Aug. 6, 2021

Tumamoc Hill Will Close Aug. 10-13 for Regular Road Maintenance

TUCSON, Ariz. — Popular Tumamoc Hill on Tucson's west side will close to the public for four days in August to accommodate road maintenance and upkeep work on the entire length of the 1.5-mile road that connects Anklam Road to the hill's summit.

Crews will close the road at 10 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 9, for four days of work focused on resealing the road surface. The road, or hiking path, will reopen at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, weather permitting.

The University of Arizona, with significant support from the community, repaved the old Tumamoc Hill road in 2018.

"This short closure is a continued investment by the university in a community asset. Regular road maintenance like this will extend the life and safety of the Tumamoc Hill road for years to come," said Ben Wilder, director of the University of Arizona Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill.

"We know many people walk Tumamoc for exercise and relaxation, and that closing for a few days will disrupt those plans," said Anna Seiferle-Valencia, Desert Laboratory research and outreach manager. "However, this project is looking at the big picture and will keep up the improvements we made in 2018 and ensure users will have a smooth, even surface for the foreseeable future."

The 860-acre ecological reserve on Tumamoc Hill is owned and operated by the University of Arizona in partnership with Pima County. The Desert Laboratory opened in 1903 and joined the list of U.S. National Historical Landmarks in 1976. Public access hours for the road are normally 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

 
Media contact:
Anna Seiferle-Valencia
Tumamoc Hill
520-621-6945
seiferlevalencia@email.arizona.edu

The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top 40 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2019 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $734 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 66 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.

The University of Arizona Land Acknowledgement