Tubac

Founded: 1752 (presidio built)
County: Santa Cruz
Population: 1,581
Elevation: 3,209 feet
High School Mascot: Hawks (Rio Rico High School)

When Karrin Topping left a corporate job in San Francisco and arrived in Tubac 20 years ago, she didn’t really know what to expect from the small Southern Arizona community. She came to take care of her aging parents, who were living in Green Valley, but before long, the decision to stay became an easy one.

“When I first came to Tubac, I had no idea how wonderful a place it is,” Topping says. “It’s a community that supports the arts, and it supports this valley and living in this rural area. We keep it vital and an attractive place, because we’re a Starbucks-free zone. And we want to keep it that way.”
 

Topping, the executive director of the Tubac Center of the Arts, works to bring artists from all over the country to Tubac. Many of them enter the center’s Aqueous exhibition. “It’s water media from all over the country, and people come in here and they go, ‘Oh, wow,’ ” she says. “They didn’t expect to see such a wonderful place where they can see art from everywhere. Of course, we have a lot of Tubac artists who are members, and we do two member shows a year.”

Situated on the Santa Cruz River, Tubac was established as a Spanish presidio in 1752. While he was stationed there from 1760 to 1776, Juan Bautista de Anza built the chapel of Santa Gertrudis de Tubac; its foundation lies beneath the modern St. Ann’s Church.

In addition to history and arts lovers, Tubac is a destination for golfers and birders. “It’s a walking village,” Topping says. “It’s only three streets. It’s filled with wonderful galleries and good restaurants and the presidio. It’s history here. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail goes right through here. People walk the trail, they ride horses. The Tubac Nature Center is here, and people come from all over to watch hawks. You’re never bored here. There’s always something going on.”
 

WHERE TO STAY

Tubac Country Inn
This boutique hotel is situated on a half-acre garden property and features six beautifully appointed suites. It’s within walking distance of Tubac’s shops, restaurants and galleries. Fire pits, a garden terrace and a picnic area add to the inn’s allure.
13 Burruel Street, Tubac, 520-349-9888, tubaccountryinn.com

Tubac Golf Resort & Spa
Hacienda-style casitas, a 27-hole golf course and a full-service spa are the draws at this elegant resort. Located on a historic Spanish land grant from the 1700s, the resort also features Stables Ranch Grille, where chefs source local ingredients and create top-tier menu items for guests.
65 Avenida de Otero, Tubac, 520-398-2211, azhideawaycollection.com/tubac-golf-resort-spa

WHERE TO EAT

Elvira’s Restaurant
This award-winning restaurant fuses traditional Mexican flavors and techniques with modern appetites. Among the menu items chef Ruben Monroy offers diners are chile relleno en chipotle, an egg-coated Anaheim chile covered with Mexican queso and chipotle sauce and served with rice and a slice of roasted wild turkey; cuitlacoche and chicken tacos; and mole poblano, a popular mole made with Mexican chocolate, peanuts, chiles, sesame seeds and cinnamon.
2221 Interstate 19 Frontage Road, Tubac,  520-398-9421, elvirasrestaurant.com

Soto’s PK Outpost
For more Southern Arizona Mexican food, Soto’s Outpost is known for its margaritas, fajitas, mole and carne deshebrada. Family- run for the past 20-plus years, it’s also well known for its extensive patio, which is packed during the cooler months.
14 Camino Otero, Tubac, 520-398-3256, sotospkoutposttubac.com
 

ATTRACTIONS

Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and Museum
Among the things to explore at Tubac Presidio are historic buildings, a museum with exhibits covering 2,000 years of history — including Tohono O’odham, Apache, Mexican, Spanish and Territorial — an art gallery, and ruins of the Spanish fort from the mid-1700s. The park and museum are open Tuesdays through Sundays.
1 Burruel Street, Tubac, 520-398-2252, tubacpresidio.org

Hal Empie Studio and Gallery
This Tubac destination celebrates the life of famed Arizona artist Hal Empie, who was born in 1909 and, when he passed in 2002, was the oldest continuous resident artist in Arizona. (He was also the state’s youngest pharmacist.) A gallery features dozens of Empie’s original paintings and sketches, and tours of the artist’s studio are available.
33 Tubac Road, Tubac, 520-398-2811, halempiestudio-gallery.com