SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — 50 years is the golden anniversary which is benchmark that's always worth celebrating.
Let's put Patagonia Lake on a well-deserved pedestal for five fantastic decades and highlight this body of water in the high desert.
It's our latest "One Tank Trip" to Santa Cruz County.
The arid landscape of the Southern Arizona desert is unmistakable with mesquites and palo verdes. But not too far up Sonoita Creek you start to see a massive change in the form of huge cottonwoods. And that can only mean one thing:
Water, and a lot of it.
"It's 265 acre feet. It's a mile and a half long."
Colt Alford, the Park Manager here, has been around for nearly half of the lake's life here in Santa Cruz county.
"We have everything you can think of from fishing, boating, kayaking, camping, 26 miles of trails in Sonoita Creek to hike," he said.
Out of Arizona's nearly three dozen state parks, this man-made oasis brings in more visitors than all but three of them with more than 230,000 strong every year.
"You're looking at three hours to the nearest lake going north. You've got an hour drive south. And I mean this is the pick of the litter."
Neil Weigel and his son could be the self-appointed angler ambassadors, mastering the art of the fish story.
"I caught one 16 inches... 7 lbs," his son told me jokingly.
In all seriousness, casting a line here should keep you busy.
"Well, there's a lot of bites... the fish are just aggressive."
"We're probably about 5-10° degrees cooler here. Still hot but you've got the water right there by your side," Neil told me.
But fishing is just one activity. For those not looking to hook a crappie or blue gill you can always go swimming.
The boats have to take it easy on the east side making for the perfect conditions to float along in a kayak or canoe.
But however you make you way to the water - it's not as far away as you think
"Hop on I-10, head east. Sonoita Patagonia exit. You're here in a bout an hour from Tucson. It's pretty too, isn't it? Oh, it's beautiful. Beautiful," Neil said.
"It's pretty. It's really pretty."
"Just seeing the smiles on the kids' faces when they catch their first fish," Colt said.
"It's a great family place. Bring your family. Have a picnic. Do some hiking, fishing, kayaking, boating."
It's just under 70 miles from KGUN to Patagonia Lake State Park.
My calculations put that at 6 gallons of gas which would be about 18 bucks at $3/gallon.
This is for the round trip total to get you there and back again.
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Dan Spindle co-anchors Good Morning Tucson on KGUN 9 and is an award-winning storyteller whose work has earned him honors from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Emmys, the Associated Press and the Utah Society of Professional Journalists for both anchoring and reporting. Dan is passionate about history and loves to explore the Grand Canyon State. Share your story ideas with Dan by emailing dan.spindle@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or X.
