Casa Grande, Arizona

Casa Grande was our first snowbird wintering spot since living full-time in the motorhome. We stayed at a 55 and over resort, which was something very different for us. It made for tough decisions. Pickleball or hiking? Golfing or off-roading. Retirement life is so stressful!

We weren’t sure how it would be staying at a 55 and over resort, but we actually liked our stay at Palm Creek very much. We learned how to play pickleball (addictive sport), brushed up on my golf, watched some of the men’s softball league (these guys can play!) and Shannon even did a gourd painting class (we now have new RV art). The challenge was balancing all of this with all of the other things to do outside of the resort.

Casa Grande is located right off of I10 about halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. Within an hour any direction there are a ton of things to see and do. We didn’t do them all during our 40 day stay but we sure gave it a run for the money.

There’s plenty of great hiking in the area so lets start with our top picks of hikes we experienced:

Norman Loop Trail & Prima Wash:

This hike is in the South Mountain Park and Preserve just outside of Phoenix. The abundance of natural mountain hiking just outside of a major city is quite amazing. This was a great desert mountain hike with an expansive view of Phoenix from the top. We had a birds eye view of State Farm Stadium just days before the Super Bowl.

Picacho Peak via Hunter Trail:

OK, it’s only 2.8 miles there and back so how hard can it be? Well first of all its a 2,100 foot elevation change over 1.4 miles. This is a challenging hike that pushed me to my limits. I did this with our good friend Brigitte who is an accomplished hiker. The first part is simply a steep uphill climb to the saddle. From there you traverse to the backside of the mountain and climb through a series of cable systems. Its practically vertical in places and you are using just as much upper body muscles as lower body. The sense of accomplishment and view at the top is amazing. But then you have to traverse the cables back down and up to the saddle again. Get yourself in shape before you attempt this hike and don’t attempt it if you have any fear of heights.

Sunset Vista Trail:

This is the lower level alternative to Hunter Trail. A nice hike in the valley with a great view of Picacho Peak. It’s also an alternative to Picacho Peak. You’ll see the first cable and can decide from there.

Radio Tower and Bolt Trail:

This is a scenic trail in the Casa Grande Mountains. The first part is a hike up the service road to the communication towers. From there its an up and down hike across the ridge to a great overlook which requires a little bit of rock scrambling at the end.

Gold Mine Trail:

This was in a pretty area in the San Tan Mountain Regional park. There are several connecting trails that you can take and they are all pretty easy. This is good for a warmup trail or if you just want something easy. Really nice lower level desert hike.

Douglas Springs Trail to Ernie’s Falls and Bridal Falls:

Saguaro National Park near Tucson has two sections, the Tucson Mountain District and the Rincon Mountain District. There is plenty of hiking to do in both districts, this particular hike is in the Rincon District and it’s a great one. There’s something about waterfalls in the desert that is just something special. The main trail goes to Bridal Falls. You can then backtrack and take a secondary trail to Ernie’s Falls. I recommend doing both.

Another amazing way to see the area is venturing out on many of the back roads, as we love to do in the Jeep. We set out to the White Canyon Wilderness outside of the Superstition Mountains with our friends and fellow Jeepers for a day. We did the Box Canyon Trail and it was awesome! The trail leads right through a canyon, with a few small water crossings along the way. It was a great day!

The Casa Grande Ruins are a must see while in the area as well. In 1892 this became a National Monument to preserve what remained of an Ancestral Sonoran Desert People’s community and irrigation system. What remains of the main structure is quite impressive, especially when you learn how it was built and how long it has withstood the elements. Park rangers are on hand to provide some very interesting insights. There’s also a small indoor museum.

We met up with old friends Mark and Jamie who run Boomerang Riding Adventures in Vail, Arizona and also operate the horse drawn wagon rides in Old Tucson. Vail is only about 30 miles southeast of Tucson and we would highly recommend a day trip to do some horseback riding with Mark and Jamie. They are in a gorgeous area and the trails they take you on are amazing. They have horses for all skill levels so pretty much anyone can ride, and it’s a safety-first policy with them so a good time is all but guaranteed.

Another fun and unusual exhibit nearby is the Dwarf Car Museum. Years ago, a young man and car enthusiast named Ernie was inspired by an old refrigerator abandoned in a field and there just so happened to be an old tire lying next to it. This was all the inspiration Ernie needed to build his first dwarf car… out of old refrigerators. Now these cars, and there have been many built over the years, aren’t just for show. They are all functioning, drivable automobiles. The workmanship that goes into them is almost as impressive as sitting down with Ernie in front of the fireplace and listening to some of his stories.

We now understand why southern Arizona is such a popular place for snowbirds, RV’ers and otherwise. We will be back, but for now, we need to get down the road a piece. But before you go, check out the pictures from our trip.