Canelo Ranger Office
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 29 of the next 30 nights read 15:35 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Canelo Ranger Office is a single story, one bedroom bungalow at the base of the Canelo Hills approximately 15 miles southeast of Sonoita, Arizona. The building, also known as the "Canelo Little House", was constructed in 1932/33 and served as the office of the District Ranger for surrounding National Forest lands, then part of the Huahcuca Ranger District . The facility is located in an oak grassland at approximately 5000' elevation, with generally pleasant year round weather. The building was renovated in 2023 with new bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances including an electric oven, and heating and cooling system. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Please note that pets are not allowed inside or outside the cabin. Keep reading
Recreation
The two rentable cabins at the Historic Canelo Work Center are a 90 minute drive from the Tucson metropolitan area just south of the Sonoita Plain at the edge of the Canelo Hills. The area is appreciated for its scenery, biodiversity and rural pace. It located between the community of Sonoita and Parker Canyon Lake. The area offers excellent hiking, birdwatching, wildlife viewing, fishing and boating at Parker Canyon lake, and access to nearby vineyards in the Sonoita-Elgin area.
Facilities
The Canelo Ranger Office is a three-room residence, suitable for groups of up to 4 people. The house has one combined living area and bedroom, one bathroom, and an eat-kitchen. The bedroom has a queen-size bed and a double sized futon. The bathroom has an easy-entry shower, sink, and toilet. The dining room is furnished with a table and seating for two. The kitchen is equipped with a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, pots, pans, utensils, dishes, and coffeepot. The house has electricity and running water. Outside, a small patio is available. Although the cabin has amenities for comfortable lodging, guests do need to provide some of their own supplies, including food, sleeping bags, linens, pillows, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Although electricity is available, it is recommended that guests bring an additional light source in case of emergencies. The Forest Service is unable to provide firewood and propane for the outdoor grill at this time, but guests are welcome to bring their own. If you plan to build an outdoor fire, please check for fire restrictions in the Coronado National Forest.
Natural Features
The Canelo Hills are a low mountain range that serve as a connector between the Huachuca Mountains to the east and the Patagonia Mountains to the west, both higher ranges among Southern Arizona's famed "sky islands". The Canelo Hills offer a beautiful backdrop of rolling, rocky terrain punctuated by riparian areas, oak woodlands, and grasslands. The region is considered among the most biodiverse in the country.
Nearby Attractions
There are several attractions nearby on the Coronado National Forest including Parker Canyon Lake, located 13 miles south on Highway 83. The lake has a marina, campground and boat ramp. Just beyond the lake is access to the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The trail can also be accessed near Canelo Pass. To the north, the Sonoita-Elgin area is home to numerous vineyards and tasting rooms. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (520) 378-0311.
What the agency tells you
Pets are not permitted inside or outside of the cabin. Unfortunately, due to a history of pet owners inadequately cleaning up after their pets, pets are no longer allowed. Forest Service staff have limited time to complete weekly cabin cleaning. Cleaning service is not cost effective due to the rural location of the cabins. Eliminating the need to vacuum pet hair, neutralize odors, and pick up poop frees up staff time to clean cabin amenities and address repair needs.
Access to the cabin is via a driveway on the south side of the facility, accessible by passenger car. Please DO NOT DISTURB the private residences at the end of the road and those down the driveways on the right before the cabin. The roadway must remain clear. Park in designated areas and not on the roadside. The public is advised that the Ranger Office occurs within an active Forest Administrative Site. As such, you might see Forest and/or Ranger District employees in the area or working at the adjacent buildings. Please ensure your vehicles are parked in close proximity to the parking area, and are not blocking Membrillo Lane.
Cleaning service is NOT provided. Before leaving, renters are expected to clean the cabin; this includes washing dishes, sweeping and mopping floors, wiping down countertops, and removing ALL trash.
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Guests MUST provide some of their own supplies including: food, sleeping bags, linens, pillows, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags.
Please do NOT flush anything but toilet paper to prevent clogs or damage to the septic system.
Keep the building and grounds clean to deter squirrel, mice, rats, bears, and other wildlife from area.
Cell phone coverage is unreliable in this location.
The house is located in a desert environment; please be aware that scorpions, snakes and other insects may be present at any time.
Reservation dates are subject to inclement weather. The road to the cabin is not plowed when there is snow, so if snowfall is heavy enough, the cabin may be closed.
This cabin does not honor Golden Passport Discounts.
Group events are not allowed. The capacity of the cabin is 4 people.
The doors are unlocked with a numeric code on the door handle. The combination for the lock is provided once a reservation is made.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “The bathroom has an easy-entry shower, sink, and toilet.”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Backpacking
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Wildlife viewing
- Winery Tours
Fully booked this Friday and Saturday, all 1 site-nights takenread 15:35 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBookedNot on the booking system
The one site on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 26. read 15:35 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 15:35 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Canelo Ranger Office | Canelo Ranger Office | cabin electric | 1.2 mi | $95 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Canelo Ranger ResidenceCoronado National Forest · 0.1 mi
Rock Bluff Group SiteCoronado National Forest · 8.9 miLakeview CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 9.3 miRoad Canyon Camp AreaLas Cienegas National Conservation Area · 14 mi
Ramsey Vista CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 15 mi
Reef Townsite Group AreaCoronado National Forest · 16 miATTENTION – ROAD ACCESS CHANGES – (4/28/2026)
Former access to the Canelo Cabins using Membrillo Lane has changed and restricted public access from crossing private land. A newly constructed public access route has been constructed to access the Canelo Cabins. The new access route is located 0.6 miles to the west of Membrillo Lane on HWY 83. GPS navigation services may take a while to adjust to the change and direct you in on Membrillo lane
Signage along HWY 83 for the Canelo facilities, at the time of writing this, are still in their original location as we work with ADOT to modify the signs.
From Tucson:
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sierra Vista, AZ
Typical weather
Typical October night 44°F, day 77°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 28°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Junes are colder than the June line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Canelo Ranger Office is in Arizona’s 7th congressional district. Its representative, Adelita Grijalva (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →