Outdoor Activities
Hiking & Birding |
Boating & Fishing |
Horseback Riding |
In addition to our own championship golf course, eight other area courses lie within a half-hour drive of the resort, making Tubac a player’s paradise. Surrounding the Tubac are opportunities for outdoor adventures from sightseeing, to birding, boating and horseback riding. Let us prepare a boxed lunch for you before you embark upon your journey.
The Tubac Golf Resort is affiliated with Tubac Tour Company, which offers various tour packages at reasonable rates. For the bicycling enthusiast, Tubac offers its guests bike rentals for $10/day.
Tubac Tour Company
520-398-8028
Scenic photography tours and day trips to Arizona Sonora Desert
Museum, Tumacacori Mission and Tombstone.
HIKING
Whether you prefer a relaxing walk along the Anza Trail or an enduring adventure at Madera Canyon, Tubac Golf Resort can help make your venture more enjoyable by providing a sack lunch and informative literature.
The Juan Bautista de Anza Trail
In 1776, Spanish Captain Juan Bautista de Anza led nearly 300 people
over 1,200 miles, from Nogales to establish a new mission in
San Francisco. Now part of the National Park Service, you can
follow the same overland route those intrepid early explorers
traveled. For birding enthusiasts, the trail is a must.
Nearest the resort is the most popular section of the trail. Running 3.5 miles from Tubac to Tumacacori, the trail is flat and follows the Santa Cruz River. Visitors can either hike or follow the trail on horseback; bikes are allowed, but discouraged.
Also located within Tubac Presidio State Historic Park are the Old School House and Otero Community Hall, both enshrined in the National Register of Historic Places. The park's museum documents the history of the first European/Spanish settlement in 1752 thru the territorial expansion in 1859, while the schoolhouse has an underground archaeology display and picnic area.
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
1 Burruel St,
Tubac
(520) 398-2252
Directions:
From the resort, make a right on Plaza Road (at the large Tubac town sign), and immediately take another right on Tubac Road. Follow the road to the Tubac Presidio State Park. The Anza Trailhead is located to the right of the park entrance. Please park in the gravel parking lot.
Madera Canyon
On the northwest face of the Santa Rita Mountains, Madera Canyon
is not only a habitat for over 240 species of birds,
but an excellent hiking locale. “Madera” means “lumber” or “wood” in
Spanish and refers to the area’s rich history as a major timber
supplier for the city of Tucson over a century ago.
The Madera Nature Trail is a streamside route which gives the hiker a birds-eye view of an entire array of diverse plant and animal life. Further up-canyon offers an impressive view of Mount Wrightson (elevation 9,453 feet).
Madera Nature Trail
U.S. Forest Services Ranger Station
303 Old Tucson Rd,
Nogales, AZ
(520) 281-2296
Directions:
Take I-19 east and get off at the Continental Exit 63. Follow the signs to Whitehouse Canyon Road for 11 miles to the park entrance.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Located a short distance from Tubac, Kartchner Caverns was discovered
in 1974 and is site of several world-class cave formations.
Tours are conducted by expert tour guides and are 90 minutes
in length; some tours may be considered strenuous, so comfortable
shoes are a must. Learn more here.
Biking
The mountains, river beds and back roads around Tubac offer bicyclists an opportunity to experience the high desert and its natural inhabitants up close, and at your own pace.
Discover the Juan
Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
Connect to
the Anza Trail from Tubac Golf Resort and pedal through groves of cottonwoods
to Tumacácori National Historic Park. The 3.2 mile trail between
parks takes you through a rare and vibrant desert riparian region. The trail
is mostly level with a few traverses across the Santa Cruz River and is
easily navigated by all levels of bicyclists. The resort staff can prepare
a picnic lunch for you to take along. Bicycle rentals are available at the
resort.
Ghost Town tour lets you cycle back in time.
