Background
PRESERVE VISTOSO
Friends of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
WHAT WE DO
The mission of Preserve Vistoso is to promote the public support and appreciation of the natural beauty and recreational amenities of Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve for the inspiration, education and enjoyment of current and future generations.
The Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve presents the beauty of the Sonoran Desert teeming with wildlife and artifacts of the Native Americans who lived and hunted there. The existing 6.2-mile, eight-foot-wide concrete path winds through the property providing visitors with views of the Catalina and Tortolita mountains, examples of varied desert vegetation, and the opportunity to view an abundance of wildlife. With easy access from multiple locations, visitors can stroll the property and connect with the natural world we tend take for granted.
A Sonoran Desert preserve where nature and people thrive
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New
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve Field Guide
Jake Smith, a resident of Rancho Vistoso, prepared this Field Guide to the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. It is a wonderful, 174-page guide packed with photos and descriptions of the plants, birds and mammals that inhabit the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. Click the image to go to the Field Guide.
Ribbon Cutting for the
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
July 15, 2022
We celebrated today the official ribbon cutting for the new Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve. Thanks to Mayor Winfield, Vice Mayor Barrett, the OV Town Council, Town Staff and Attorney for making this happen. Preserve Vistoso members and others in the community worked for more than three years to save the former golf course as a nature preserve. We raised $2 million to allow TCF to purchase the property to save part of the Sonoran Desert as a recreational area. It has spectacular mountain scenery, petroglyphs, and more than six miles of paved trails. There are 17 neighborhoods next to the property and 13 additional neighborhoods in walking distance.
For those that were not able to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony, the links below will allow you to view the entire ribbon cutting ceremony, or just the parts of greatest interest to you. If you review the entire ceremony, you will learn how this wonderful preserve came about, the result of a public-private partnership among The Oro Valley Town Council and staff, The Conservation Fund (www.conservationfund.org), and the community led by Preserve Vistoso. It took nearly four years, but the dream of a Nature Preserve in Oro Valley is now a reality. Thanks to everyone that helped make it happen.
Click below on the video you want to view. Click on the button in the bottom right corner of the screen to enlarge it for full screen viewing.
Latest News
News
June 23, 2022
Grand Opening - Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Join us on Friday, July 15, to celebrate the official transfer of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve from Mike Ford and The Conservation Fund (TCF), to the Town of Oro Valley.
June 22, 2022
In Memoriam - Nancy Olson
With the long-anticipated dedication of the Vistoso Trails property, we also remember with great sadness, the loss of Nancy Olson on May 24.
May 23, 2022
Winner announced for contest to rename former Vistoso Golf Course
The Town of Oro Valley is pleased to recognize the winner of the contest to name the 202-acre property formerly known as the Vistoso Golf Course. Congratulations to Oro Valley resident Nikki Dilbeck for submitting the winning name, Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve.
The Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve offers a rich variety of plants, mammals and birds as well as artist-created petroglyphs along a paved six-mile path that could be available to all.
