RECOMMENDED DAY TRIPS FROM BISBEE:

Cultural Heritage

Old Bisbee Mining and History

Begin in Bisbee. The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, the Smithsonian’s first rural affiliate, is the place to begin your day. It displays the minerals found in the Mule Mountains and outlines Bisbee’s colorful mining history.

After the Museum, don yellow slickers, hard hats and mining lanterns to board the train for the Queen Mine Tour, Arizona’s only underground mine tour. The tour takes you 1,500 feet deep into the now non-operational mine where tour guides detail the conditions in which the miners worked and how ore was processed.

And don’t neglect Bisbee’s historic shopping district, which lies within Bisbee’s National Registered Historic District, along Main Street and Brewery Gulch. You’ll find an eclectic mix of art galleries, antique shops, pottery studios, boutiques and restaurants.

Return to Bisbee and shop for fresh dinner ingredients at our local markets, cook in Doublejack's full kitchen, and enjoy candlelight dinner with a view on your private deck.

Tombstone and the
Dragoon Mountains

From Bisbee take a 20 minute drive to the town of Tombstone, a National Historic Landmark. Tombstone epitomizes the heritage of the Old West. Visit Boothill Cemetery, the Bird Cage Theater, the Rose Tree Museum and the Tombstone Epitaph, which features the newspaper’s original 1880s printing press and newsroom equipment. The Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park is filled with interpretive exhibits about Tombstone’s origins in silver mining and its heyday as a rough and tumble mining town.

Just north of Tombstone, take a right onto Middle March Road and venture into the Dragoon Mountains and Cochise Stronghold. The Stronghold got its name from the County’s namesake, Cochise, a respected leader of the Chiricahua Apaches and predecessor of Geronimo. Cochise often hid out in this box canyon and legend says that he was buried here. The area is part of the Coronado National Forest and many hikes and picnic spots are available in the forested groves and canyons.

Return to Bisbee for a wonderful dining experience at one of Bisbee’s fine restaurants, and your relaxing stay at the Doublejack.

Douglas and the
Slaughter Ranch Museum

From Bisbee take Route 80 east to Douglas and visit the Gadsden Hotel. “The last of the grand hotels” awaits with its marble staircase, gold leaf columns and authentic 42-foot Tiffany stained glass mural.

Pick up a picnic lunch in Douglas and make your way to Slaughter Ranch Museum. The 16-mile drive takes you through pristine desert to the ranch, home of “Texas” John Slaughter, former Texas Ranger and sheriff of Cochise County from in 1888 to 1892. The ranch is a beautifully restored museum and historic site commemorating turn of the 20th century ranch life. In the 1890’s Slaughter dammed Black Draw wash, creating a large pond. Today that pond is bordered by mature shade trees creating a lush oasis in the desert. You’ll be glad you brought the picnic.

Return to Bisbee where you enjoy another fabulous meal and a tranquil unhurried evening.

Ft. Huachuca Museum and the Coronado National Memorial

Travel from Bisbee to Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, just a stage coach drive away. Fort Huachuca was founded in 1877 and the Ft. Huachuca Museum depicts the early military days of the area, highlighting the Apache Wars and the exploits of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. While on the grounds of the Fort, take time to explore Garden Canyon’s petroglyphs and archeological digs.

On your return to Bisbee, take state route 92 south, stop at the Coronado National Memorial. The Visitor Center there commemorates the first major exploration of the southwest by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1540’s.

Return to Bisbee and enjoy the friendly ambiance of the historical town, and the comfort of your Doublejack accommodations.

Chiricahua Mountains
and Fort Bowie

Head north up the Sulphur Springs Valley located just east of Bisbee, toward the Chiricahua Mountains and the Chiricahua National Monument. This “Wonderland of Rocks” is laced with hiking trails offering breathtaking views of the monument’s towering spire formations. Near the entrance of the monument, Faraway Ranch gives visitors a peek at the life of the Swedish family that helped to establish the area as a national monument.

When you leave the monument, take the famous Apache Pass, along part of the Butterfield Stagecoach Route between the Chiricahua and the Dos Cabezas Mountain Ranges. A 1.5 mile hiking trail will take you to Fort Bowie National Historic Site where battles of the Indian wars raged in the late 1800s. An old Butterfield Stage station, Apache Spring, the Fort Bowie cemetery, and the ruins of Fort Bowie highlight the site’s attractions.

Take a scenic drive back to Bisbee. If it’s in the winter months, thousands of sand hill cranes can be heard and seen as you drive through the Sulphur Springs Valley. All year long you’ll see lots of raptors and birds of prey.

