There's lots to enjoy in Rio Rico, which was recently added to the state's tourism marketing roster.
Visitors can golf at the Robert Trent Jones 18-hole golf course, play tennis, go for a horse back ride, take a swim and enjoy fine dining at the Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico, located atop a 4,000 foot mesa and looking east across the valley.
And just recently, 220 acres along Sonoita Creek from Patagonia Lake to the Santa Cruz River have been earmarked for a visitor center.
Situated in Santa Cruz County, midway between Nogales and the artist colony of Tubac, Rio Rico's growth rate has surpassed both communities. Thanks to the development of many new residential villages that lure buyers from both sides of the border, Rio Rico was listed in 2004 by the editors of Where to Retire magazine as among America's best master-planned communities. The bedroom community's developments also are popular with families with children.
The Rio Rico community straddles the Santa Cruz River and mountainside homes offer extraordinary views.
Originally part of a large Spanish land grant, Rio Rico (Rich River) also straddles an ancient trade route between the United States and Mexico. The same trail was used by Spanish soldier and explorer Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776 as the first inland route between Culican, Mexico and San Francisco. The same trail brought Christianity and European civilization to the American Southwest.
Along Interstate 19, south of the Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico and housing areas is the major produce center. Billions of pounds of Mexican produce per year are trucked into the United States at Nogales and hauled to the warehouse district. Thousands of trucks pick up part of the shipments from individual warehouses and then they're on their way to large commercial centers in the United States, mostly in the West and Midwest.
Rio Rico continues to be a popular spot for hikers, birdwatchers, bicyclists and horseback riders.