Silver City Travel Forum

We planned to come to Silver City last fall, but it didn't work out. But we're coming tomorrow, 10/23. We will be driving in from Tucson in the late morning. I found some info on the "Steins" ghost town and plan to stop there. We only have tomorrow and Tuesday, so what are the "MUST DOs"? We will be staying at the Palace Hotel on Broadway (Thanks for the tip, Mitchell Hellman). I'm sure we will enjoy the historic parts of town, but we are more interested in outdoor stuff. Since our time is limited, we'd like to see the most spectacular sites this time. So any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! If we find even a fraction of what we expect, I know we'll be back again. We will probably be driving a 4WD SUV and really like getting away from civilization to look at history or the wild southwest scenery. Any ideas there will be especially helpful. I know this is rediculously late to be posting, but didn't know until yesterday that we'd be coming for sure. THANKS in advance for any hlep!

You ARE planning on heading to the Gila Wilderness and the cliff dwellings .. aren't you :)

http://www.nps.gov/gicl/

That's the kind of thing we love to do! But I've spent too many years behind a desk and not enough in the wilderness, so my hiking is somewhat limited. Are there any good riding stables around? We've owned horses forever and love to ride, but it's hard to get the horses on a plane. How far is the Gila Wilderness from town, and how much hiking is reqired to see the cliff dwellings?

Since you will be in Silver City, you may want to take a look at my New Mexico tips. I have information on the Gila Cliff Dwellings, City of Rocks, Lake Roberts, etc. Since you have a SUV, you should consider going to the Turkey Creek Area near the town of Gila. The catwalk near Glenwood is also worth seeing but may be a little further than you care to drive. The open pit copper mine in Bayard is interesting. You may be able to rent horses at Doc Campbell's on the way into the cliff dwellings. Most places you can drive close to until you hit the wilderness areas where no motorized vehicles are allowed.

Still thinking...if I were driving from Tucson, I would forget most of I-10 and go south on Hwy-90 toward Sierra Vista and visit Ramsey Canyon. It may be too late for the hummingbirds though. If you have time, loop up to Tombstone and then to Bisbee. The latter is much better than the former IMHO. I am guessing you may decide to spend the night in Bisbee (I can suggest some places to stay and a restaurant if you do). If you then take Hwy-80 to Douglas and back to I-10, you will pass a turnoff to Portal, where a short drive into the Coronado National Forest may be worthing doing in the Fall. I know it is good in the Summer. Once you reach I-10 again, it is not far to Lordsburg and then north from there to Silver City on Hwy-90.

I did not know about Stein's Ghost Town but it turns out to be near where Hwy-80 intersects I-10 near Lordsburg, i.e., you can still do it easily. BTW, my Gila Cliff Dwellings, Gila River, Lake Roberts, and City of Rocks tips are all under my NM off-the-beaten-path tips.

I have never stayed there or done their horseback trips but they are well known for them...http://www.gilahotspringsranch.com/ (Doc Campbell's).

I appreciate the time you've taken to give us these specific suggestions. I'm reading through your 'off the beaten path' tips now. I'll try to get some good pics at Stein's and post on a page here. The more I discover about the area, the more obvious we'll only be able to hit a few of the high spots on this quick trip. Last year we drove from the east along S Piney Canyon Road going west and north up to Chiricahua National Monument. It was beautiful, but my question is, should we do that again? Or are there other places we haven't seen that would be equally awesome?

I have not been to the Chiricahua National Monument but I am thinking the Portal side of the Coronado National Forest may be similar. I do highly recommend Bisbee if you have not been there before. If you have already seen Bisbee, stay on I-10 from Tucson and get to Silver City ASAP. There are plenty of things to do around there. BTW, you inspired me to do a Doc Campbell tip. I always camped out when I went to the Gila (when I was younger and lived in Las Cruces); however, the Gila Hot Springs Ranch apartments sound really nice and the prices are much more reasonable than the Faywood Hot Springs near the City of Rocks.

I appreciate the time you've taken to give us these specific suggestions. I'm reading through your 'off the beaten path' tips now. I'll try to get some good pics at Stein's and post on a page here. The more I discover about the area, the more obvious we'll only be able to hit a few of the high spots on this quick trip. Last year we drove from the east along S Piney Canyon Road going west and north up to Chiricahua National Monument. It was beautiful, but my question is, should we do that again? Or are there other places we haven't seen that would be equally awesome?

The Portal side of the Chiricahuas is gorgeous but doesn't have as many hiking trails as inside the monument. I've been into the mountains many times but have never actually been to the monument, although I usually go up there and camp/sleep in my truck.
Tucson to Silver I would strongly recommend going through Safford and up Highway 78 to 180. It's just SO much more interesting than the interstate and wouldn't really be out of the way. Also, on the way, you can take the Black Hills Back Country Byway (http://www.blm.gov/az/ohv/black.htm) and maybe even head out to the Gila Box area (http://www.blm.gov/az/nca/gila_box/gila.htm) and the historic bridge near Safford. I'd also recommend heading north to Clifton if you have never been and have time. It's a really weird town and there's the Morenci pit mine just to the north, which is the largest pit copper mine in North America (and I believe second in the world).
Gila Cliff Dwellings is ABSOLUTELY a must do in Silver City. The Catwalk is also a must see and is worth the drive (which itself is beautiful). And just up the road from The Catwalk is Mogollon, a beautiful old mining town (called "ghost" but still has people living there).
And I'm certainly glad to read that you're staying at the Palace. I don't believe that there's a better place to stay there.
Have a good time.

Arrived at the Palace about an hour ago. Nice trip so far. We stopped at Steins and took a few pics, but 'nobody was home' so we didn't get the tour. A little tired, so we just drove on over to Silver City. Sorry I didn't get your tip before we left Tucson. Maybe we can take the more interesting route back to Tucson. We're relaxing a bit and then may drive out to the City of Rocks about sunset. It's so great to be able to have VTs to help us find the "good stuff" when we have such little time. THANK YOU! After the Rocks, we'll probably look for somewhere to eat a late dinner then call it a day.

Hey THANS to ALL of you for your great pages, tips, and replies to this forum! We had a great time and LOVED the Catwalk! We ran out of daylight and encountered quite a bit of rain and lightning on the way to Safford, but made back to Tucson none the worse for wear. Look forward to coming back for more!

Glad you enjoyed yourselves! and thank you for letting us know :)

Glad you had a good time. Yeah, people are always blown away by The Catwalk. Just the landscape of the canyon itself is atypical of what you would think of that region. You've made me jealous. I'm going to have to get back to Silver for a weekend sometime this winter.
Kinda odd because it rained like mad as well the last time I was on the 78 through Apache NF (mid-July).