General Information For East
Side of Cochise Stronghold Hike
The trailhead
for this hike starts at the Cochise Stronghold
Campground. There is a sign describing Cochise Stronghold
and another sign for Chief
Cochise that help explain the history of the region.
There are Pit Toilets
available at the trailhead. This is a National Forest
Campground and a fee is
charged for parking in the parking area at the
trailhead. However, one can leave their Senior Access Pass
on the dashboard of their vehicle in lieu of this fee.
Once at the campground, find the bridge and you will have
found the trailhead.
This is a 3 mile hike up to the divide between the East
and West sides of Cochise Stronghold. The round trip
is 6 miles. Much of this hike is in the open and so
this hike is best done before it gets too hot. But, in
December and January there is a good chance for snow
on the trail so it is best to be aware of past and current
precipitation in the area. The hike is a basically a
long steady climb up to the lunch
area (see the GPS coordinates of the
lunch site) where the views are superb.
The actual divide is just a little farther down the
trail. There is significant elevation gain of about
1100 feet associated with this hike. The actual divide
point is not as scenic and doesn't have good seating.
Halfmoon Tank has
good seating on the dam but the views are not that
spectacular and due to the water in the reservoir there
tends to be a lot of bugs. I would rate this hike as
moderate with some portions that are difficult. This
trail is well marked with directional signs
and signs indicating the
mileage every half mile or so. The divide between the east and
west sides of Cochise Stronghold is well marked with a
cattle gate and a
sign. The trail continues down to a trailhead and
parking area for the West Side of Cochise Stronghold.
