Campground Overview:
Arivaca Lake Campground is located along the old Ruby Road which is one of the most scenic drives in Southern Arizona. The camping area sits on the shores of Arivaca Lake in the Coronado National Forest. Once you get to this out-of-the-way recreation spot, one of the first things you’ll notice is that the only facilities provided are a toilet and a primitive boat ramp. Those drawn to this area enjoy a more primitive and less crowded recreation area.
Arivaca Lake is 90-acre impoundment built by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and is an excellent place to go fishing or birdwatching, to take a lakeside stroll or just plain sit back and relax. If you’ve brought along your fishing gear, you can try your luck for largemouth bass, catfish or blue gill. Boats powered by single electric trolling motors are permitted on the lake. They make a pleasant way to explore the narrow inlets that branch off the main body of water.
Campsites:
Arivaca Lake Campground is located in an area of rolling grasslands set against a backdrop of rocky bluffs and distant mountains. This area is home to a number of cattle ranches, and much of the land in the vicinity of the lake is private property. Take that into consideration if you go strolling across the landscape. Dispersed camping is available and visitors must pack in, pack out all gear. No garbage services or water is provided to this area so come prepared.
Take the Amado Road exit on Interstate 19, head west to Arivaca. Turn south out of Arivaca on FR 216 about a mile then east on FR 39 about 5 miles to a road that turns left (east) to the lake. Via the Ruby Road: take Interstate 19 north from Nogales 8 miles to the AZ 289/Ruby Road exit, head west 10 miles on this paved road past Peña Blanca Lake and continue on FR 39 (unpaved) for 26 miles to the primitive road (FR 4130) that turns right (east) to the lake.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Dispersed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Tucson |
Fishing: |
Arivaca Lake |
Campground Website: |
Arivaca Lake Campground |
Campground Map: |
Click Here |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Southern Arizona has a wealth of cultural, historical and natural resources. There are many opportunities for half or full day, side trips in the surrounding area. Walk back into the Old West and stand in the footprints of the Earp brothers at the OK Corral in Tombstone, relive the mining boomtown days by vising the areas ghost towns and mines, or explore the remnants of old forts, Indian ruins, and Spanish missions. Get out and hike on the Coronado National Forest’s numerous trails and explore the “Sky Islands” mountains which rise from the desert throughout the region.
Old Ruby Road Scenic Drive got its name from a once thriving mining camp located a short distance south of the road on the edge of the Pajarito Mountains. Ruby, the ghost town, reputedly was named after a pioneer resident who lived in the town when it opened its first U. S. Post Office.
The country which Ruby Road passes through is covered with grassy savannas and dotted with various species of oak, while an occasional clump of desert spoon, yucca or prickly pear cactus add to the high desert ambience. One of the first points of interest along this drive is Peña Blanca Lake. Here, you’ll find excellent birdwatching in season and good fishing year-round.
The Atascosa Trail makes another interesting stop, where a short hike can take you to dramatic overlooks of mountains and canyons. One more notable stop is Sycamore Canyon, where there is a Civil War-era ranch site, a streamside trail and excellent birdwatching. Back on the road, the drive continues through this area of shallow canyons and rugged bluffs past abandoned mines and working cattle ranches to Arivaca Lake. At that remote fishing and birding spot, you have the choice of returning the way you came or continuing on to the town of Arivaca and a paved route back to Interstate 19.
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park is dedicated to preserving the history of the settlement of the territory that would eventually become Arizona. It’s collection includes numerous artifacts from the 1700s as well as a starting point to hike what remains of the Anza trail.
The park includes various buildings and exhibits with numerous originally artifacts from early Native American archaeological and ethnographic collections, Spanish Colonial and Missions, Mining, Ranching, Civil War, Arizona Territorial Period, Women and Children, and the original Washington Printing Press that printed Arizona’s first newspaper in 1859. Buildings include a Visitor Center, Tubac Presidio Museum houses, Archaeological Excavation Exhibit, the second oldest territorial Schoolhouse in Arizona, Otero Hall, and the Rojas House.
Tumacácori National Historical Park is located in the upper Santa Cruz River Valley in Santa Cruz County, southern Arizona. The park consists of 360 acres in three separate units. The park protects the ruins of three Spanish mission communities, two of which are National Historic Landmark sites. It also contains the landmark 1937 Tumacácori Museum building.
The first Spanish Colonial Jesuit missions in the locale were established in 1691, Mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori (at Tumacácori) and Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi, are the two oldest missions in southern Arizona. The Franciscan church of Mission San José de Tumacácori, across the river from and replacing Mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori, was built in the 1750s. The third mission was established in 1756, Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas.
The Mission San José de Tumacácori complex is open to the public. Nearby are the park’s visitor center and the Tumacácori Museum in a historic Mission Revival style building. The Tumacácori missions complex was originally protected as Tumacácori National Monument, in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In 1990 the national monument was redesignated a National Historical Park. The Guevavi and Calabazas mission units were added to the Tumacácori missions complex unit, within the new Tumacácori National Historical Park.
The site was on the route of the 1775-1776 Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition from New Spain to Alta California, the first Spanish overland expedition to claimed but un-colonized upper Las Californias territory. A 4.5 miles (7.2 km) segment of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail lies along the Santa Cruz River between Tumacácori National Historical Park and Tubac Presidio State Historic Park.
Patagonia Lake State Park tucked away in the rolling hills of southeastern Arizona is a hidden treasure. Patagonia Lake State Park was established in 1975 as a state park and is an ideal place to find whitetail deer roaming the hills and great blue herons walking the shoreline. The park offers a campground, beach, picnic area with ramadas, tables and grills, a creek trail, boat ramps, and a marina.
The nearby Lakeside Market offers boat rentals and supplies. The campground overlooks the lake where anglers catch crappie, bass, bluegill, catfish, and trout. The park is popular for water skiing, fishing, camping, picnicking, and hiking. And the tracks of the New Mexico/Arizona railroad lie beneath the lake and remnants of the old historic line may be found at the Nature Conservancy in Patagonia. Hikers can stroll along the creek trail and see birds such as the canyon towhee, Inca dove, vermilion flycatcher, black vulture, and several species of hummingbirds.
Ruby, AZ (Ghost Town) is a well preserved ghost town 50 miles southwest of Tucson and 4 miles north of the Mexico border. It is surrounded by the Coronado National Forest in an area of rugged mountains, semi-arid deserts and abundant wildlife. The first Europeans to visit the area were Spanish conquistadors in the late 1500’s. In the 19th century there was knowledge of gold and the region was referred to as “Oro Blanco” or white gold. Later, as the colonists moved west, there was an influx of adventurers, mountain men, ranchers and miners.
The first strike in the Montana vein was in the late 1870’s, and by the turn of the century, Ruby had become the largest mining camp in the area. A post office was located here from 1910 to 1940. This historic ghost town of Ruby, Arizona is rich in the history of life at the turn of the century. The mining company left behind equipment and buildings that supported the operation of Montana Mine, which closed in 1940. The miners and their families left behind their one-room school, the playground, the merchantile and a rich vision of their everyday life in Ruby, Arizona.
Today the town of Ruby is privately owned and one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Arizona, with several dozen structures. Entry fee is $12/ adult. Ruby Road heading south from Arivaca is 12 miles long and half is dirt today. The road is generally in good condition except during the monsoon season and then you should call ahead before making the drive.
Nearby Campgrounds:
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