Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area

The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area is a natural and cultural landscape shaped by generations of people from diverse cultural origins. Tumacácori National Historical Park and other visitor experiences here embody this spirit.

This 3,300-square-mile landscape is nationally recognized for its natural, historical, and multicultural heritage

The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area of Southern Arizona encompasses the watershed of the Santa Cruz River – an ancient and still vital trade route, home to Arizona’s earliest civilizations and a bounty of natural and historical assets – from Nogales and Patagonia, through Tucson, to Marana and Oro Valley. These communities form the fabric of the experiences available here, which are unique among existing National Heritage Areas and highlight this area's varied natural beauty and cultural history.

National Heritage Area Boundaries map

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Tohono O'odham weaver

Distinctive Experiences of Southern Arizona's Santa Cruz Valley:

Bird Habitat and Migration Routes
Desert Farming
Mining Booms
Native American Lifeways
Ranching Traditions
Sky Islands and Desert Seas
Sonoran Desert
Spanish and Mexican Frontier
Streams in the Desert
U.S. Military Posts on the Mexico Border
U.S.-Mexico Border Culture

Browse and filter these experiences, and more (including Passport to Your National Parks® stamp sites), through their Interactive Map and Heritage Happenings calendar.

The Best of Southern Arizona

Visitors to the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area will enjoy outdoor recreation, bird-watching, astronomy, heritage site tours, local wineries, and heritage foods. Attractions like the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, which parallels the Santa Cruz River, appeal to travelers of all ages seeking to take a trip through history.

Other attractions include: Saguaro National Park, Mission San Xavier del Bac, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Catalina State Park, Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, Tubac Artist Colony, Historic Canoa Ranch, Wild Chile Botanical Area, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, Patagonia Lake State Park, Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains, and San Rafael State Park and Natural Area

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Mission San Xavier del Bac

Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance

National Heritage Areas (NHA) are designated by Congress as a place where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form nationally distinctive landscapes. There are 62 NHAs in 36 states. The Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance is the non-profit organization mandated by the enabling legislation to serve as the local coordinating entity for the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. This alliance of local governments, non-profit organizations, and businesses uniquely poised to coordinate and implement heritage-based economic and community development is an advocate for this region's valuable heritage.

Local heritage conservation, promotion, and education projects supported by the National Heritage Area: