Picnicking
The Coronado National Forest offers numerous picnic areas. Visitors may also picnic in Coronado National Forest campgrounds, but camping fees apply. The forest also offers many group camping areas that can also be used for group picnicking and a few group picnic areas.
Search for Picnicking Opportunities
Lower Thumb Rock Picnic Area
A short distance from Peña Blanca Lake, Lower Thumb picnic site is not large, so it is usually quick to fill. That’s especially true during the hot days of summer -- the peak season for the lake…
Madera Canyon recreation area
A Visitor Information Station at the Proctor parking area, run by Friends of Madera Canyon volunteers, is usually open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays year-round. Hours are typically 8 a.m. to 12…
Madera Picnic Area and Trailhead
The Madera Canyon Picnic Area, with 11 individual sites, sprawls along the bank of Madera Creek and offers an excellent place for wildlife viewing and for families to enjoy the beauty of the canyon.…
Marshall Gulch Picnic Area
Site Open
Marshall Gulch Picnic Area is located in the forest south of Summerhaven, on the upper slopes of Mt. Lemmon. Large outcrops of granitic rock, almost white against the background of a pine…
Middle Bear Picnic Area
Bear Canyon is one of the deepest and longest rifts cut into the Santa Catalina range. Within its far-reaching canyon walls, all seven of the life zones that grace the mountain can be found. The…
Molino Basin Picnic Area
Molino Basin is located in a grassy oak woodland at 4,400 ft elevation along Sky Island Scenic Byway (aka Mt Lemmon Highway). The site offers scenic views, paved parking, accessible picnic sites…
Mount Lemmon Day Use Area
Site Open
 Mt Lemmon Day Use Area is near the summit of Mt. Lemmon in a mixed conifer forest. The site offers shady picnic sites, mountaintop views, and access to hiking trails.Â
Mount Wrightson Picnic Area and Trailhead
Mount Wrightson Picnic Area is located at the end of Madera Canyon Road, as far into this area of beautiful scenery and plentiful wildlife as you can drive. Tables and fire grills are scattered in…
Noon Creek Campground and Picnic Area
Site Open
 The name Noon Creek (Map) comes from the fact that when pioneer settlers traveled this way on excursions into the Pinaleño Mountains, this was usually as far as they were able to get via horse…
Pena Blanca Lake
  This medium-sized lake fills nearly 50 acres of Peña Blanca Canyon in the foothills of the Atascosa and Pajarito Mountains. It is surrounded by grassy, oak-dotted hills, some of which are topped…