Sabino Canyon Visitor Center & Bookstore — Local services in Four Corners States

We were REALLY disappointed with the advice we got from the park rangers here. For your own safety, take their advice with a heavy grain of salt.

When we arrived at Sabino Canyon, we could see the horizon darken with clouds. As we're new to Arizona and its weather, we asked the rangers at the visitor center whether they thought it would be safe to venture out under the current circumstances, and explicitly expressed our concern about possible thunderstorms.

We were told that the storm wasn't something to worry about, and that it would be safe to go on some of the larger 8 mile hikes, as long as we would turn around if it started to rain. When we started our hike, we then encountered a park official who advised us to take an alternative, unpaved road up to Anderson Dam rather than the paved street.

Not long after we started our hike, all hell broke loose. It started to rain and thunder severely, and when we turned around to run back, the path began to flood very quickly. We basically raced back to the parking lot though quickly rising water, increasingly strong hail, and lighting that struck so close we could smell the singe. If we had been a bit slower to turn around, or a bit slower on our feed, the situation could've ended much worse.

We know that weather can be unpredictable, but would have expected rangers at an official visitor center to be experienced enough to warn inexperienced tourists of a very quickly approaching severe thunderstorm, and to not send them up a road that would flood in a matter of minutes once the rain started! We trusted in their judgement, and came to regret it

On a positive note, the staff was very friendly, and the store...

It was HOT today, 101°, but what a nice little hike! We only adventured about a mile in, to the Sabino Canyon Dam, but it was shady, cool, and WET! Everything you hope for on a hot day in the desert! It was a beautiful area. The staff at the visitors center (which has a great variety of things to purchase like hats, key chains, and cactus jelly) was very helpful with picking the best path, considering our water supply, 1 liter each, and time of day (it was already 10 am). Next time we head there, in a couple of months when it's a few degrees cooler, we would like to make it a little farther, and eventually make it up to 7 Falls. Starting our hike around 7 or 8am rather that 10 would have been helpful as well. Tennis shoes, are definitely a must, but maybe take flip flops with you to enjoy the cool water. We would definitely recommend...

How disappointing - horribly rude staff at the front gate as well as the store. I understand perhaps some are volunteering, but why be there if your plan is to be so unprofessional? Perhaps bad luck, but it does not bode well having encountered 3 individuals within minutes in a single day that were not very intelligent or competent, and all whom were drunk on some kind of power trip with their mediocre official duties… rude and overbearing… hmmm, such an important powerful position to be guarding the entrance to a visitor center or selling cheap trinkets. Umm, no. I suppose it is to be expected of the USFS - never trust them when they are “from the government and here...