Harshaw Road #58, 49, 61 and HWY 82 Scenic Drive

A historic mining district that extends along the bottom of a sycamore-shaded canyon is the focal point of this short, easy drive. You’ll start in the quaint little town of Patagonia, with its rich mining and ranching heritage, and drive up the meandering course of Harshaw Creek. The canyons carved by that small stream and its tributaries were the center of extensive mining activity from the end of the last century well into the present one. Even today, mining activity continues in some areas. As you drive along the creek, the rock outcrops yielding the gold and silver that once attracted large numbers of prospectors and hard rock miners to this area are frequently accompanied by evidence of the enterprise of those hardy and persistent souls. In some cases, that evidence may be a shaft or tunnel gaping from the canyon side and made obvious by a telltale pile of mine tailings. In others, the only thing left to catch your eye may be the remains of an old adobe wall or a clump of ornamental trees planted here by the miners. Because the Ailanthus altissima, or tree of heaven, is fast growing and pollution tolerant, it was frequently planted around mining settlements to provide cool shade and a touch of green after native trees were cut for firewood or mine timbers. The fact that this tree’s brittle wood is virtually useless for lumber or firewood is probably another reason it was spared the axe long enough to fulfill its function. The Harshaw Road ends at its junction with FR 61, just west of the old ghost towns of Washington Camp and Duquesne. You might want to take a short detour in their direction before you continue up and over the pass into Nogales.