Essence: Joaquin Canyon gathers rainwater and snowmelt pulsing down the northern slopes of Mica Mountain, the highest point in the Rincons. A 95-foot waterfall plummets over metamorphic gneiss into a plunge pool. Ephemeral Chiva Falls can be thunderous or completely dry. Timing is critical. We visited within hours of two days of steady rain in Tucson. Walk 4.4 miles on a mixed-use track open to hikers, mountain bikers, and dirt-bikers. The technical road is popular on weekends with 4WD vehicles. The folded bajada rises and falls continuously between 3,680 and 4,180 feet, accumulating 1,100 feet of vertical to the base of the falls (and back). While the waterfall alone exceeded our expectations we couldn't resist further exploration. We climbed into a cave hollowed out from the encircling cliff wall and scrambled above the falls to see water pooling and surrendering to the drop. The hike is within the Coronado National Forest.
Travel: Traveling east, measure distance from the intersection of Tanque Verde and Houghton roads. Tanque Verde Road turns into Redington Road in 3.0 miles at Wentworth Road. Redington Road winds up and over a pass between the Santa Catalina and Rincon mountains. Ascend steeply through super tight switchbacks (one posted 5 mph). Enter Coronado National Forest and pavement ends at 6.2 miles. Pass the Lower and Upper Tanque Verde trailheads. High clearance is recommended for rocks and ruts in the road. Go over unsigned Redington Pass. The road gets rougher as you close in on the Chiva Falls Trailhead. The large parking lot is on the right at 10.3 miles. The second entrance is easier on the tires. You must have a modified 4WD vehicle to continue out the road to the falls as bedrock often exceeds hub height.
Distance and Elevation Gain: 8.8 miles; 1,100 feet to base of falls and back. 10.0 miles, 1,400 feet to top of falls.
Total Time: 4:00 to 6:30 (We spent 1:45 exploring around the falls.)
Difficulty: Trail, 8.8 miles; navigation easy; Class 1, no exposure. Optional off-trail, 1.2 miles; navigation moderate; Class 2+, mild exposure. Hike on a cool day and carry all the water you will need.
Maps: Agua Caliente Hill; Piety Hill, AZ 7.5' USGS Quads
Date Hiked: January 10, 2026
Song Lyric:
I can see my rainbow calling me,
through the misty breeze of my waterfall
Jimi Hendrix, "May This Be Love"
The intermittent waters of Joaquin Canyon have carved a smooth channel in resistant Catalina Gneiss thrusting out into free fall. Green foliage clings to tiny shelves in the barrier wall, a water-stained tapestry with threads of variegated tans and pitch black. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo)
Route: From the Chiva Falls Trailhead, walk on FSR 4417 generally southeast to Chiva Tank. Leave the road and shortcut on a singletrack for 0.6 mile. Cross Tanque Verde Wash and continue on FSR 4405 to the falls. Sure-footed, navigation savvy hikers may scramble upcanyon-right into the cave and to the top of the falls. Close the loop by walking north on FSR 4405. Note, the Piety Hill topo labels the falls "Chivo." The
World Waterfall Database notes Chiva Falls is the official name for this waterfall. The
USGS lists Chivo Falls as an alternative spelling but indicates that Chiva Falls is the primary variant.
Parking is spacious at the Chiva Falls Trailhead, elevation 3,940 feet.
It is worth taking a moment to study the Redington Pass Recreation Area placard. It labels the trailhead as the Three Feathers Staging Area. The OHV routes spiraling from Redington Road are well documented on the internet. Of note, we saw Jeeps and Broncos but no dedicated OHVs.
Forest Service roads to the falls require a modified 4WD vehicle--no getting around that. The track crosses a cattle guard immediately, rises 40 feet, and then winds down, losing 300 feet while bearing generally east on FSR 4417. Elevation gain (to and fro) is acquired simply by traversing across the rolling terrain on the northern
slopes of the Rincon Mountains, specifically snow-capped Mica Mountain.
The Santa Catalina and Rincon mountains form one of the largest metamorphic core complexes on Earth. The ranges are primarily composed of granite and gneiss, exposed by geological uplift. The hike begins within the Redington Road Granite Formation. While walking on crushed granite or hopping from one bedrock boulder to the next, notice the large interlocking quartz, feldspar, and mica crystals. The coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock formed from molten magma that cooled slowly deep underground, allowing large crystals time to grow. The hike stays within this formation to Tanque Verde Wash.
When we arrived on this platform three drivers were scouting the first serious 4WD challenge, image-left.
