Sasco, Arizona

Amidst the dry desert wastes and past the seemingly endless scorch lands lies the lonely town of Sasco, Arizona.  Fading from existence, the once up and coming town built around smelting, now lies lost and forgotten underneath the relentless desert sun.  Few artifacts remain of Sasco, and those that do lie like bleached bones in monument to their former glory.

 

Getting to Sasco was very easy and straight forward.  To get there, take I10 west to the Red Rock exit 226.  Take Sasco Rd through the new housing development and past the cattle and small farming community.   The pavement ends and you will notice that the landscape takes a drastic turn from barren desert wasteland to lush greenery and thick Palo Verde groves.  Just past these groves the land open backs up to desert where the ruins begin to take shape in the distance. 

 

 

Just past La Osa Ranch Rd on the north side of the street looms what is left of the Rockland Hotel.  To our surprise there was more than just foundation left, which is pretty typical of most ghost towns around Tucson.  And even more surprising was the lack of graffiti and trash.  The only graffiti to be seen were names and teenage declarations of love carved into what was left of the plaster walls.  For us this almost added a charm to the ruins, and definitely better than seeing spray paint everywhere.  



Further up the road lies the two room jail, and further still lies the remains of the old smelter.  This unfortunately was covered in graffiti and trash.  If you can get past the graffiti it really is truly a sight to behold.

 

 

The smelter's remains lie at the base of a hill, which if you wander up a ways you will find more structures and what we thought at the time was the beginnings of a mine shaft.  Upon closer inspection the shaft only cuts about ten feet or so into the hill side and stops abruptly.

 

Backtracking you can find the Sasco cemetery if you follow La Osa Ranch Rd North for about a quarter of a mile.  The graveyard is fenced off with No Trespassing signs posted but still worth taking a look at from outside the fence.

 

In all, the trip out to Sasco is definitely worth it!  You could honestly get there in a sedan (though I would take a truck just to be safe) and it's about an hour drive from central Tucson.

 

 

It's amazing to see what's left (or not left) of the town and worth taking a trip out there to see it before the desert claims it all.