Benson is Your Launching Pad to Fun and Excitement in Southern Arizona!
Discover Benson’s day drips to world-class attractions, historical locations, and outdoor adventure in Southern Arizona! All within a short drive from Benson. Listed below are 9 recommended day trips. Each offers experiences unique to Southern Arizona! Visit historical towns nicknamed “Too Tough to Die” or the “Queen of the Copper Camps.” Plus, other towns are famous for their food and world-class cultural dining. For the outdoorsy type, hike wooded trails where some of the best bird-watching areas in the world are located. And, in the middle of the desert, find a lake for boating, fishing, and swimming. All within a short drive of Benson. Your launching pad to fun and excitement.
Tombstone
A visit to Tombstone is like stepping back into history. Tombstone, AZ, otherwise known as the “Town too Tough to Die,” is the home of the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral, Boothill Graveyard, and the World’s Largest Rose Bush. Tombstone boasts a mild year-round climate, many wonderful shops, gunfight shows, re-enactments, and museums. Our guests can learn Tombstone’s history while taking a scenic ride on a stagecoach or on one of the area’s Trolleys.
Tombstone
www.discovertombstone.com
30 Minutes from Benson
Willcox
Where Tranquil Landscapes Unveil Hidden Treasures. Immerse yourself in the charm of our historic town, surrounded by breathtaking mountains and flourishing vineyards. Experience a blend of rich heritage, warm hospitality, and diverse attractions that make every visit to Willcox a journey of discovery and delight. Visit Chiricahua National Monument, stroll historic Railroad Avenue, and celebrate the legacy of Rex Allen. From vineyards to hiking trails, Willcox invites you to discover the beauty of our landscapes and the warmth of our community.
Willcox
www.visitwillcox.az.gov
36 Minutes from Benson
Sonoita
Sonoita, Arizona’s Wine Country, is home to several wineries offering some of the best wines outside France. Each vineyard produces unique vintages which reflect the personalities and attitudes of their owners, from colorful picnic-style wine to serious award winning varietals. The Sonoita area’s 4,970-foot elevation, high rolling grasslands, surrounded by spectacular mountains and canyons, provide some of Arizona’s most beautiful weather and landscapes. Mount Wrightson, one of the tallest peaks in Arizona, dominates the horizon.
Sonoita
www.sonoitaaz.com
42 Minutes from Benson
Tucson
Tucson has more than 350 days of sunshine, and people here love to soak it up. Golfing? Got that! On warm summer days, hiking trails that end in monsoon-rain-filled watering holes rise in popularity, and adventurers flock to the Sky Island of Mount Lemmon, where temperatures are cooler, and pine trees offer an escape from the Sonoran Desert. Closer to the city, Tumamoc offers miles of views. Surrounding it all is The Loop, a paved multipurpose trail over 130 miles long for bikers, horseback riders, and power walkers. Saguaro National Park straddles the east and west sides of the city, with more than 91,000 acres to explore. Mission San Xavier del Bac has seen the region transition from New Spain to Mexico to Arizona. Explore the remnants of the 1775 Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón, from where the City of Tucson was established. But nowhere combines Tucson’s cultures better than world-renowned dining local restaurants.
Tucson
www.visittucson.org
45 Minutes from Benson
Sierra Vista
Situated in the center of southern Arizona’s renowned wine-growing regions and flanked by historic sites that tell the area’s rugged origin story, Sierra Vista is the perfect launch pad for day-trip discoveries. Explore the character-rich communities and astonishing landscapes surrounding Sierra Vista — the heart of southeast Arizona. Sierra Vista’s backyard invites visitors to trek through forests, mountain ranges, canyons, rivers, caverns, and wetlands. Hikers and cyclists encounter sweeping vistas, eerie vertical rock formations, and extraordinary caves. From the surface, look up to spot migrating bird species that travel through the area, plus nightly star shows that light up the sky.
Sierra Vista
https://visit.sierravistaaz.gov/
50 Minutes from Benson
Bisbee
Bisbee, the “Queen of the Copper Camps,” has a well-earned reputation as a town that knows how to enjoy itself. Bisbee’s extraordinarily well-preserved early-twentieth-century downtown draws visitors worldwide who appreciate its historic architecture, its welcoming, creative spirit, and its cool climate. Whether your diversion of choice is birdwatching or gallery-gazing, fine dining, mine tours, city tours, or a day at the pool with the kids – Bisbee offers you many options. Our events draw crowds from throughout the southwest and beyond. Be yourself, be inspired, be refreshed… Come be Bisbee for awhile.
Bisbee
www.discoverbisbee.com
55 Minutes from Benson
Patagonia
The Town of Patagonia has a great history and distinctive character. Visitors tell us that Patagonia’s unique spirit is easily perceived and is their reason to stay or to return. Situated at over 4,000 feet elevation between the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains in the riparian corridor of Sonoita Creek, Patagonia is spectacularly rich in both natural and human assets. The distinguishing vision of our community is to protect and build sustainably upon these assets and continuously develop our nature-based Restorative Economy. Tucked away in the rolling hills of southeastern Arizona is Patagonia Lake State Park. It is an ideal place to find whitetail deer roaming the hills and great blue herons walking the shoreline. The park offers a campground, beach, and picnic area with ramadas, tables and grills, a creek trail, boat ramps, and a marina.
Patagonia
www.patagonia-az.gov/come-and-visit-us
60 Minutes from Benson
Safford
Safford is known for its attractions, including the Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO) and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Other attractions include the ATV course and remote control airplane strip, Roper Lake State Park, Black Hills Rockhound Area, and Kachina Mineral Springs Spa. In Safford, the same family-owned cafés have served tasty home-style Mexican food for decades. There are more than a dozen Mexican restaurants, a family-owned tortilla factory, and a chili farm to fire up your taste buds. Bonita Creek is home to frogs, javelinas, black bears, and more than 140 birds – bring your binoculars and a picnic lunch! And, surprise, you can also reserve a float trip on the Gila River, fish at Riggs Lake, and dip in the natural mineral springs of Roper Lake State Park. Stay awhile. The camping in Graham County is outstanding.
Safford
www.cityofsafford.us/9/Visitors
75 Minutes from Benson
Douglas
Douglas, Arizona, is a small, charming border community with over 100 years of rich history. The city has a population of 15,000 and has been recently dubbed one of the nation’s best “micropolitan” areas, communities with 10,000 – 50,000 residents, with superior amenities, growing economies, and moderate costs of living. Douglas’s early history dates back hundreds of years to the 1500s and the early Spanish explorers. Cabeza de Vaca established a route from Mexico during the period of 1535-1536.The region was also part of Nueva España during the 1700s, and an early presidio was located just east of present-day Douglas. The San Bernardino Presidio was just one of the presidios established during that period. The now-famous San Bernardino Ranch and Wildlife Refuge was part of that original settlement.
Douglas
www.douglasaz.gov/148/Visitors
80 Minutes from Benson
Nogales
Visiting Nogales is a unique experience, as it’s as close to traveling to Mexico as you can get without crossing the border. Nogales immediately straddles the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, with Heroica Nogales and Sonora on the other side. The town is known for the Pimeria Alta Historical Museum, cultural restaurants, birdwatching, hiking, border attractions, and more.
Nogales
www.visitnogalesaz.com
82 Minutes from Benson