Since 2011, I have been a volunteer naturalist at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
northeast of Tucson. The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) have
partnered with the Santa Catalina Ranger District of Coronado National Forest to
offer educational programs for children and adults for more than 35 years.
Sabino Canyon North of the Hohokam Ruins
SCVN focuses on conservation, field trip programs for children k-6, nature walks,
guided hikes, and demonstrations designed to help the public learn about nature.
One of the most popular Elementary School field trip programs teaches children
about the Hohokam people who lived in the Tucson basin hundreds of
years ago. (“Back To The Past”)
The Clay Remains Of A Hohokam Adobe Structure
The Hohokam organized villages constructing pithouses, sunken earthen, and
adobe structures with pounded floors and thatch roofs. To provide children at least
a basic understanding of the Hohokam, our naturalist training includes
presentations from anthropologists such as Drs. Paul and Suzanne Fish, who have
written on the “Hohokam Millennium.”
Larry Conyers Hiking Down To The Sabino Canyon Hohokam Ruins
As a member of SCVN, I have been provided just enough information “to be
dangerous.” So, one day when I was having a conversation with my neighbor and
anthropologist Larry Conyers, he asked me if I knew of the Hohokam ruins south of
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area near the old Fenster Boarding School. Maybe I had
been told about ruins, but when asked, I had no recollection.
The Fenster Boarding School In The Distance On The Right
Larry told me he was familiar with the ruins site, having had a Masters’s Degree
student (Daniel Shereff ), who had done a thesis (Hohokam Population Dynamics:
Settlement Organization and Migration at the Sabino Canyon Ruin Site, Arizona) about the site.
Larry Conyers Exploring The Ruins Site
We agreed on a day and time we would go to Sabino Canyon Recreation Area,
walk the Bear Canyon Trail before crossing the fenceline of the southern Canyon boundary.
Pieces of Pottery Placed On Nearby Stones
Larry and I spent a little over two hours in the ruins site, so this posting is only
meant to be a “snapshot” of what we experienced. The body of the posting content
contains links to additional anthropological information on the Sabino Canyon Ruins.
Sabino Canyon Hohokam Ruin Video
Photos and Video by kenne
Related Site: Old Pueblo Archaeology Center
Pipevine Swallowtail — Photo-Artistry by kenne
4-H Children On A Nature Photography Field Trip In Sabino Canyon Recreation Area — Image by kenne
“Lovers In The Sunlight” — Two Cedar Waxwings In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
A Morning Birdwalk In Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
Male Eastern Bluebird in Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Tall Saguaro Cactus In Sabino Canyon — High Contrast B&W Photo by kenne
Cedar Waxwings On Ocotillo Plant In Sabino Canyon Recreational Area — Image by kenne
Blackett’s Ridge Trail Sunset (Tucson, Arizona) — Image by kenne
Mourning Doves In The Morning Sunlight (Sabino Canyon Recreational Area) — Image by kenne
Legion of Saguaros (Sabino Canyon Recreational Area) — Image by kenne
A Legion Of Saguaros In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Blackett’s Ridge — Panorama by kenne
Naturalist, Kenne Turner with 3rd Grade Students (Sabino Canyon Dam Area) 
Students panning for garnets in Sabino Creek.