For the more adventurous,
we can arrange a bicycling tour of four ghost towns. You’ll be transported
to Patagonia where you will be provided with top-of-the-line, custom-fitted
mountain bikes, and will be led by a guide familiar with local history.
A support van will never be far away, so that riders who tire along the
way—or just want to take a break—may continue touring with the
group. Lunch and snacks provided.
The sky’s the limit.
Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory tour. (seasonal)
You’ll be transported to the working research center and observatory
atop Mt. Hopkins (8,555 feet elevation). After a tour of the facility and
a catered lunch, you’ll pedal down the ten-mile road to the base of
the mountain. Bicycles are included in the tour. The observatory is a joint
venture of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.
* Some cycling excursions may require advanced reservations of up to 7 days
Boating & Fishing
Patagonia Lake
Patagonia
Lake is located south of Tucson near the hills of Nogales, and
is the centerpiece of Patagonia Lake State Park. Several hiking
trails run along the lake, which spans over
250 acres and is 2 ½ miles long. The lake is also a fisherman’s
paradise, abundantly stocked with bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish.
Patagonia Lake State Park
400 Lake Patagonia Rd,
Nogales, AZ
(520) 287-6965
Directions:
I-19 south to Exit 12; east on Ruby Road South. Turn
right on Via Frontera for ¼ mile, then turn left on River Road
for approximately five miles. Cross bridge, then
turn left on Highway 82 for 12 miles. Turn left onto Patagonia
Lake Road for four miles.
Peña
Blanca Lake
Located 45 minutes from the resort, Pena Blanca Lake is a man-made
lake, created in 1957 for recreational use. Situated on 49 acres
of Peña Blanca Canyon in the Pajarito Mountain foothills, the lake
is a popular local and tourist destination.
Directions:
I-19 west for approximately eight miles to the Peña Blanca-Ruby
Road (AZ Hwy 289) exit. Follow main road for nine miles to the
Peña Blanca Lake Recreation Area. Turn right on the paved road
to the lake.
TOURS
Spirit Steps Tours
Spirit Steps Tours offers an incomparable choice of educational & enlightening experiences for the seeking sojourner and Eco-tourist. Personalized excursions of the Santa Cruz River Valley with our multi-lingual staff include history, art, ceremony, bird-watching, hiking, and various workshops and activities.
Air-Conditioned Van Tours and Shuttles for large groups or individuals - Pedicab/Taxi Tours of Tubac
See our Website www.spiritsteps.org or brochures for details of tours Reservations in Advance. (866) 508-0094, locally 520-398-2655. Credit Cards Accepted.
BIRD WATCHING
Along the Santa Cruz River is a natural habitat for many native Arizona birds, among them the broad-billed hummingbird, northern cardinal, Arizona flycatcher and gila woodpecker.
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historical Trail is undoubtedly the most visited birding spot in the Tubac area. Other popular sighting stops within a half-hour of the resort are Madera Canyon, Mt. Wrightson summit, and the Sonoita Creek Preserve in Patagonia.
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
1 Burruel St.
Tubac, AZ 85646
(520) 398-2252
HORSEBACK RIDING
Located less than seven miles from the resort, the Rex Ranch offers all-day, half-day and sunset trail ride packages during the winter, fall and spring months.
Rex Ranch
131 Amado Montosa Rd.
Amado, AZ 85645
(520) 398-2914
Directions:
North on I-19 east to Chavez Siding Rd., then take Agua Linda
Rd. Exit to Amado. Turn right on Agua Linda Rd. then go left
on E. Frontage Rd. Turn right on Amado Montosa Rd.
Ride the West
321 Stable Lane
Rio Rico, Arizona 85648
866-454-7433 Toll Free
858-270-7432 Phone
Directions:
South on I-19 11 miles. Take Rio Rico exit (exit 17) to Yavapai Dr, left on
Rio Rico Dr, right on E Frontage Rd, continue to Stable Ln.