Catalina State Park's Veterans Day Trail Races Run November 8, 2026

A 10.6-mile, a 5.3-mile and a 5K start minutes apart at the foot of Pusch Ridge, on a weekend that also brings a concert to the park and construction crews to its entrance road.

The 5.3-mile course at Catalina State Park climbs 478 feet and tops out at 2,949 feet, and the organizer's course notes carry one rule in capital letters: never run up or down a wash. On Sunday, November 8, 2026, runners and walkers take it on at Everyone Runs' Veterans Day races, which start from the park's Main Trailhead off Oracle Road, a short drive north of the gated foothills community of La Reserve in Oro Valley.

Nov. 8

Race day, Sunday, 2026

3

Distances: 10.6 miles, 5.3 miles and a 5K road run or walk

7:15 a.m.

First start, the 10.6-mile race

10:30 a.m.

Overall course cutoff

Three Races, Fifteen Minutes Apart

The 10.6-mile race starts first, at 7:15 a.m., followed by the 5K road run and walk at 7:20 and the 5.3-mile trail race at 7:30. The organizer's page sets an overall cutoff of 10:30 a.m. and a three-hour limit on the 5.3-mile course. Late starts are not allowed, and Arizona State Parks tells race-goers to expect at least a 15-minute wait in the line of cars at the gate, so arriving well before 7 a.m. is the better plan.

The trail course is a single loop for the 5.3-mile race and two loops for the 10.6. It runs counterclockwise through four named trails: the Birding Trail, the Canyon Loop, a 0.9-mile out-and-back on the Romero Canyon Trail, then the Nature Trail back to the finish. One loop gains 478 feet; two loops gain 956. Water sits before the Nature Trail, and longer-distance runners pass water, sports drink and snacks at the finish between loops. The 5K stays off the dirt entirely: an out-and-back on the park's main roads, with about 60 feet of total climb and no cars on the course.

Registration on RunSignUp lists the 10.6-mile race at $66.50, the 5.3-mile at $56.50 and the 5K at $41.50, with all three going up after 11:59 p.m. on October 30, 2026. Entries include a homemade Mexican breakfast, a cotton finisher shirt, downloadable race photos, and coffee, fruit and nuts at the finish. Overall and five-year age-group medals go three deep, and the overall winners of the two trail races get running shoes from Fleet Feet. Veterans, active-duty service members and reservists can request a discount by emailing the organizer, and registrants can add a donation to the Primavera Foundation.

Packet Pickup, Park Entry and Parking

Packets can be picked up at Fleet Feet on Oracle Road from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, November 6, or 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 7. Race-day pickup opens at 6 a.m. A parking pass bought with registration has to be collected at Fleet Feet by 6 p.m. Friday.

Anyone who did not buy a pass with their entry pays at the gate. The park's posted entrance fee is $10 for a vehicle with one person, $20 for a vehicle with two to four, and $5 for someone arriving on foot or by bicycle. After hours there is a self-pay station that takes exact cash only. Day use runs from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and the visitor center and park store open at 8 a.m.

The same weekend: Catalina State Park's Music in the Mountains concert series has a date on Saturday, November 7, 2026. The park asks concertgoers to bring a chair, and says food and drinks are welcome.

The Park After the Finish Line

The race uses a small part of a 5,500-acre park that Arizona State Parks says holds nearly 5,000 saguaros and more than 150 bird species, at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The Canyon Loop the course borrows is 2.3 miles on its own, through washes, grassland and a riparian stretch under sycamore and ash. The Romero Canyon Trail keeps going where the race turns back: a mile of easy walking to the Montrose Pools overlook, then a steep 1.8 miles into the Pusch Ridge Wilderness to Romero Pools, gaining about 1,000 feet on rocky ground.

Away from the racecourse, the 50-Year Trail leaves the Equestrian Center and climbs through saguaro foothills for 2.4 miles to the park's north boundary before continuing into open grassland. The Equestrian Center has 16 horse stalls and trailer parking, and the park's 120 campsites have electric and water hookups. Arizona State Parks also runs guided bird walks on Sundays, Wednesdays and select Mondays through May 17, 2027.

