El Pilar and Bathtub Tank are landmarks centrally located in the upper basin of Adobe Canyon. Although both destinations can be reached from virtually any direction, this column describes the shortest, easiest and most direct route.
The hike to El Pilar and Bathtub Tank begins at the end of the Adobe Canyon Road (FR-234), which is in miserable condition and impassable for passenger cars, low-clearance vehicles, tricycles and less capable trucks and SUVs. The Adobe Canyon Road leaves Route 82 about a half mile south of Milepost 28. After turning onto Adobe Canyon Road, bear sharply to the right and drive approximately one mile, passing several private driveways. The good road ends where it turns sharply to the left and crosses a broad creekbed. After a couple hundred yards, the road turns sharply to the right, passes through a gate, and begins a precarious journey up Adobe Canyon. In a few minutes you enter the Coronado National Forest and pass FR-4088 on the right. Continue driving north past a sign stating that Adobe Canyon Road dead ends in three miles.
If you manage to drive to the end of FR-234, the hike to Bathtub Tank is less than half a mile. If you continue to El Pilar, add another half mile to your hike. If you decide to park somewhere along the road and walk to the end of FR-234, the mileage will obviously be longer. FR-234 ends approximately five miles northwest of Route 82. The road is narrow, rocky, rutted, and crosses Adobe Creek 23 times. There are large dips in the road at many of the creek crossings that you have to creep over, regardless of what kind of vehicle you are driving. A reasonably fast hiker can probably walk the road almost as fast as a cautious person can drive it.
Note that FR-234 ends in a circular turn-around large enough to accommodate several vehicles; however, the circle is a tight fit and could be a difficult maneuver for a long vehicle or one pulling a trailer.
The most direct route to Bathtub Tank and El Pillar is up the narrow west arm of Adobe Canyon, which leaves FR-234 a couple of hundred yards before the turnaround. There is no official trailhead marking the beginning of the route but the entrance to the canyon is obvious.
After approximately 220 yards of easy walking, you arrive at Bathtub Tank, which the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) constructed sometime in the early 1930s. The tub consists of a man-made 15-foot-long concrete dam across a narrow channel in a large, fortress-like outcrop of solid rock that nearly pinches off the canyon. A small reservoir resembling a bathtub sits between the concrete wall and the native rock. A sizable section of the wall has eroded away so the tub is not nearly as deep as when constructed. When the bathtub is full, water flows over the opening in the wall, creating a ten-foot-high waterfall spilling into a natural pond at the foot of the barrier. In the distant past, a galvanized pipe carried water from the tub into a concrete cattle trough at the base of the wall on the right side of the waterfall.
There is a securely mounted 12-foot-high steel ladder attached to the rock on the right side of the basin. To continue to El Pilar, climb the ladder and work your way over the rocky ledge above the tub and continue walking up the narrow gorge. Within a few minutes, El Pilar comes into view, although it may be difficult to see through the dense growth of trees and underbrush. El Pilar is a 50-foot-high sandstone spire standing guard over the narrow passageway between the grass-covered hidden valley above and the marshy lowland below. The CCC constructed a concrete dam next to El Pilar, creating a shallow reservoir (or tank) above it with the same purpose as Bathtub Tan: to store water. The dam actually adds a bit of charm to the area because a steady stream of water flows over the barrier, giving the large pool at the base of the wall a garden-like appearance. To reach the upper basin, follow a well-trodden path up a natural ramp on the right side of the spire to a wide, man-made slot in the otherwise solid rock wall between El Pilar and the adjacent hilltop. The upper basin is covered with tall grass growing in a moist bed of rich, loamy soil.
An alternate route to El Pilar and Bathtub Tank is up the narrow main arm of Adobe Canyon. This hike begins up a footpath off the north end of the turnaround and immediately enters a narrow drainage bordered with plants typical of the Sonoran Desert. The trail climbs over an embankment and then drops to the rocky bed of the drainage. Hike up the wash 25 feet to where the trail veers up the left bank and then quickly returns to the creek. The path winds back and forth across the wash several times over the next 200 feet and then climbs a steep hill on the left. About a third of the way up the hill, the trail passes through a hiker’s gate between two large posts and then climbs out of the drainage next to a fence on a narrow ridge resembling an earthen dam. Although the trail continues up the ridge approximately a mile to where it connects to FR-4088, do not follow the trail. Instead, make a sharp left turn and walk west across a narrow land bridge to an opening in a fence. Pass through the fence, drop about 20 vertical feet, and follow the path a couple hundred feet along the south edge of a grassy marsh to El Pilar.
Return the way you came or continue down the narrow canyon to the main arm of Adobe Canyon and then on to Bathtub Tank, FR-234, and your vehicle.