Latitudes with Lucy

Most Arizonans have never heard of Portal, an unincorporated community and gateway to the Chiricahua Mountains from the east. It’s a hidden gem and one of my favorite places to camp in Arizona.

The Chiricahua Mountains are one of Arizona’s Sky Islands, rising thousands of feet above the surrounding desert. The environment is greener and more diverse, and the weather is cooler and wetter. It snows on the peaks during winter, and snowmelt feeds into rivers like Cave Creek.

Camping in Cave Creek Canyon

From Portal, a paved road leads into Cave Creek Canyon. It’s part of Coronado National Forest, and there are several remarkably well-maintained campgrounds. I visited on Labor Day weekend (2026), and there were plenty of first-come first-serve sites available Friday night despite the holiday weekend. Bring cash for the $20/night fee.

We stayed at Idlewilde Campground, which is ideal for a hot weekend in early September. The canyon walls and thick forest provide lots of shade, and a swimming hole has been constructed by rocks in the creek. In cooler weather, Sunny Flat is the nicest campground. As the name suggests, it has spacious, flat sites, but it was a little too sunny for our needs.

It was borderline *almost* too hot for tent camping on Labor Day weekend, so plan with caution during summer! And note that winters are actually cold in the mountains.

Silver Peak Trail

Hiking Silver Peak is no easy feat. The trail gains over 3,000 ft elevation in 5 miles for a 10-mile roundtrip hike. The elevation gain is consistent and gradual (in my opinion as an avid hiker). The trail is narrow and eroding. I highly recommend wearing full-length hiking pants; my capris were not comfortable on the overgrown trail.

This hike is worth the effort. According to the sign at the trailhead, Silver Peak Trail crosses four life zones, each with their own unique habitats. There’s a historic lookout at the top with incredible views and interesting ruins to explore.

If you can’t hike the full ten miles, it’s still worth hiking up the first mile of the trail for gorgeous views of the canyon and peaks.

There are several other hiking trails in the area, but many of them follow creeks that were completely dry in September. Only the main Cave Creek was running. To see the water levels at their highest, visit during spring snowmelt.

I’m hoping to visit Cave Creek Canyon again around October/November to see the fall colors. I will update this post if I do!