Gordon Hirabayashi Campground

About

Gordon Hirabayashi Campground occupies a significant historical site in the Santa Catalina Mountains of southern Arizona's Coronado National Forest. From 1937 to 1973, this location served as a Federal Honor Camp where prisoners convicted of federal offenses provided labor to construct the Catalina Highway. During World War II, many inmates were conscientious objectors and Japanese Americans who resisted the mass incarceration of 117,000 people of Japanese ancestry following Pearl Harbor. Gordon Hirabayashi, a University of Washington senior in 1942, refused to report for relocation and turned himself in to the FBI to challenge the constitutionality of internment based on race. He was convicted and served his sentence at this camp. In 1987, his conviction was overturned, and a federal commission determined the internment was motivated by racial prejudice. The site was renamed in his honor in 1999. The campground features 11 individual sites and one group site at an elevation of roughly 4,800 feet. Amenities are basic: vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire grills are provided, but there is no potable water. RVs are limited to 22 feet with no hookups available. The campground operates seasonally from November through April, closing during the hot summer months. Pack and saddle stock are only permitted in the group site area. Dogs must be leashed and are prohibited in the adjacent Pusch Ridge Wilderness to protect desert bighorn sheep.

Directions

Take the Catalina Highway off Tanque Verde Road in Tucson. Drive 4.2 miles to the Forest boundary and continue approximately 7 miles to the campground. The entrance is on the left as you ascend the mountain.