Local people refer to the entire mountain range southwest of Safford as Mt. Graham, although in fact the appropriate name of the range is the Pinaleño Mountains. The summit of Mount Graham (also known as High Peak) is the highest point in this range, at an elevation of 10,720 feet.  The Pinaleños are the tallest of southeast Arizona’s sky islands, rising like a forested island out of a sea of desert.

The Pinaleños are the only Arizona sky island range with peaks higher than 10,000 feet in elevation. While other sky island mountain ranges may have a few sharp peaks that project well above the general elevation of the range, the upper Pinaleño Mountains is relatively level with extensive areas above 9,000 feet in elevation. The elevations above 10,000 feet support the southernmost Engelmann spruce-corkbark fir old growth forest in the United States. Extensive Douglas-fir–mixed conifer forests are found throughout the mountaintop above about 8,500 feet and lower in canyons and on north-facing slopes. Subalpine meadows are found in many of the areas identified as “flats” on topographic maps; Hospital Flat and Chesley Flat are two examples.

Ascending this mountain is the ecological equivalent of traveling from Mexico to Canada in just a few short hours. Varied biotic communities, layered in life zones, provide ideal habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals, including endemic species found nowhere else in the world. The uppermost life zone is home to relic species from the last ice age, including the Englemann spuce. High elevation meadows, cool forests, groves of aspen, perennial streams, and an alpine lake make for an enchanting escape from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts below.

State Route 366, also known as the Swift Trail Parkway, and Coronado National Forest FR 803 offer access into this beautiful mountain range. The route climbs more than 7,000 feet over 35 miles and offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape. The first 22 miles are paved; the last 13 miles are dirt and require a high-clearance vehicle.

Mount Graham is the tallest of southeastern Arizona’s sky islands—mountain ranges that rise like forested islands out of a desert sea. Ascending this mountain is the ecological equivalent of traveling from Mexico to Canada. Varied biotic communities, layered in life zones, provide ideal habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals, including endemic species found nowhere else in the world.

Known as Dził Nchaa Si’an (or Big Seated Mountain) to the Western Apache, Mount Graham has been home to Indigenous people for thousands of years.

In the late 1800s, Apache tribes that lived here for generations were forced onto reservations, restricting their access to the natural resources and spiritual sites on this mountain. Mount Graham still holds profound cultural significance to tribes today, and many sites are considered sacred.

An influx of Mormon farmers and ranchers in the late 1800s, and mining ventures in the early 1900s, prompted a need for lumber from the pine-covered mountain. Numerous sawmills were built across the range; remnants of some mills are present today.

The Swift Trail follows the original wagon route used to transport lumber down the mountain. Place names along the parkway recall early pioneers, from the namesake Forest Supervisor T. T. Swift, to the families that tended orchards, planted crops, and grazed cattle along the mountain creeks and meadows.

The Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men in the 1930s during the Great Depression, had multiple camps on Mount Graham. They constructed roads and bridges, such as the original stone bridge that crossed Wet Canyon. They also developed recreation sites on the mountain, including many of the trails and campgrounds enjoyed by visitors today.