Summerhaven is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) on

Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon, who ...

in the

Santa Catalina Mountains The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of Tucson in Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, w ...

north of

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a permanent population of 40. Summerhaven sits at an elevation of approximately above sea level. Summerhaven is accessed via the Catalina Highway from suburban northeast Tucson, and it is about from the base of the mountains to Summerhaven.

History

White Anglo-Americans originally used the area of Summerhaven when the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Fort Lowell Fort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Fort Lowell was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation.http://www.oflna.org/fort_lowell_museum/ftlowell.htm Fort Lowell, ...

in Tucson put a military camp there in its defense against the Apache in the 1870s and 1880s. As to white settlement of the vicinity, the Ransier School in Carter Canyon, run by Lydia Ransier and 'Auntie' Broadbent, had two cabins, the larger log one being built in 1912, "one of the oldest cabins on the mountain." According to historian David Leighton, Summerhaven at one point had the highest golf links in the world. He wrote, "F.E.A Kimball (namesake of Mount Kimball), head of the Summerhaven Land and Improvement Co. on Mount Lemmon, constructed a six-hole golf links. The course was on 50 acres, a mix of Forest Service and private land, with two trout streams running through the acreage. The links were about 7,800 feet above sea level, making it the highest golf course in the world...."

Geography

Summerhaven is located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and is surrounded by pine trees. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Summerhaven CDP has a total area of , almost all land.

Climate

Due to its high elevation of , Summerhaven experiences moderately warm summers and cool snowy winters. Yearly snowfall averages can be significant, on average reaching a year. A windstorm hit Summerhaven in May 2010 and caused extensive damage to the forest around it. Some trails were severely damaged, although repair efforts were underway. The climate could be classified as a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

( Cfb).

Demographics

In 2010, the population of the Summerhaven census-designated place was 40. Note that this includes only people who were living in Summerhaven on the day of the census, thus excluding many part-time or seasonal residents. As of the 2010 census, the racial composition of Summerhaven was: *

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

: 75% (

Non-Hispanic Whites Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...

: 70%) * Black or African American: 0% * Native American: 15% *

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

: 10% * Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0% * Some other race: 0% *

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

: 0%

Tourism and recreation

Summerhaven is a popular tourist destination. Several small shops in Summerhaven attract visitors, including the Mount Lemmon General Store and The Cookie Cabin, which offers homemade cookies and pizzas. In the winter, residents from lower elevations travel to Summerhaven, when the Catalina Highway is open, to enjoy the snow. Also during the summer, the same residents will frequent the area to get away from the heat. Because of the elevation difference between the Tucson area (5,000–6,000 feet), the temperature in Summerhaven will be anywhere from 15–30 degrees F cooler depending on weather patterns, which usually makes it a very comfortable place to be compared to the hot desert heat in the summer time. October 2010 saw the inaugural running of the

Mount Lemmon Marathon The Mount Lemmon Marathon were a pair of separate road race marathon events that took place in the Santa Catalina Mountains near the city of Tucson, Arizona, United States. The initial race, which was in the uphill direction, was held between 2010 ...

, in which nearly 800 participants finished the race from near the start of the Catalina Highway up to Summerhaven.

Mount Lemmon Ski Valley

The Mount Lemmon Ski Valley located outside Summerhaven is the southernmost ski location in the continental United States.

Aspen Fire

The Aspen wildfire struck Summerhaven in the summer of 2003, which resulted in the destruction of more than 250 of the 700 homes in the community. Arizona Governor

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...

assessed the damage, and both federal and county officials surveyed the extensive loss. In the months that followed, Tucson residents organized "Lemmon Aid" to help rebuild Summerhaven.

City services

There is a general store and several food venues, but no gasoline or automotive services. The Mount Lemmon Fire Department maintains a station near Summerhaven, providing fire and EMS services.

References

External links

{{authority control Santa Catalina Mountains Populated places in the Sonoran Desert Census-designated places in Pima County, Arizona