Wednesday, October 28 to Monday, November 2, 2026 

Río Sonora Tour

Click here to register and pay deposit 

This is the land the early Spanish and Basque explorers described as a land of bountiful maize and beauty. It was to become the heartland of Spanish colonial Sonora from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The geographer Carl Sauer described it in the 1930s: “Beautiful and fertile beyond anything else in this part of the country, perhaps no other area in the New World comes close to the physical conditions of the Old World Fertile Crescent as does this one.”

Sauer was referring to the Río Sonora, one of the several valleys located in a region known as the Serrana. It is an ecological transition zone of considerable ecological diversity between the pine-covered Sierra Madre mountains and the coastal plain of the Gulf of California.

This unforgettable travel experience begins in Cucurpe, Sonora, a farming and ranching village on the Río San Miguel where Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino launched his evangelization of the Pimería Alta. From there we will continue to the historic Río Sonora, México. We will explore and celebrate Sonoran history and culture through guided day trips to the major towns along the river beginning in the north at the town of Arizpe that was once the capital of Spain’s Provincias Internas. We will continue down river ultimately to the town of Ures where the lower part of the river gives way to the lowlands at Puerta del Sol, the gateway to eastern Sonora. The agropastoralist frontier society that took root in the 1600s evolved was based on a fusion of Old World and Indigenous crops. Along the way we will share the local food traditions, spirits, history, music, and culture of the region with the ranchers, farmers and bacanora makers who have sustained a way of life for more than four centuries.

Our base of operation will be the lovely Hotel Posada del Río Sonora in Banamichi that is located adjacent the historic Plaza Miguel Hidalgo and the main church. The food will be excellent, the amosphere with the beautiful rooftop terrace makes for most easy conviviality, refreshment and relaxation. Your guide will be Bill Steen, cultural anthropologist and director of the non-profit organization The Canelo Project that is dedicated to Connecting - People, Culture and Nature.

Click here to view trip itinerary

Tour fee includes lodging, all meals, and ground transportation from Tubac:

• Single occupancy: $1,970 for BCA members / $2,070 for non-members
• Double occupancy: $1,870 for BCA members / $1,970 for non-members
• Deposit, paid at time of registration, due August 1
• Final payment due September 1

Cancellation policy: If you cancel after August 1, we will not be able to refund you unless there is a waiting list and your place on the trip can be filled by someone else. In this case, there is a $100 administration cancellation fee. We strongly recommend that you buy travel insurance in case you need to cancel this trip. 

Click here to register and pay deposit