Sierra Vista - Birder's Paradise

Birding, hiking and golf are our favorite things to do in Southeastern Arizona. There are so many places to look for birds, we still haven't seen them all. The Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon (about 6 miles south of Sierra Vista), and the Patagonia-Sonoita Preserve in Patagonia are good places to start. While in Patagonia, don't miss going to Patton's house. Marion and Wally Patton have opened up their backyard to bird lovers - complete with a canopy, chairs and benches underneath. In the warmer months you will see unbelieveable amounts of hummingbirds at their 10+ feeders (not to mention all the other feathered friends who come to visit). Their house is on the left as you drive to the Patagonia-Sonoita Preserve. Further down the road is Lake Patagonia - another beautiful spot. In December, we practically had the place to ourselves...a contrast to the summer crowds.

You must spend part of a day at least at the San Pedro Riparian Area 7 miles east of town on Hwy. 90. SABO (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory) has their office in the San Pedro House. You can take birding tours with them, or watch them "band" hummingbirds. Their excellent website is www.sabo.org. Please don't forget to take 5 or 10 seconds to rate this journal! Thanks.

Quick Tips:

If you're into birding or want to start, call the Arizona Office of Tourism (800)842-8257 or www.arizonaguide.com and request their "Southeastern Arizona Birding Trail" map. It's the best map we've used for the area. Sierra Vista has a great Visitors Bureau (800)288-3861 or www.arizonaguide.com/sierravista.

Although Sierra Vista has an airport, we've always flown into Tucson Int'l (nice little airport!). It takes approx. 1 1/2 hours to get to Sierra Vista from there.

Best Way To Get Around:

Just rent a car and drive! SUVs are not necessary, but they make it easier when you're carrying golf clubs! Because of it's proximity to Mexico, you may have to drive through the occasional Border Patrol roadblock. BTW, the white "Blimp" in the sky over Sierra Vista (you can't miss it) is a high-tech device used to catch drug smugglers and illegal aliens entering from Mexico.

This is Sierra Vista's newest hotel. We joined the Guest Privileges Program and were upgraded to a suite which was big, comfortable and quiet. There was a desk with modem hookups for our laptop, a refrigerator and a pull-out couch and chair. Plenty of room to spread our stuff out! We will most likely stay there again on our next trip because of their central location. A nice surprise for us tall people was the bathroom sink which was much higher than normal. The free continental breakfast is not bad, but not anything out of the ordinary.

This is a newer hotel. Very clean with a nice complimentary breakfast. All rooms are studios (I think). It is across the street from the entrance to Ft. Huachuca. The ONLY thing that bothered us was the slippery floor in the foyer of our room. We would stay there again. They can give you a card to get a discount on a round of golf at Pueblo del Sol C.C.

We had excellent meals both times here. All the locals recommend it. If you stay at the Comfort Inn, you can get a complimentary glass of wine or dessert...get the dessert (the house wine is average)! Varied menu and excellent service. The staff is very friendly and makes sure you have a good time. One of the nights we ate there was the night before they were going to close for the employee Christmas party. The place was packed, but everyone was having fun, servers kept up with the demand, and the chef put out a delicious dinner.

This is more of a gourmet restaurant (we're not into that, but if you are, you'll like it). There are many small dining rooms as this used to be someone's house. The service was okay, not great. Next time, we'll probably go the the Mesquite Tree again or the steakhouse in Sonoita instead.

The attached picture shows the view as you head toward the San Pedro Riparian Area. The band of green are the trees along the creek. In the summer, hiking along the river in the shade of the cottonwoods, you will see myriad birds enjoying the water. On a December day near sunset, we saw many hawks soaring close to the ground searching for prey. The San Pedro house is a great place to buy birding books and other nature items. There are nice, clean restrooms on site as well. The hikes are not strenuous. As you drive the roads of Southeastern Arizona in winter, you will see literally hundreds of raptors. Hawks and Kestrels are on just about every third telephone poll you pass!

For more info on the San Pedro Riparian Area, see www.sabo.org.