The CNF is my backyard. I first was introduced to this area in 1986 when I was a young Specialist…read morein the US Army. I fell in love with the area and decided then I would retire to these moutains. Retired people like to golf, play Bingo!, RV travel and roadtrip. I like the outdoors, hiking, and exploring. I'm living my dream with the CNF. The forest is divided into many smaller tracts. I'm just east of the Huachuca mountains. There are trails to Miller and Carr Peaks and foothills trails right here. Just look at the website for many options. Drive 50 miles north, west or east and there are many more options in nearby towns. We have our share of wildlife, so be cautious if hiking alone. I've come across black bears, mountain lions, javelina, coatamundi, rattle snakes, and illegal border crossers sneaking across at night. Be situation aware! My dogs keep me protected. I don't have one favorite trail, as I like diversity, but Carr Peak is an easy peak to bag if you are in shape. The Perimeter trail in the eastern slopes of the Huachucas are great for full moon hikes. The Santa Ritas are charming and have hidden springs. If you hike with dogs, the CNF will deliver My hiking club, the Huachuca Hiking Club, does volunteer maintenance work on trails for the CNF. We are a tough bunch of older hikers. The local meetup, the Sky Island Hikers, does more local and easier hikes. I sometimes lead full moon hikes with them.

I enjoyed hiking here and would love to return in the near future. Beautiful scenery!read more

Normally I would give it 5 stars, but the mining room was closed for restoration when we visited…read morethis week and it seems like some of the exhibits were missing stuff that we had seen before, i.e. behind the bar. It is worth walking to the museum if for no other reason to take a selfie with the building in the background - it is truly a gem. The inside has old creaky stairs and lots of memorabilia - it generally takes us almost hours to make it through everything. Don't miss the gallows out back (see photo). The museum does not focus on the shootout, so if you are looking for a ton of stuff from that you might be disappointed, though there is a small exhibit that describes the events of the day. Worth the stroll a block off main street and the price of admission.

Beautiful original 1882 Cochise County Victorian courthouse. We didn't have time for the tour, but…read moreenjoyed visiting it.

Friendly and helpful staff. Several free guides available (butterflies or birds to identify),…read moreinformation about the history of the area. Clean restrooms. Small gift shop/ book store. Well maintained facilities and trails. Staff make sure the hummingbird feeders are filled in the morning. The entrance fee is $8... which is great given the amenities and maintenance needed in preserving this lovely space. A annual membership pays for itself quickly because it allows you free entrance to the Nature Conservancy Patagonia- Sonoita Creek Preserve too.

Cold in early December and not many birds, but trees were beautiful and worth it for meread more

We called for reservation because the other park we were gonna stay at couldn't accommodate our 50…read moreamp Class A motorhome. Roy was very responsive and helpful and booked us immediately. We love how big the spaces are and the accommodations that are available. A little ways out of Bisbee but definitely worth it. We will be back. Deer and a Havelina walked through the park in the evening. Very quiet place too.

Absolutely loved the owners and the other campers in the campground. So clean and level lots. We…read morewill be back.

I cannot believe I had never heard anyone talking about Parker Canyon Lake! This is a short hour…read moreand a half to 2 hour drive from Tucson through scenic roads and hills where you may just spot some deer and definitely some cows. The campground is clean and I was even surprised by the cleanliness of the restroom. We spent a weekend camping here and honestly had the best time. There are kiosks you can pay fees at so it's not just cash only which is nice. You can rent pontoons, kayaks, pedal boats and more from the center there, but it is first come first serve, so I suggest getting there a little early before they open to be able to snag one. You also are able to bring your own boats, boards, etc., too. We rented a pontoon boat for 4 hours and had an absolute blast on the lake fishing, swimming and just hanging out. The wildlife out there is really cool, we saw turkey vultures, hawks, deer, lizards, fish and all sorts of critters. The weather is also great - it was much cooler than Tucson. Cell service is super spotty so expect to be disconnected from the world while you are there which we all need a little of sometimes. This is definitely saved as a future spot for us to return to!

My girlfriend and I have taken several trips to Parker Canyon Lake this summer. I was at how close…read moreit was to Tucson and how quiet and is considering the lake down the road which would be Patagonia is always so packed full of people. I enjoy that it's always clean. The water is nice not murky.... The gentleman that runs the shop there his name was Colton was so nice to us every time we were there... Colton offered suggestions on our camping sites on where to catch fish and gave us some great advice when we rented the paddle boards... Thanks to the decided to go ahead and all purchase paddle boards and now we've gone as often as we can... we were able to capture some of the best sunsets I've seen in Arizona .... This is a hidden gem that is well run and well kept... I highly recommend it to anyone that would like an awesome getaway at a really cool lake not far from home !!!

What a beautiful place to walk around! You need to come early to really see many birds but its…read morestill a worthwhile stop for a nature walk later. There's a guide at the visitor center who has a lot of information about the preserve and shared which birds have been seen lately -- and there are reference photos. The walking area is shaded and easy walking, with quite a few benches throughout. There's also a very nice gift shop that of course supports the preserve. I got a great full zip hoodie for a reasonable price.

