when the sun goes down it really cools off at night. If you are camping the lightning storms can be so close you might want to sleep in your car. Your cell phone may not work on the mountain. Some cell phones have service but we have found that our service is nonexistent. That can be a good thing; we enjoy unplugging and playing games or watching the sunset while roasting marshmallows.
ArizonaSommers 