Return to Bisbee and shop for fresh dinner ingredients at our local markets, cook in Doublejack's full kitchen, and enjoy candlelight dinner with a view on your private deck.

Kartchner Caverns and
the Amerind Foundation

From Bisbee head past Sierra Vista to Benson, home of Kartchner Caverns State Park, one of the ten top living caves in the world, recently opened by the Arizona State Parks. The Discovery Center has interpretive exhibits and a film about the remarkable discovery of the caves. Reservations are strongly suggested for the cave tours. From Benson head east along I-10 and exit at scenic Texas Canyon, part of the Dragoon Mountains, to the Amerind Foundation. Sitting on 1600 acres of land, the Amerind Foundation houses one of the finest collections of Native American artifacts, relics, crafts, art and photographs in the United States. Although primarily featuring the native cultures of the Southwest and Mexico, the museum also includes items from South American and Arctic cultures.

Return to Bisbee south on Highway 191 through Sulphur Springs Valley and reflect upon Bisbee’s and Cochise County’s historical ambiance and significance while you enjoy another fabulous meal and a tranquil unhurried evening.

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Legendary Birding

Garden, Carr & Miller Canyons
and the Ramsey Canyon Preserve

Carr Canyon and Miller Canyon are other Huachuca Mountain canyons in the Sierra Vista area offering shelter to migratory birds. Some of Southeastern Arizona’s most beautiful birds, including a variety of hummingbirds and six of southeastern Arizona’s twelve owl species, live in these canyons.

The Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve, just south of Sierra Vista, is one of the most famous areas in the nation for viewing hummingbirds. Fourteen different species of hummingbirds have been spotted there. Don’t miss the fine visitors’ center at the preserve.

Return to Bisbee where you enjoy a fabulous meal, then a tranquil unhurried evening at the Doublejack.

San Pedro House and the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

From Bisbee head out to the San Pedro House, sixteen miles west of Sierra Vista on Route 90 in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Operated as a visitors’ center by the Friends of the San Pedro River, the 1930s era ranch house serves as a starting point to explore the 56,000 acre riparian area. The 40-mile corridor along the San Pedro River is internationally recognized as a unique ecosystem for hundreds of species of songbirds and other wildlife. The Nature Conservancy has called the riparian area one of the “last great places” on earth and the American Bird Conservancy has designated it as a “globally important bird area”. Make use of the picnic area and spend the entire day.

Return to Bisbee for a wonderful dining experience at one of Bisbee’s fine restaurants, and your relaxing stay at the Doublejack.

Whitewater Draw, Slaughter Ranch and the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge

Head east on Highway 80 to Whitewater Draw where it is not unusual to spot wintering sandhill cranes, snow geese and many species of hawks.

Keep going east through Douglas to the Slaughter Ranch and the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge where over 270 species of birds have been spotted including great blue heron, green-backed heron, Virginia rail, ringneck duck, Mexican duck, sandhill crane, magnificent hummingbird, Costa's hummingbird, yellow warbler, blue grosbeak, phainopeplas, white-crowned sparrows, and Gila woodpeckers. Raptors include gray hawk, zone-tailed hawk, golden eagle, Swainson's hawk, kestrel, sharp-shinned hawk, and peregrine falcon.

Return to Bisbee and enjoy the friendly ambiance of the historical town, and the comfort of your Doublejack accommodations.

Portal and Cave Creek, the Southwestern Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History and the Chiricahua National Monument

Go northeast from Douglas up State Route 80 to the Coronado National Forest and the Chiricahua Mountains to Portal and Cave Creek. Visit the Southwestern Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History. There is a small visitor center and gift shop and bird watching opportunities abound. Keep a sharp eye out for the elegant trogon and the elusive one-eared trogon.

Head further into the Chiricahua Mountains to the Chiricahua National Monument. While hiking and exploring the “Wonderland of Rocks” keep your binoculars handy because the birding is great year round.

When you can tear yourself away from this fascinating location, head toward the northern Sulphur Springs Valley to the Willcox Playa, Cochise Lakes, and the Apache Generating Station Wildlife Observation Area where winter visitors are sure to see sandhill cranes, scaled quail, and numerous birds of prey.

Return to Bisbee where you enjoy another fabulous meal and a tranquil unhurried evening before you wind down for the evening at Doublejack.

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Your hosts,

Jeff & Bob

Bisbee was awarded Best
Place to Get Out of Town
in Tucson Guide’s Best Of
in the 2009 Summer issue.