Photos: 202-acre Oro Valley golf course becomes a nature preserve
After several years spent stuck in the rough, an abandoned Oro Valley golf is now the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve.
In a Feb. 17, 2022 release, the Town of Oro Valley announced the Conservation Fund closed escrow on 202 acres of golf course parcels, and developer Ross Rulney closed escrow on a 6.3 acre former clubhouse parcel from Romspen Vistoso LLC (Romspen).
The Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course opened in 1995, but rising water prices and a decline in play doomed the operation. The 18-hole desert course closed for good in 2018, three years after Canada-based investment firm Romspen bought it out of bankruptcy.
The preserve now falls under the town of Oro Valley's parks and recreation.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
The Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The preserve was once home to a 202-acre golf course that closed in 2018.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Mike Ford, of the Conservation Fund, talks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve, on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The former golf-course which is 202-acres of land is now a nature preserve and can never be developed.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Residents gathered for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The former golf-course which is 202-acres of land is now a nature preserve and can never be developed.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Joe Winfield, mayor of Oro Valley, talks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve, on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The former golf-course which is 202-acres of land is now a nature preserve and can never be developed.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
John McAlister takes a walk at the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Remnants of the golf course can be seen at the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The preserve was once home to a 202-acre golf course that closed in 2018.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
The Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The preserve was once home to a 202-acre golf course that closed in 2018.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
Rich Bingle takes a walk at the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022.
Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve
The Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, Ariz. on July 15, 2022. The land was initially bought by a national nonprofit, The Conservation Fund, which partnered with a local group called Preserve Vistoso. The preserve now falls under the town of Oro Valley's parks and recreation.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
A lone javelina strolls along the fairway that has gone fallow since 2018 at the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Mother Nature is reclaiming the water-intensive, all-grass fairways on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley. Once inside the former golf course, there is little evidence it is ringed by homes and apartments.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Grasses, some non-native, have overtaken areas of the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
The evening sun spotlights a cholla cactus on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Then: A golfer retrieves his ball from the cup on the 3rd hole at the Golf Club at Vistoso in May, 2018, shortly before the course was closed. Now: By October, 2021, there is little evidence that the 3rd hole existed.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Then: Golfers on the ninth hole near the clubhouse at the Golf Club at Vistoso in Oro Valley in 2010. Now: Three years after the irrigation was turned off, weeds poke through the desiccated sod on the ninth hole in October, 2021.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Morning doves rest on tree branches on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
Apartments along Vistoso Highlands Drive peak above the lush landscape on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
The fairway is slowing returning to nature, looking east to Pusch Ridge from a tee box at the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, Oro Valley, conservation
The cart path makes a sharp turn on the way to the 3rd tee on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
A couple walks their dog long the patch that fronts the driving range at the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
The six miles of high-quality concrete cart paths are a major feature in the conservation plans for the abandoned Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
A volunteer mesquite tree and scrub overtake the once-grassy driving range at the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
A petroglyph off the cart path at the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
The extensive irrigation system throughout the the abandoned 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley could be used to jump start native revegetation.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
Bathrooms near the first tee, as well as two other locations, are included in the plan for the abandoned 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
Residents can walk and ride the six-miles of cart paths on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley.
Golf Club at Vistoso, conservation, open space
Tumbleweeds encroach on a sand trap on the 202-acre Golf Club at Vistoso on W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, closed in 2018.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
Mamta Popat
Photojournalist
Neighborhood group plots change of course for Oro Valley golf linksFor Star subscribers: An abandoned golf course could soon find new life as a nature preserve, with impressive views of the Catalina Mountains, “phenomenal native vegetation,” petroglyphs, walking trails and wildlife. First, though, community conservationists must raise $1.8 million in two months to buy it.
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Oro Valley's abandoned golf course turned desert park now has a name: Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve.
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