Ocotillo Loop

Ocotillo Loop is a short diversionary trail, mostly useful for adding mileage onto an A Mountain loop. If hiking counterclockwise, Ocotillo breaks off from Tortugas Trail about a quarter mile after the latter crosses Observatory Road. The first half of the trail is a gently winding, semi-rocky path across several sandy washout areas. At the halfway point, the trail makes a U-turn and joins an old, sandy dirt road. The path here is mostly straight, cutting through an area with a large number of ocotillos that bloom in the spring and early summer. After about a third of a mile, the loop merges back into Tortugas Trail.