A beautiful nature preserve managed by the Nature Conservancy. The first 1/2 mile of so of the…read moretrail has several historical and natural points of interest ( example ponds where you can find the leopard frogs). Lots of benches through out the area. Trail is well marked. Of note it is a gradual ascend. The 2nd half if you wish to get to the overlook continues ascend even more with switchbacks and more rugged stairs... a lot more climbing. There are benches scattered to catch a breath. I did not make it to the top this time but I am told by everyone who did that there are no benches towards the last leg before the top and this is a strenuous trail especially if you are not acclimated to the elevation plus 700ft ascent. Regardless of your hiking goals, the views are lovely, amazing biodiversity and immersion in nature. If you are into birding, this area is a hotspot. The staff at the visitor center are helpful and can provide information too. Hydrate and wear good shoes. Parking is free. There is a small fee. The area does close at 4... so plan accordingly.

The SPRNCA is more than just an old ranch house near the river off SR 90 where birders mingle…read morealthough it is the most used site in the area. The area includes 40 miles of a well-marked wide dirt trail along the San Pedro River that once was the home to the local Apache tribes. I live eight miles due west from the Hereford Bridge trail head and bring my dogs here to let them enjoy the river where few people go. This is eight miles from Mexico. Right now we have plenty of migrating hawks and eagles, and soon we will have our hummingbirds from the south come back up here. You can walk all the way down to the international border along the trail, although I'd advise you to not do it alone as border crossers do come through. There are no water stations or rest areas along the way; it's all primitive so bring your own water and make sure you have a fully-charged cellphone. The trail is mostly flat and exposed. The views in all directions are of mountain vistas. Creosote, mesquite, desert grasses and catclaw are common flora right off the trail, but you may come across adobe ruins, old pumps, even an old carcass or two. Other great stops are Murray Springs Clovis site and the nearby Clayton house (now just ruins) Beside the San Pedro House, there is also the old mining town of Fairbank further north. Volunteers man the old school house (now a visitor's center) on most weekends. There's also an historic cemetery. Near Millville there are even petroglyphs. North of Fairbank is the old mining town of Contention, but there isn't much left of the town. The trail going north of here is little used, and the river dries up in the hotter months. The Bureau of Land Management manages the trail. It's understaffed and the trail therefore can get overgrown at times. However, I enjoy this area for my solitude. I can take my dogs here and bother no one, and using it doesn't cost a dime.

Beautiful stop in between Sierra Vista and Bisbee! Easy to stop for a few minutes to take in the…read moreCottonwood trees and/or spend hours along the trails. We visited at a time when the San Pedro House itself was closed to visitors due to the pandemic plus part of the River Trail was closed off due to forest fire risks. However, a large section of the trail was still open and we were able to walk along the river and get lost under the canopy of green lush foliage and trees. It's worth the walk from the San Pedro House to the River to hang out under the trees, you don't have to go far to find a cool spot to sit and admire the scenery. You'll walk on a wide flat trail along a field, at the time we went the field was filled with small yellow daisies before getting to the canopy of trees. Check the website before visiting so you can know what you're in for in terms of hiking or going inside the San Pedro House. Hope to come back in cooler temperatures to spend more time on the trails. Oooh take your binoculars too, spot is also known for great bird watching.

I really don't like bashing local businesses, but I think this is worthy. This is regarding their…read morepool maintenance, not their pool building, Patio Pools has been servicing this pool every month for 14 year (since it was built) for the previous owner. This information came from Patio, not from the previous owner. The current rate of their monthly service is $165. The service agreement states they will do weekly cleaning of the pool including the cartridge filter, brush the pool, test and maintain the chemistry, and take care of equipment parts and accessories like the lid, filter o-rings, etc. They were last here 12.03.25, and today is 12.24.25. This is what I found: lots of scale on the pool (from running the pH too high), INCREDIBLY dirty filter caked with mud, a broken latch on the filter case, old and/or rotten o-rings and gaskets. The chlorine was very low, so I went to turn up the inline chlorinator and crumbs of the disintegrating o-ring fell out, then it started to leak. I then opened the chlorinator and there was no chlorine pack in there. Now this could be because it's winter, but it is 80 degrees outside and they serviced the pool 3 weeks ago! The pH of the pool was high 8.1 and 8.6 on two different testing systems, the CYA was over a HUNDRED while the chlorine was 0.5. Ideally, chlorine should be 7.5-10% of your CYA. Several studies have shown CYA over 80 is useless and will just cause you to waste expensive chlorine tablets. With this much CYA, NO chlorine disinfecting is taking place and the only way to lower CYA is to drain the pool. So then I took a look at the pump. The gasket was old had small rocks in-bedded in it. Come on guys, are you trying to destroy my stuff?? For the past 160 months or so, Patio has been taking in $120-$165 per month. So they've pocketed upwards of about 20K and now I'm going to have to spend at least 5k fixing what they've neglected.

Thank you to Micheal for hot tub repair. Arrived on time, professional, courteous, knowledgeable, a…read moregreat job. Highly recommended