On our return we watched a Jeep crawl up the pitch. To be honest, I was happy to be on my feet and not riding shotgun. (THW, photo)
The scenery on this hike gets mixed reviews on the internet, some disparaging. Like most hikers, we avoid walking on roads if a trail is a viable choice. On our hike we had a friend along who was unfamiliar with the Sonoran Desert. He was smitten with the landscape, the "green trees, saguaros, snow on the mountaintop." He's a motorhead, so passing vehicles were a pleasure, not an annoyance.
We hopped over a couple of flowing rivulets, an auspicious sign for water in the falls. Cross a tributary of Tanque Verde Canyon at 1.4 miles, 3,680 feet, the low point in the hike, shown. Be aware that none of the waterways on this hike are perennial so carry all the water you will need.
Redington is cattle country which explains the cattle guards and numerous tanks named on maps. Arrive at exceptionally large Chiva Tank at 2.5 miles. The catchment captures rainwater runoff, a water supply for roaming cattle.
The road crosses the earthen berm impounding the water.
After passing the tank, bear right onto a singletrack, shown. It is a 0.6 mile reprieve from the road. The shortcut is shown on CalTopo's MapBuilder.
For many years I have dreamed of exploring all the bare rock features on the vast summit expanse of Mica Mountain. Helens Dome, 8,364', is one of the objects of my desire, dangling 4,550 feet above us on the singletrack. (THW, photo)
Off the road, no motos, the air untroubled, we were in an envelope of silence. Snowmelt on the upper mountain will coalesce in Joaquin Canyon and drop over the falls within the folds of the mountain. Below, the canyon is visible cutting north just left of the summit. It makes an arc to the northwest and comes to rest in Tanque Verde Canyon.
(THW, photo)
The hike passes through two biozones. The lower elevation is Sonoran desert scrub and above that is semi-desert grassland. From the intimacy of a trail I notice more detail than when I'm walking on a road. The footpath passes through a mesquite bosque with numerous tall barrel cactus, cholla, ocotillo, and an occasional saguaro. The attention-getter was a positively ancient redberry juniper. The shreddy bark is a distinguishing characteristic, so different than that of alligator junipers. Redberry juniper has a central erect stem with lower branches originating near the ground.
For a moment we were entirely enveloped in the embrace of the witness tree, surely hundreds of years old.
The pleasant trail rejoins the track at the intersection of three roads. Head south on unsigned FSR 4405. Tanque Verde Wash at 3.3 miles was braided and a little hard to sort with three crossings, including the confluence with Joaquin Canyon. We were not entirely successful in keeping our boots dry.
Arizona Sycamore grow haphazardly along the banks of the wash. They
like to keep their feet wet. They are prevalent in riparian areas of Madrean Sky Islands. I am forever delighted by the idiosyncratic jointed trunks with their mottled white and brown bark resembling puzzle pieces. These mature trees have reached their maximum height of 100 feet.
When we returned to Tanque Verde Wash in the afternoon about 30 Jeeps from a club in Tucson were getting ready to bust back out the road. They were friendly and happy people, anxious to talk with us about the falls. This was their destination and turnaround. One woman said she'd "been out the road a thousand times but never to the falls." Imagine that! (THW, photo)
The ephemeral nature of emerald green in the desert provides a sharp contrast with old trees and even older rock.
Not far beyond Tanque Verde is the contact zone between Redington Road Granite and Catalina Gneiss, an even more truly ancient basement rock. Gneiss forms from metamorphism, where intense heat and pressure deep within the Earth's crust recrystallizes older, original granitic rocks. This process causes minerals to segregate into light-colored bands of quartz and feldspar, along with darker layers rich in mica.
Banding is characteristic of Catalina Gneiss, a Precambrian formation that makes up the core of the Santa Catalina Mountains and extends southeastward into the Rincon Mountains.
At 4.0 miles FSR 4405 branches to the right, shown. Stay straight (southeast) on
FSR 4405A. (Hikers who climb to the top of the falls will return on FSR 4405.)
The track pitches down toward Joaquin Canyon. Pictured below, the driver on the left is watching his buddy take the more difficult line. A couple of times we all thought for sure he was going to roll his vehicle but thankfully he pulled it off. Watching these exploits was highly entertaining for our visiting friend. Before doing this hike you have to wrap your head around the notion that this is not a wilderness experience.
Looking northwest from the rim of Joaquin Canyon, Agua Caliente Hill spans the mid-point between the Rincon and Santa Catalina mountains. Learning that the ranges, right here and over there, share the same basement rock unifies them in a way I didn't understand until now. I realize this is nerdy but I find that deeply emotional.
The road skims along the south side of the canyon. Reverberating tones preceded the careening fall. The bank of intimidating cliffs offered a clue to its whereabouts. Exciting!
Ah, there it is hiding in the shadows.