A Bridge Over the Wash at the Gate

Race-day drivers will pass a work zone. Arizona State Parks says construction of a wash crossing began the week of October 19, 2026, and is expected to finish in May 2027. Park activities are not affected, but construction vehicles, noise and workers are on the main road into the park.

The crossing in question is where the entrance road meets the Cañada del Oro Wash. The Coronado National Forest signed off on an all-weather crossing there on August 14, 2025. The reason is visible in the park's own history: in January 2023, storm runoff sent fast, debris-filled water over the road, the park closed, and about 300 campers were left on the far side until rangers walked them across the receding wash. Rangers said at the time that flooding happens regularly, especially in monsoon season, and that a 2020 wildfire had stripped vegetation and made runoff worse.

What an All-Weather Park Entrance Means for La Reserve

La Reserve covers roughly 1,114 acres on the western slope of Pusch Ridge in the Town of Oro Valley, east of Oracle Road and northeast of the El Conquistador resort. The town approved it as a planned area development, and the community dates to 1987, with building continuing through the 1990s and 2000s across about 19 separately platted enclaves. Most of it sits behind a staffed entry gate. The housing runs from attached condominiums and townhomes to semi-custom houses and custom homes on view lots climbing toward the ridge, mostly earth-toned stucco with tile roofs.

Governance comes in two layers. A master association covers the gate, the private roads and the common desert, and nearly every enclave adds its own sub-association, so a buyer should confirm both sets of dues for a specific address. The community borders the Coronado National Forest and the Pusch Ridge Wilderness, and the Catalina State Park trailheads are minutes north on Oracle Road.

That last point is why the wash crossing matters here. For an owner who walks the Canyon Loop before work or rides the 50-Year Trail on weekends, a park that closes whenever the Cañada del Oro runs over its entrance road is a part-time amenity. Once the crossing is built, the closest large trail system to La Reserve should no longer depend on how much rain fell upstream. Expect the work zone at the park gate through spring 2027. For what homes in La Reserve cost and how its enclaves compare, see this site's La Reserve page.

• La Reserve

Sources

RunSignUp — "Everyone Runs Veterans Day Catalina St. Park 10.6 & 5.3 Mile Trail Races + 5k Road Run" — https://runsignup.com/Race/Info/AZ/Tucson/CSPVetsdaytrailracesand5kroadrun — accessed October 29, 2026

Aravaipa Running — "Veterans Day Catalina St. Park 10.6 & 5.3 Mile Trail Races and TMC 5K Road Run & Walk" — https://www.aravaiparunning.com/catalina-veterans-day/ — accessed October 29, 2026

Arizona State Parks & Trails — "Everyone Runs Trail Race at Catalina State Park" — https://azstateparks.com/catalina/events/everyone-runs-trail-race — accessed October 29, 2026

Arizona State Parks & Trails — "Catalina State Park" (construction notice, park overview, hours and entrance fees) — https://azstateparks.com/catalina — accessed October 29, 2026

Arizona State Parks & Trails — "Catalina State Park Trails" — https://azstateparks.com/catalina/things-to-do/trails — accessed October 29, 2026

Arizona State Parks & Trails — "Music in the Mountains Concert Series" — https://azstateparks.com/catalina/events/music-in-the-mountains-concert-series — accessed October 29, 2026

USDA Forest Service, Coronado National Forest — "Catalina State Park Entrance Road Improvements" (Project 68019) — https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/coronado/projects/68019 — accessed October 29, 2026

Insurance Journal (Associated Press) — "Arizona Park Rangers Help Campers Stranded by Flooding" (January 20, 2023) — https://insurancejournal.com/news/west/2023/01/20/703946.htm — accessed October 29, 2026

Race times, prices and park fees are set by the organizer and Arizona State Parks and can change; confirm before you go. Community details are from this site's La Reserve page. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate.

Topics

• Events
• Catalina State Park
• La Reserve
• Oro Valley
• Trail Running
• Veterans Day
• Pusch Ridge
• Hiking

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