Near The Mexico Border Is Arizona's Scenic Mountain Getaway With Ethereal Canyon Views, Camping, And Wildlife

The American Southwest's "Sky Island" mountain ranges are every bit as poetic as they sound: towering, rugged, and majestic. Utterly landlocked, these distinctly separate ranges are called islands because they appear to soar up from the flat plain of the desert like islands rising from the ocean. There are 55 sky Island ranges spanning Southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. The Huachuca Range, located within the Coronado National Forest near the U.S. border with Mexico, is especially known for its "complex geological makeup" and the many streams that fill its canyons with greenery, according to the Sky Islands Alliance. Its diverse environments, which range from lush, ethereal canyons to lofty pine forests, provide myriad opportunities for hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

The Huachuca Range's north-facing orientation means that it's generally cooler there than Arizona's other Sky Island mountain ranges, which face east-west. The high point, Miller Peak, reaches skyward over 9,400 feet. The 20,000-plus-acre Miller Peak Wilderness, in the range's sprawling high country, is covered in mixed-conifer pine forest and has an extensive trail network, including the trek to the summit of Miller Peak itself, a strenuous 10-mile hike with just under 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The expansive views from the summit are mesmerizing, and all the more stunning should you happen to go on a day when cumulus clouds decorate the sky, casting dramatic shadows over the sprawling landscape.

Down in the range's protected eastern flank, canyons harbor unexpected stream-fed oases with forests of maple and sycamore living side-by-side with cactus and agave. There are campgrounds, but as these are federal lands, dispersed camping is free and plentiful here, but you'll need to be self-sufficient and pack everything in, including water, and out, including trash and waste.

Arizona's Sky Islands are a hiker's dream destination, and the Huachuca Range's high country doesn't disappoint in that regard, with a variety of routes for varying ability levels. The popular Miller Canyon Trail is a steep route that gains over 3,000 feet in a 7.5-mile out-and-back hike. It ends with outstanding views at Bathtub Spring, which really is a spring that flows into an old, buried cast-iron bathtub. The Bear Canyon Trail, on the western side of the wilderness, offers shade that makes it doable even in August. With just over 1,600 feet of elevation gain in 4.2 miles, it's a relatively easy ramble compared to Miller Canyon.

Two hours southeast of Tucson in the Miller Peak Wilderness, the Reef Townsite Campground is unusual in that it occupies the site of a one-time mining town in scenic Carr Canyon. The town of Reef was named for the surrounding rock formations, and there is an easy, 0.75-mile interpretive loop trail leaving right from camp that details the town's mining history. Sitting at over 7,000 feet of elevation, this campground offers what the U.S. Forest Service describes as a "cool respite" from the intense summer heat of the desert below. If you have a high-clearance vehicle, you could seek out the even higher Ramsey Vista Campground, with views right from camp and access to several trailheads. 

Should you choose to thru-hike the epic 800-mile Arizona Trail, from the Mexican border to Utah via the Grand Canyon, the Hauchuca Range is where the hike begins. The first 20-mile section climbs 3,000 feet through Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Firs along the spine of the Huachucas, with sweeping views of the desert floor below.

One of the most impressive canyons in the Huachuca Range for spotting wildlife is Ramsey Canyon Preserve, aka "America's Hummingbird Capital." You're about 1.5 hours from Tucson here, but temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees cooler. You'll find a misty, verdant waterfall tumbling over a mossy rock wall that looks like it belongs in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Birding season here runs between April and September, but the best time to see migratory hummingbirds is July and August, when up to 14 species can be found darting about.

Another deep, lush canyon worth exploring is the aptly-named Garden Canyon, also a paradise for birders, with woodpeckers and quail. Visitors here have seen bears and mountain lions, too, as well as deer and javelina, the latter an unusual-looking critter that resembles a wild pig but is actually a species of peccary. You may also see herds of Chihuahua Pronghorn, which resemble antelope and are the fastest mammals in North America outside of the cheetah, according to the U.S. Army, which operates the base at Fort Huachuca where the canyon is located, just outside the unique yet overlooked mountain view town of Sierra Vista.