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Terranate: Visting the ruins of an old Spanish fortress in Arizona
Terrenate is the site of a failed Spanish presidio and can be reached with a short hike (2.4 miles round trip) through the San Pedro Riparian Zone. The trail follows an old railroad grade and makes for easy walking. The BLM has put in plenty of benches for the weary to sit and rest. Those hikers who take advantage of the benches will want to enjoy the views of the Dragoon, Whetstone, Huachuca, Chiricuahua Mountains on the horizon. The trail crosses a flat field of desert scrub bushes until it comes to the cliffs overlooking the San Pedro River. It is here that the ruins of the fortress Terrenate are located.
As you stand at the crumbled adobe walls of what used to be the main gate, imagine yourself entering the Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate in the year 1776. Listen for the intermingling of Spanish and Native American voices, listen to the history. Many of the structures have accompanying interpretive plaques explaining what the ruins used to be. Listen closely and you will hear the current of the river as it carves its course below the high cliffs, meandering from bank to bank in a wide sandy channel. Groves of huge cottonwood trees grow along the shores. The…
