Hike: Helpful Tips to Find the Honey Bee Canyon Petroglyphs

In 2023, OVHS installed the “A Place in Time” historical timeline at the Pusch House Museum. One featured photo shows a petroglyph in Honey Bee Canyon—a site our docents are often asked how to find it.  Follow these instructions and discovery awaits!

Honey Bee Canyon is located at 13880 N. Rancho Vistoso Boulevard, Oro Valley.

Entrance to Honey Bee Canyon Park off N. Rancho Visto Blvd.

• Parking lot to the canyon on the east side of Rancho Vistoso Blvd., and can only be accessed by driving in a northeasterly direction

The petroglyphs are easy to miss, but these tips will guide you to your discovery!

• From the parking lot, follow the sidewalk on the right to enter the park and continue down the ramp with a railing.
• Go towards the direction sign; continue to the right, away from the restrooms.
  NOTE: The petroglyph is NOT on the trail loop!
• The Rancho Vistoso overpass is on your right, head in that direction.
  Walk in the wash under the overpass and continue for about 1 mile. It’s sandy and flat; not a challenging walk
  

  Man-Made Rock Dam Indicates that You’re Close to the Petroglyph!

• Pass “the dam” (a man-made rock stack with an opening); the petroglyph is on the left just past the dam.
• Start looking at eye-level for a large stone balancing on another stone on the left Due to its orientation the figures may not be visible right away as you approach it due to its orientation.
• If you get to the trough and the “new dam”, turn around; you’ve gone too far!  Happy trekking!

Learn more about Petroglyphs and even see one in the Pusch House Museum!

Other resources:

Road Trip!  Discover the Hohokam – Three Sites You Shouldn’t Miss

Learn more about pit houses, native crops, the Honey Bee Village excavation and more at the Heritage Garden at Steam Pump Ranch, operated by the Oro Valley Historical Society.

Must Reads!

The Hohokam and Huhugam: An Enduring Presence in Oro Valley and the Greater Tucson Basin, by Brittnie Smith, January 2026.

Hohokam: Honoring the First People of Oro Valley, by Devon Sloan, November 2023

Watch videos on the OVHS YouTube Channel:

OVHS Video Series: Introduction to the Hohokam and Their Craft Traditions with Mary Jo McMullen

OVHS Video Series: Hohokam Style Pit House Replica at Steam Pump Ranch with Allen Denoyer

OVHS Video Series: Honey Bee Village Excavation with Henry Wallace