A walking and driving tour through the Graham County cities of Safford, Thatcher, Pima and Soloman in South Eastern Arizona. Visit historical landmarks of Graham County and see buildings built in the late 1800s. Walk through town and visit the old Court house, post office, and city hall. Drive through beautiful and historic residential neighborhoods. Murals, antique soda fountain counters, train depots, and gracious homes are the few highlights on this tour across Graham County.

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Contact Information:

Graham County Chamber of Commerce
1111 Thatcher Blvd. (Hwy 70)
Safford, AZ 85546
Toll Free: 1.888.837.1841
928.428.251

Ginning is the process of separating lint and seed from cotton produced on the farm. Lint is formed into 500 lb. bales, which are sold to textile mills. Seed is sold by the ton to buyers such as dairies, which use it for cattle feed, and seed companies, which sell the seed for next year's crops.

Tours of Glenbar Gin are available during the ginning season from approximately Oct. 15th till the end of the ginning season. This will usually be approximately Dec 30th.

Tour hours are from 8 - 11 and 1 - 5 Mon thru Sat. as long as the gin is in operation. Please call the office at 928-485-9255 to schedule your tour.

Contact Information:

9845 W. Hwy 70
Pima, AZ, 85543
928.485.9255

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Cotton gin tours.

Contact Information:

120 E. 9th St.
Safford, AZ, 85546
928.428.0714 call for tour information
email: svcg@zekes.com

Arizona’s Salsa Trail® is all about terrific Mexican food and down-home friendliness. Sprinkled through the small Southern Arizona communities of Safford, Pima, Thatcher, Solomon, Clifton, Duncan, Willcox, and York are a dozen Mexican restaurants, a family owned tortilla factory and a lady who grows chilies who have all joined together to make up the Salsa Trail®. In a world where change seems constant, the constant on the Salsa Trail is good food and consistency of service that spans decades. Chances are that the person who greets you, the waitress who serves your food, and the cook who prepares the traditional Mexican recipes, have been on the job for 10, 15, 20 years or more.

The scenic Old West Highway connects the communities and businesses which are within a 40 mile radius of Safford - about and hour and a half east and slightly north of Tucson. In addition to good food and friendly folks, tourists are beginning to discover the natural beauty and tucked away attractions that dot the map along the Salsa Trail®.

Click the image to view or print the brochure.

Contact Information:

Graham County Chamber of Commerce
1111 Thatcher Blvd. (Hwy 70)
Safford, AZ 85546
Toll Free: 1.888.837.1841
928.428.2511

website
email: Info@SalsaTrail.com

You will experience the ecological equivalent of driving from Mexico to Canada all in one leisurely afternoon on this sky-scraping, switchbacking mountain road. The Swift Trail, named for T. T. Swift, the first supervisor of the Coronado National Forest, takes you from cactus-studded Sonoran desert at 2,900 feet in the Gila Valley to alpine meadows and forests on the 9,000' high ridges of the Pinaleño Range. The mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona have come to be called “Sky Islands” because they are surrounded by desert and isolated from one another by seas of arid environment so different from the tall forests that grace their upper slopes. Of all the Sky Islands in southeastern Arizona, the Pinaleños are the highest and one of the most extensive.

This trip starts in a desert landscape where cactus, yucca and mesquite are the prevalent plant species. The climb begins and the life zones start to change almost immediately. From low desert scrub, to oak grasslands, to pinyon-juniper woodlands and finally to forests of pine, spruce and fir, the road winds past breathtaking panoramas, lush forests, and picturesque mountain meadows.

Several points of interest will vie for your attention along this historic route constructed during the Great Depression by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Among these, Heliograph Peak was a signal outpost during the wars of expansion of the late 1800’s. Hospital Flat, a wildflower-carpeted meadow, and Treasure Park, where legend has it that a fortune in gold and silver was buried by Mexican banditos, are accessible by short side trips. In addition to these points of interest, the road provides access to a number of hiking, horsebacking, and mountain biking trails, a mountain lake stocked with trout, and many campgrounds.

Access: Drive south from Safford on US 191. About 8 miles from the center of town turn southwest on AZ 366, the Swift Trail, and continue 35.2 miles to the end of the road.

Mileage/Driving Time: 70.4 miles round trip, allow about 5 hours (more for a few side trips.)

