(Above: Paige Canyon makes confluence with the San Pedro River)

The Paige Canyon - Happy Valley Corridor

The map below shows the full length of this corridor, running from the Wildernesses of Saguaro National Monument and the Rincon Mountains on the lower left to Cascabel on the upper right, where it meets the San Pedro River. This is a long canyon with numerous side creeks, draining both the eastern side of the Rincon Mountain Wilderness and the western ridges of the Little Rincon Mountains. (Click on the map for a larger view.)

Below, the Paige Canyon - Hot Springs Canyon confluence with the San Pedro River in a map closeup. The mountain shown at right-center at the bottom of the map corresponds to the one in the photo above at the far-left center of the image. (Click on the map for a larger view.)

Paige Creek

Happy Valley

Below, a map of the valley. It abuts on the eastern side of the U.S. National Park Service's Saguaro National Park and a strip of the USDA Forest Service's Rincon Mountain Wilderness.

(Click on the map for a larger view.)

Happy Valley is a beautiful grassland with some stands of large oaks. Sycamores are scattered through the streambed of Miller Canyon. Birders who visit there report seeing a great variety of birds, for example Vermilion Flycatchers, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Canyon and Spotted Towhees, Rufous-crowned, Cassin's, Botteri's, Black Throated, Lark, Brewers, and Chipping Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Wilson's, Nashville, Townsend's, Yellow, Black-throated gray and Common yellowthroat Warblers, Painted redstart, Scrub-Jay, Crissal Thrasher, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Kingbird, Bell 's Vireo, Lucy's Warblers, Black-tailed gnatcatcher, Hutton's vireo, Summer tanagers, Cooper's, Gray, Zone-tailed Hawks, Hooded oriole, and Montezuma Quail.

Below, a view over Happy Valley toward the Little Rincons at mid-distance, with the Galiuros behind them faintly framing the central part of the horizon. (A portion of the Pinalenos is also visible at far right behind the Galiuros.)

Happy Valley is important wildlife habitat, but it is also highly vulnerable to development. Dirt road and remoteness protects it somewhat for now, but with development Happy Valley, with its considerable amount of private land, would become attractive to bedroom commuters. Ash Creek Road would be paved, and the suburbanizing consequences would inevitably follow.

(Below: a view from Happy Valley of Rincon Peak (obscured in clouds)