Historic Anza Trail

Discover the Spanish and Mexican history and culture of the American Southwest with a tour of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The Anza Trail is a 1,200-mile marked route, beginning in Southern Arizona.

Perfect for groups or individuals, it memorializes the route established over two centuries ago by Juan Bautista de Anza II, Captain of the Presidio of Tubac in Sonora (now Southern Arizona). This intrepid explorer led an expedition to scout a new overland route to northern California and established the Presidio at San Francisco.

The tour makes a wonderful motorcoach itinerary with three different travel options -the 14-day tour (full two-state tour), the two-season tour (full tour divided over two trips), or the Gateway tour (exploring just Southern Arizona history). The tour can be shortened or lengthened to satisfy individual interests. If your travelers have specific interests, side tours or alternatives can be arranged easily. For the more active traveler, nature trails are found along the route to acquaint you with the flora and fauna of the areas.

For assistance with arranging the Southern Arizona portion of this tour, contact the Tourism department at the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-638-8350.

A downloadable PDF of the Anza Itinerary is available in our Special Interest Options.