Whisper’s Ranch

I have been to Whisper’s Ranch twice now and I just love it! It’s so peaceful and pretty — the landscape is not what you think of when you think Arizona. There are rolling grassy hills that are golden in the winter and green in the summer.
A lot of people don’t realize that the temperatures down here (due to the elevation) are much like northern Arizona in the winter — so it’s a great alternative to «going north» to cool off in the Summers. Temperatures rarely reach 100 on a Summer day and it cools to the 60s at night — a luxury we don’t get in the Valley! Our most recent visit (February 2012) was windy but gorgeous. No jackets required!
Toni, proprietor, has started a gluten-​free /​allergy-​free bakery and makes human AND dog treats! I can vouch for the human treats being delicious — I especially liked the quinoa cookies.
And, there’s a lot to do in the area. No less than 11 winery tasting rooms are near by (there is a limo service you can hire if you can’t agree on a designated driver).
Or visit Parker Canyon Lake which you can walk (5 miles), fish or rent pedal boats or kayaks. Patagona Lake is larger and offers a lot of amenities and both offer camp sites. But, why camp when you can stay at Whisper’s Ranch?!
And, finally, Kartchner Caverns are a convenient stop on your way back to Phoenix but be sure to make a reservation!
Southern Arizona, and particularly Whisper’s Ranch, are great alternatives to heading north for a quick getaway!

Thanks to the other reviewer, and other people on the roads, we found this place.
It’s in one of the most amazing parts of Arizona. It’s so remote that the GPS couldn’t find it. You find it by ‘mile marker’ rather than street address and it’s on a ‘highway’ but the GPS can’t find it.
The country around there is incredible. It’s sort of near a bunch of wineries… but mostly it’s around nothing but beautiful rolling grasslands.
The accomodations are comfortable and simple. We had a nice hot shower after a long drive and were very comfortable in our bed.
We couldn’t get an $ 85 room— the least expensive was $ 100 for us. They definitely prefer if you book in advance, over the computer. They’re hard to reach on the phone and we were really lucky to be able to wing it last minute by just showing up. Luckily they took us in.
We couldn’t believe how beautiful Elgin was. Then we drove the back roads to Patagonia, AZ which was also great.
We didn’t get to hang out with the animals which was a shame– they had donkeys too — and it seems like heaven if you’re a retired horse or goose.
If you’re just a wandering human, it’s pretty damn beautiful.