When we arrived at Chiva Falls at 4.4 miles, they were cranking. Agitated water flushed into a circular plunge pool. We located a social trail upcanyon-right and clambered over boulders to the pool's fringe where spent water passes through a boulder squeeze. The encircling wall of hard ancient rock is softened by flora tucked in crevices. The total height of the falls is widely held to be 75 feet but according to the
World Waterfall Database recent LiDAR data (January 19, 2025) indicates the tallest drop is 95 feet. The website documents other waterfalls within five miles of Chiva:
Bridal Wreath and Tanque Verde. High on the wall to the right we spotted a cave. (THW, photo)
This image of the spillover was snapped from the plunge pool. Sharpen your eyes to differentiate between banding and streaks of black, water-varnished patina. We visited the falls on a post-frontal windy day. Gusts whipped up fluvial mists into broad and random spray clouds that evaporated high in the sky. The falls face north-northwest. They are in full sun for a few hours in late afternoon, April through August. Fun fact contributed by my partner: there is a whopping 47 degree difference in the angle of the sun between the summer and winter solstices, stemming from Earth's 23.5° axial tilt. (THW, photo)
The cave looked appealing so we worked up and over to it upcanyon-right. The traverse is short but it is exposed and the rock is slippery even when dry. Be sure your hand and footholds are secure. The optional spur is not for everyone.
This multi-stitched photo was snapped from the slippery ledge near the cave. It gives an excellent perspective on water streaming freely for 95 feet. (THW, photo)
The cave is surprisingly deep with what appears to be a thickly smoked ceiling from prehistoric times. From the opening we could view the falls from behind the ribbon. Be mindful for your safely. A slip would be catastrophic. There
are reports of successful 15 to 20-foot downclimbs from the cave to a ledge behind
the falls below the cave entrance. This might be a viable option
when the rock is dry. For us, the wind blew water onto the friction
pitch and it was too treacherous to attempt. This maneuver is not recommended by Earthline.
We wanted to stand on the lip of the overfall so we traversed back out from the cave and found a very faint social trail pitching up the slope. We climbed steeply for 150 feet on slick rock (some literally covered in ice) and helpful platforms of resurrection moss. We found ourselves in a floral micro environment. Coralbells are favored by hummingbirds and prefer living in the shade of large rocks. They have traditional medicinal uses as powerful astringents and anti-inflammatories.
Even more unusual were multiple pine-needle milkweed plants growing on the slope. The clustered white flowers (March through December) provide food for Queen and Monarch butterflies and caterpillars. The fruit of the plant is a tear-shaped sack that splits open vertically to release seeds, shown. Please note that this milkweed is poisonous to humans and animals and its sap is a skin irritant.
This image looks down on our upclimb and a group of people admiring the falls.
We've more yet to climb. (THW, photo)
Bypasses are rarely efficient and this one put us well above the pouroff. But what a rapturous and dazzling view!
(THW, photo)
It took some finagling to the east to drop safely down into Joaquin Canyon. We moved toward the top of the falls on Catalina Gneiss showing off its white and gray banding.
We could sense the frothy excitement and anticipation of water. (THW, photo)
We wiggled through gigantic blocks hoping to stand at the pouroff but that proved to be impossible. This image gives a clear view of how far we got at 5.1 miles, 4,040 feet. We were surprised to learn the waterfall has two tiers. That was not decipherable from the plunge pool. The first is a 12 foot drop into a small pool guiding water toward the freefall. Our wish to stand at the lip of the falls was denied but we did get a closeup view of the top of the waterfall. We chilled out there for a long time eating our picnic lunches while celebrating Chiva. (THW, photo)
To return, we walked upstream a few steps reveling in the waters of Joaquin Canyon, resurrection moss on slabs of stone, and the shear massiveness of Mica Mountain.
We did not want to descend on the steep and slippery slope back to the plunge pool. Instead, we climbed away from the stream to the southwest and contacted the end and turnaround of FSR 4405B. It may seem counterintuitive but gently ascend on the track southwest (shown) to the high point of the hike at 4,180 feet. Turn north on FSR 4405 at 5.6 miles. The helpful road passed through a lush environment adorned with beargrass, Arizona oak, turpentine bush, Engelmann pricklypear, and rainbow mammillaria. We closed the loop at 6.0 miles and retraced our steps to the trailhead.
I'd like to thank our friend Tom (on the right below) for joining us on this hike. Walking on a road may seem subpar for a strong hiker but he was enthusiastic every step of the way. He actualized Jimi Hendrick's profound words. May Chiva Falls work its rainbow magic on all of us who travel there, one way or another.
I can see my rainbow calling me,
through the misty breeze of my waterfall
