Family Day Trips
IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY:
Ghost Towns
Ghost towns with names like Harshaw, Mowry and Washington Camp near Patagonia and Oro Blanco and Ruby along route 289 (Ruby Road) bear mute witness to the boom and bust of the railroads and mining industry. Some, like Ruby, are so perfect that it seems the residents mysteriously disappeared while having breakfast. Washington Camp is one of the ghost towns being restored and some have fallen into disrepair with only remnants to remind us of their once bustling past.
Patagonia Lake State Park
Patagonia Lake, at two and a half miles long and 250 surface acres, is popular for a variety of recreational activities, including water skiing, fishing, camping, picnicking, and hiking. Created by the damming of Sonoita Creek, the lake is habitat for bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish, and is stocked with rainbow trout during the winter. For anglers' sake, the east half of the lake is designated a no wake area. A handicap fishing dock is located at the marina and behind the Sonoita Creek visitor center. Because the lake attracts a multitude of water sports enthusiasts during summer months, water skiing and jet skiing are prohibited on weekends and holidays from May 1 through September 31st. Camping ranges from undeveloped spots to sites with water and electric hookups. Park conveniences include picnic ramadas, a swimming beach, and a marina store with boat rentals. Entry to the park is allowed from 4:00am until 11:00pm and access is from State Route 82 between Patagonia and Nogales.
Park Facilities
Beach, picnic area with ramadas, tables and grills, fishing pad (handicapped accessible)
Hiking trails, boat ramps, marina, camp supply store, campground, group-use area (day-use)
72 developed, 34 hook-ups and 12 boat access sites, restrooms, showers and dump station, RV size limit is 35 feet
Sonoita Creek State Natural Area - Arizona's first major state natural area
Sonoita Creek State Natural Area
Totalling almost 5,000 acres, Sonoita Creek is Arizona's first major state natural area. The site is in the southeastern portion of the state and will preserve a unique riparian area. Work is currently being done on a management plan for the area. Arizona State Parks will develop hiking trails and wildlife viewing areas along the creek and throughout the property. Environmental educational programs for all ages will be offered as well as research opportunities for the universities. Designated as a significant riparian area, it is home to giant cottonwoods, willows, sycamores and mesquites, nesting black hawks and endangered species. Sonoita Creek State Natural Area Visitor Center, located in Patagonia Lake State Park, is now open to the public! Call (520) 287-2791 for more information.
Ruby Road
Consider a day trip off the beaten path and get a feel for the old west with a drive around the Ruby Road loop through the Coronado National Forest. When Oro Blanco and Ruby were thriving mining communities, the primary stage and wagon route to Tucson was along this now primitive road. The only bank between Nogales and Tucson was in Arivaca, a nearly forgotten community just outside Santa Cruz County where you can still pay for lunch at the local restaurant with gold dust. Pack a lunch and picnic along one of the streams and enjoy the beauty in the safety that the pioneers never had—no Apaches will attack in the narrow canyons or rush from the volcanic cliffs. The road is rough but passable for passenger cars. In Sycamore Canyon, you may find the sparse remains of Hank and Yank, 2 mule skinners and army scouts who operated the Bartlett cattle ranch near the upper reaches of the canyon in the early 1880s. A trail leads down-canyon from the old homestead into an area of sculpted cliffs, clear pools and lush vegetation within the Pajarita Wilderness. Birdwatching can be especially rewarding here with as many as 130 frequent visiting species.
San Rafael Valley
Approximately 20 miles southeast of Patagonia is the San Rafael Valley, one of the few intact high elevation grasslands left in America. The headwaters of the Santa Cruz River are in the San Rafael Valley, which has significant biological value. There are numerous rare and endangered species, high quality riparian and grassland habitat and unfragmented wildlife corridors. Stretching into Mexico, this breathtakingly beautiful valley has supported cattle ranching for centuries. As it becomes increasingly difficult for ranchers to subsist in the cattle industry, conservation groups have purchased parts of the valley. Pack a picnic lunch and tour the valley. It is truly magnificent.
Madera Canyon
Madera Canyon with its easy trail access, campgrounds and picnic areas lies in the northwest side of the Santa Rita Mountains where the higher elevation means cooler temperatures during the hot months and snow during the winter. The canyon has a long and colorful history which you can learn more about by obtaining a booklet produced by Friends of Madera Canyon. Contact them at: P.O. Box 1203, Green Valley, AZ 85622.
IN NOGALES:
Crawford Street Historic District
Back when the border was marked by a waist-high post and crossing was an unremarkable event, a saloon straddled the line with a door in Mexico and one in the U.S. Merchants and professionals carried on a long tradition of a robust commercial center and their profits built the stately homes that still grace Crawford Street.
Jesse Hendrix Hummingbird Ranch
According to the National Audubon Society, the American Birding Association and other sources, this ranch has the largest number of hummers that anyone has seen in one spot in the U.S. Jesse Hendrix puts about 150 feeders around his remote Nogales home to keep up with the thousands of birds that visit him each year between the peak period of April and October. The Hendrix Ranch has been featured in People Magazine, PBS and the BBC and people come from all over the world to visit. Give Jesse a call at 287-8615 and visit his hummers.
IN SONOITA:
Dinosaur Digs
You could be the next dino discoverer! The SONORASAURUS was discovered in 1994, by an undergraduate student. He traced small bone fragments up a wash in oak-juniper country, to a ridge top, and then, EUREKA, to a large piece of bone embedded in the sandstone. Happy hunting!!!
Santa Rita Abbey
In a remote abbey near the Santa Ritas, you’ll find the sisters of the Cisterian Order. Each week the dozen sister who reside there manufacture 180,000 wafers in their Altar Bread Bakery. Lodging in this remote and beautiful setting is available by reservations. Call 455-5595 for information.
IN TUMACACORI:
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arziona is comprised of the abandoned ruins of three ancient Spanish colonial missions. The Park is located on 45 acres in three separate units. San José de Tumacácori and Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi, established in 1691, are the two oldest missions in Arizona. The third unit, San Cayetano de Calabazas, was established in 1756. Visitation to the Guevavi and Calabazas units is available only by reservation during monthly tours guided by the Park staff. All visitor services and Park operations are based out of the Tumacácori unit. For more info: http://www.nps.gov/tuma/
IN TUBAC:
Tubac Cemetery
In the mid-1900s, Teodoro and Emilia Ybarra donated their family cemetery, which was started around 1800, to the county for the burial of blood relatives. Pat Ybarra, their grandson, is now the cemetery caretaker. Fiesta de los Muertos, celebrated on the first Sunday in November with singing and procession, includes the entire community. Recently, the Tubac Cemetery Preservation Society, a non-profit organization was formed in order to preserve the historic cemetery.
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
Enjoy living history programs while experiencing Arizona's first European settlement. Remnants of the military fort founded by the Spanish in 1752 have been uncovered by University of Arizona archaeologists and preserved by Arizona State Parks. An underground display features portions of the original foundation, walls, and plaza floor of the Presidio (fort) de San Ignacio de Tubac. Spanish soldiers established the fort to control the local Pima and Apache Indians and serve as a base for further exploration of the Southwest.
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