Tucson Day Trips

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Mission San Xavier

Tucson Day Trips are our recommendations for the most interesting sightseeing, destinations, and attractions within a 12-hour, fairly leisurely round trip drive with lots of interesting stops along the way.
For an overview of tours that Southern Arizona Guide presents and other recommended Tours and guides, see Tucson Tours.

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A Day Trip Through History: The Santa Cruz River Valley

Tucson Convento & Chapel on the West Bank of the Santa Cruz River.

A brief history of the Santa Cruz River Valley from Tucson, South to the Mexican Border. Here you will find the Spanish missions and presidios (forts) of the Pimeria Alta, Land of the Upper Pimas. Today, Interstate 19 makes traveling this 70-mile section of Arizona history an easy day trip. … Continue reading

Tucson Day Trips: South To Tubac and the Missions on I-19

The I-19 corridor south of Tucson is hard to beat for a leisurely day trip from Tucson, enjoying art, culture, history, and excellent Mexican cuisine. There is so much to see and do between Tucson and the Mexican border that we recommend you start early. When we take guests on … Continue reading

Tucson Day Trip 3: Southern Arizona Wine Country

The dozen or so wineries in the little communities of Sonoita & Elgin are about an hour southeast of Tucson via scenic Hwy. 83. The terrain here is very different from Tucson. No saguaros, but miles of rolling hills, tall grass & cattle herds and if you look closely you … Continue reading

The Coronado Expedition: 1540-42

Coronado Expedition. Painting by Frederick Remington in 1898.

The story of the Coronado Expeditions is one of bravery, perseverance, high adventure, faith, and incredible greed. Between hiking trails and scenic back roads, we can retrace their historic route.

Kentucky Camp AZ: A Ghost Town With Accommodations!

More than a hundred years ago, Kentucky Camp was the headquarters for the Santa Rita Water & Mining Company, which was formed to extract placer deposits from the Greaterville Mining District in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains 9 miles NW of Sonoita.

Tucson To Bisbee To Dragoon – A Scenic, Historic Backroad Adventure

For me, the most interesting backroads are those that traverse scenic countryside, of course. But more so, I look for many points of interest, usually historic sites, along the way. I hate long, monotonous drives. I appreciate local, esoteric histories. This means that I tend to meander, stop and chat with … Continue reading

Tucson to Wine Country & Back Via Box Canyon – A Day Trip

This is a very pleasant day trip from Tucson to the Wine Country of Sonoita & Elgin. When touring, we try not to back track and the route I suggest here takes you back through Box Canyon to Madera Canyon for a picnic, before heading back to Tucson via I-19 north of Green Valley.

Ghost Town of Klondyke AZ & the Power Family Saga

Klondyke Arizona: Restored Cabin of Jeff Power.

Klondyke is a near-ghost town in western Graham County. In the second decade of the 21st century, the only roads out there are still unpaved. The Klondyke cemetery is just southeast of town. There you will find the graves of the Thomas Jefferson “Jeff” Power and his family. Few know the sad story of these […]

Butterfield Overland Mail Company and the Dragoon Springs Stage Station

1860 drawing of Dragoon Springs Stage Station

Dragoon Springs is located at the northern end of the Dragoon Mountains in Cochise County, Arizona. The springs were an important source of water for Native American people a thousand years ago or more. In September 1695, Spanish troops camped here. They described this place as muy penascosa, “very rocky”. … Continue reading

Ghost Town Trail: Pearce To Courtland To Gleeson!

On a recent Road Trip, we stopped at a few ghost towns, namely Pearce, Courtland, and Gleeson along the Ghost Town Trail. These are all located near Sunsites east of Tombstone.

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