A small town of 900 people, Patagonia is 18 miles north of the border. It has a strong Hispanic influence, a long history of ranching, and an interesting mix of locals, including artists, writers, cowboys, and environmentalists.
The Cute Downtown
The setting is stunningly beautiful, tucked between the Santa Rita and Patagonia mountain ranges. Meander down the main street, and you’ll find color everywhere. The buildings are brightly painted in sunflower yellow, periwinkle, and terra cotta. Walls of intricate mosaics sparkle in the brilliant sunshine and vibrant murals adorn public buildings. There are also plenty of run-down trailer homes on side streets— right around the corner from beautiful art galleries and the lumber-company-turned-Pilates-studio.
Outdoor mosaic mural
A Birder’s Mecca
The skies are cobalt, a perfect background to the rugged gold mountains. The sunsets tend toward tangerine and magenta. And hidden in the mesquite bosque is the most colorful sight of all—the Elegant Trogon, an exotic tropical bird. Native to Mexico and Central America, a small percentage of Elegant Trogons nest in the canyons of southeastern Arizona. Most arrive in April and leave by October. There’s one renegade trogon, though, which for the past dozen years hasn’t bothered to return home and can be found hanging around Patagonia Lake in the winter.
First up, though, the easy-to-find birds:
Renowned as a mecca for birders, people flock from all over the world to bird in Patagonia, and the Elegant Trogon is the most prized sighting of all. About the size of a crow, the trogon is a stocky, potbellied bird with a leisurely manner. (I’d call it friendly; Eric tells me that I shouldn’t attribute human emotions to birds, but that bird looks sociable to me.) The scarlet belly, metallic green back and head, and fancy white scalloped tail feathers give the bird a festive appearance. One would think the Elegant Trogon would be easy to find in the tangled forest of bare mesquite branches. But it’s not that simple.
Searching For The Elegant Trogon
Birders wander the mesquite bosque, hiking the sandy trails while skirting cow pies and enormous cattle with big horns (parts of the park are open to free-range cattle). The most common greeting by birders is, “Did you see it?” referring to the trogon, of course. Most people don’t see the trogon, despite their best efforts.
Eric and I both saw it several years ago on a previous trip to Patagonia Lake. This time, the four of us searched for hours and didn’t find it. Ted and Katherine and I gave up, lured by the siren call of the coffee shop in Patagonia and an afternoon of exploring the town, while Eric headed back into the mesquite bosque. He, of course, found the bird and enjoyed a leisurely half-hour communing with it.
The Elegant Trogon
I think that bird looks friendly!
Kayaking On Patagonia Lake
Trogon or no trogon, Patagonia is worth a visit. If you’re not a birder, you probably won’t be enthralled with the hiking at the park—although the Sonoita Natural Area next door offers up interesting hiking. (We did a great hike there last spring with a local naturalist—you can read about it here.)
There are kayaks for rent on Patagonia Lake and it’s fun to explore the area from the water, although both Eric and Ted proclaimed the kayaks to be miserably uncomfortable (we’ll never again leave home without our kayak!).
Kayaking on Patagonia Lake
The best thing about Patagonia Lake State Park campground is the location right on the lake, the birding trails within walking distance of the campsite, the sunsets, and the dark night skies.
(A few details: water and electric hookups are $25 a night; there is no cell coverage. It’s 12 miles to downtown Patagonia, where we restocked our food supplies at Red Mountain Foods, a wonderful natural foods store.)
We loved Patagonia and wished we had had more time there. It’s too bad that Ted and Katherine didn’t get to catch a glimpse of the elegant trogon, but at least Eric came back with photos. We lucked out the first time there and were rewarded with the trogon displaying his recently caught lizard for our photo. Have you dined at the Velvet Elvis? The food and the owner are wonderful. Love your photos!
LuAnn, you did luck out seeing the trogon — and with his dinner! We dined at the Velvet Elvis when we were in Patagonia a few years ago and loved it — unfortunately, it was closed for a few days while we were there this time. Glad you enjoyed the photos. :-)
Lovely job of capturing the essence of Patagonia and great shots of Mr. Trogon :-)
Thanks, Ingrid. Eric was very happy to hang out with Mr. Trogon.
Another neat little town! I love when they paint their homes in such pretty colors and decorate with creativity. The lake is so pretty and that bridge is neat! Sorry the kayaks weren’t more comfortable. Good for Eric for keeping up the search. Glad he was rewarded:) The trogon is a beautiful bird. Thanks, Eric, for sharing your photos:)
Pam, I love all of the bright colors and outdoor art, too — the mosaics are especially beautiful. There were many more than the one that I posted. We left our kayak back in Ashland because we were going to the desert for a couple of months. Big mistake!