Contact Information:

Safford Ranger District

711 14th Avenue, Suite D

Safford, AZ 85546

928.428.4150

website

Finding a scenic drive on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests is as easy as pointing to any spot on the Forest map and taking a drive. People come from hundreds of miles away just to cruise the highways and byways of this Forest but we've picked out a few routes that provide good access, outstanding scenery and variety, and even some adventure. Let's start with the paved roads:

The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway (Highway 191) from Springerville to Clifton is an exciting 120 mile journey surrounded by the beauty and grandeur of Arizona. You will follow a route near Coronado's path as he searched for the "Seven Cities of Cibola" over 450 years ago and will literally travel from "palms to pines" in a few breathtaking hours. Wildflowers abound brightened by summer monsoon rains. Spectacular yellow and golds greet you as aspen and oak mark the beginning of fall. The quiet white of winter greets the adventurous winter recreationist.

Highway 260 between Eagar and Pinetop-Lakeside features high-elevation meadows and streams and lakes both on the Forest and on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. You get outstanding views of Sunrise Ski Area and the old sawmill at McNary.

Highway 260 between the top of the Mogollon Rim near Woods Canyon lake turnoff and Heber features an extensive stand of ponderosa pine and tremendous change in temperature compared to the Phoenix area. People flock to this area to get cool in the summer and to play in the snow in the winter.

Highway 261 between Eagar and Big Lake offers quick and easy access to the Big Lake area and also provides an excellent vista of the Round Valley of Springerville and Eagar. The road skirts Mexican Hay Lake and traverses the high elevation meadows in which snowmobilers love to play.

Gravel roads which are highly scenic include:

The White Mountain Scenic Byway from Alpine on Forest Road (FR) 249 to Big Lake and then proceed on state highway 273 past the Sunrise Ski Area to Highway 260. The Escudilla Mountain/Terry Flat drive is between Alpine and Nutrioso. Take Forest Road 56, which is about 6 miles north of Alpine on Highway 191, and drive near the top of Arizona's 3rd highest peak.

This trail includes some of the best areas in southeastern Arizona enjoy great birding.

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The Black Hills Back Country Byway is unpaved, but is accessible to high clearance vehicles during dry weather. Portions of the byway have narrow drop-offs or are confined by steep cliffs. Do not attempt the byway if you have a travel trailer or any vehicle more than 20 feet long. Motor homes and trailers can be left at parking areas provided near kiosks at each end. Please take extra care to drive defensively on this route. Always expect a vehicle around the next bend and remember: mountain courtesy gives uphill traffic the right of way.

The Black Hills Back Country Byway offers 21 miles of back country driving adventure through the northern end of the Peloncillo Mountains in southeastern Arizona. Along the Byway are sweeping views of the Black Hills, Gila Mountains, Mount Graham, and the Gila River Valley. Major attractions seen from the Byway include the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area (NCA) along the Gila River, the Phelps Dodge Copper Mine at Morenci, a Civilian Conservation Corps work camp, over 100 erosion-control structures, and a historic prison labor camp. Side trips off the Byway provide access to the Gila River and spectacular overlooks of the Gila River Canyon within the NCA.

Contact Information:

Bureau of Land Management

Safford Field Office
711 14th Ave.
Safford, AZ 85546
928.348.4400

From Stockton Pass you can hike into the Pinaleño Mountains along the Shake Trail or continue your drive down into Sulphur Springs Valley to visit the rustic country store at the sleepy little ranching outpost of Bonita. From here you may choose to return by the same way you came or to continue on a loop that completely encircles the Pinaleño Range. You may catch a glimpse of an antelope or golden eagle along this stretch, and you will certainly see more great scenery. Just beyond Bonita, shaggy soaptree yuccas line the roadside creating great foregrounds for views of the Galiuro Range in the distance. Ranch gates and cattle corrals continue as you parallel upper Aravaipa Creek where a 14-mile side trip takes you to another colorful outpost and country store at Klondyke.

The last leg of the trip leads up and over a pass that separates the Pinaleños from the rocky Santa Teresas that should be glowing in the sunset just about the time you go driving by.

Big cattle ranches, rugged mountain ranges and broad grasslands studded with desert plants make this a ride with a true southwestern flavor. The route first climbs to the top of Stockton Pass where you’ll find a picnic area in the midst of a grassy savannah embellished with oak and cactus. The scenery at Stockton Pass and along the route that leads to and from it include some excellent views of the Pinaleños and sweeping panoramas of broad, flat Sulphur Springs Valley, with the Galiuros and the Winchester Mountains jutting up from the valley floor.

Access: From Safford drive south 17 miles on US 191 to AZ 266. Turn right (southwest) onto 266 and drive 12 miles to the Stockton Pass Picnic Area then continue about 7 miles to Bonita. To continue on a scenic loop, from Bonita continue north on the Aravaipa Road about 40 miles to the Klondyke Road then turn right (east) 32 miles back to U. S. 70 from which it is another 13.7 miles back to Safford.

Contact Information:

Safford Ranger District

711 14th Avenue, Suite D

Safford, AZ 85546

928.428.4150

website