Some have been paved over with commerce. Others have turned into tony resorts or spas frequented by the rich and the frazzled. All were once dude ranches sprawling far out in the desert, off of roads named Silverbell and Campbell, River and Wilmot.
Here's a partial list of what is no more and, in some cases, what's there now:
1. Brave Bull, later Sierra Tucson, a drug treatment center. Today Oprah Winfrey and others know it as Miraval Life in Balance, 16500 N. Lago del Oro Parkway, in Catalina.
2. Desert Willow Ranch, 10855 E. Tanque Verde Road. For a time, Amity ran a drug-abuse treatment program here but closed it in 1995. A fire in 2005 destroyed several of the vacant buildings. By then, Amity Foundation was running the Circle Tree Ranch, a long-term residential rehabilitation campus, across the street.
3. Double U Ranch, now home to the celebrity-studded Canyon Ranch Spa at 8600 E. Rockcliff Road.
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4. El Carnila Ranchito, where Sabino Canyon Road heads south of Tanque Verde Road.
5. El Dorado Guest Lodge, 6400 E. El Dorado Circle, near the northeast corner of East Speedway and North Wilmot Road. Built by Florence Pond and called Stone Ashley, it was later sold, renovated and reopened in 1949 as El Dorado Guest Lodge, specifically for Jewish guests restricted from other Tucson dude ranches. In 1979 it became Charles, an upscale restaurant. Now home to the Mountain Oyster Club.
6. Flying V Ranch, 6800 N. Flying V Ranch Road. Located just west of Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. A dude ranch since the 1920s, its 70 acres are still retained by the Shields family. It offers self-contained units.
7. Hacienda del Sol, 5601 N. Hacienda del Sol Road. Originally a girls' prep school, it became a guest ranch in 1948. Restored in the mid-1990s, it's now Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, with rooms, event accommodations and an upscale restaurant, The Grill.
8. Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch, 8401 N. Scenic Drive. No longer in business, though a concessionaire offers horseback riding.
9. Rancho del Jefe, East Speedway and Tanque Verde Loop Road.
10. Rancho del Rio, 2800 N. Sabino Canyon Road. Developed as a dude ranch in 1946, it became the Tack Room, an upscale restaurant, in 1965. It closed in 2003 and was later demolished to make room for houses.
11. Rancho Nezhone, 951 W. Orange Grove Road. Built as a private ranch in the late 1930s, it became a guest ranch not long after. Sold in 1948, it operated briefly as a kosher guest resort. By 1970 it was known as the Sahara Palms Motel. In 1976, the buildings were demolished for the Mission Palms apartments.
12. Rancho Toda la Vista, northwest corner of West Ina and North Thornydale roads. Built as a private ranch, it started operating as a dude ranch in 1945. In later years, it became a nursing home.
13. Saddle and Surrey Guest Ranch, 4110 W. Sweetwater Drive. Operated from the 1950s to the 1980s. Now home to the treatment center Cottonwood de Tucson.
14. Westward Look, 245 E. Ina Road. A guest ranch by the early 1920s, it was owned and operated by the Nason family from 1948 to the 1960s. Today it's known as Westward Look Resort and Spa.
15. Wild Horse Ranch, 6801 N. Camino Verde, on the east edge of Saguaro National Park West. A dude ranch since 1941, it's now an event center for weddings and other gatherings.