It makes me so happy to think of you two and Ted and Kathy traveling around together!! And I’m so glad that at least Eric got to see the amazing trogon – which means we get to see some photos. Incredible bird!! Lots of hugs all around to you guys!
Janet, we’ve had a blast traveling together! Eric was very happy with his trogon encounter. Hugs to you, too. :-)
We never saw the Trogon either when we were there, but loved the area nonetheless. Such a cool place!
Nina
Nina, I think most people don’t see the trogon. You would think he would be easy to find because he’s so colorful, but no one knows where he’s going to appear, or when.
I had heard of the lake but had no idea about the cute little town. What a fun place! The trogon is incredible and seems so overdressed compared to his fellow inhabitants :-) Love the bridge.
Jodee, the town is only several blocks long, but very colorful and worth exploring. The bridge over the lake is really pretty — evidently it was built to accommodate sailboats, but no one ever sails on the lake.
Beautiful shots of Patagonia. We searched high and low for the Trogon when we visited and missed it by minutes. But we did not spend much time in town, just met a relative at the Velvet Elvis for dinner one evening. I’ll have to peruse those galleries next time we’re in the area.
Glad you enjoyed the photos, Lisa. We were disappointed that the Velvet Elvis was closed during our visit — we had a great meal there several years ago.
Did you guys get to, or have you been to, the Chiricahuas? We LOVE that place, trogon or no trogon. Patagonia sounds cool.
Gretchen, we’ve only been to the eastern side (near Portal). The western side (Chiricahua National Monument) is high on our list! Would love to hear about your experiences there.
Well, it was here when I got hooked on birds. And was very lucky to see the Trogon!
What we did not do was go downtown so we missed out on all the cool buildings and small shops out there.
I would be like Eric, determined and persistent!
ML, I know for a fact that you’re determined and persistent when it comes to birding! You’re a great birding companion, for that and other fun reasons. :-)
Another fantastic post about this great adventure your lucky lucky friends are taking with you. The photos are just spectacular and give such a wonderful sense of how unique and beautiful this area is. I’d be with Eric never wanting to give up looking for the Elegant Trogon. SO glad to see this fabulous bird. Thanks Eric!! I’m with you Laurel, he looks like a fiesta to me. And how does Eric know that animals don’t have the same sort of personalities and emotions we do. My dogs were sure happy and sad and social and reclusive depending on their moods. So were our horses, our burros and our cat. So I think ET is quite social when he wishes to be and Eric is lucky that he wanted to be so they could hang out together. :-)
Sherry, put Patagonia on your list — with your determination, I’m sure you would see the trogon. He was definitely friendly and I bet he’ll like you. :-)
We missed this part of Arizona last time around, but I really want to get there next winter. While I am not usually that interested in birds, not sure I could resist the challenge of looking for that colorful bird. And I think you’re right – he does look friendly :)
Amanda, I think you two would really enjoy this part of Arizona. The only problem (for those of us who need to work) is that there’s zero cell/internet in the campground at Patagonia Lake.
We just spent a week in #26 at Patagonia Lake SP. Saw the trogon in all his glory this time, after missing him last year. We brought our kayak to the desert and enjoyed several lovely paddles on the lake, as well as Saguaro, Canyon,Havasu, Mead, and the Black Canyon of the Colorado. This is our first winter trip with our kayak and we really enjoy the new dimension it adds to our RV travels. Love reading of your experiences and seeing your pics! It gives us great ideas of new places to explore…..so thanks!
Joan, thanks so much for the great kayaking ideas! I agree, having a kayak adds a whole other wonderful dimension to RV travels. I appreciate your nice comment — it makes writing the blog worthwhile when I know that people enjoy it and find it helpful. :-)
Okay Laurel I am enormously grateful to you for this post. We may need to be in Phoenix for a month for Ben’s work and I am a bit freaked out about being in a conservative city…although I know very little about it and about Arizona in general.
First resource we thought of was you guys and now I know…Patagonia is the place for us to escape to!
Can’t wait to read your other posts about Arizona…thanks for being such a saviour. Love the sound of this place, totally over the moon about birding there and your color descriptions by the way, just sing!! “tangerine and magenta” here we come…
Peta, I’m so glad our blog is helpful for you! Arizona actually has a wealth of fascinating places to explore—if you haven’t been to Bisbee, you will love it. I’ll email you more ideas. :-))