Oracle State Park: Center for Environmental Education

5 Day Schedule Five Day Schedule: This park is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The park will be open from 7 am to 3 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, & Mondays. Read Press Release about this Park's five day schedule.

Both a wildlife refuge and environmental learning center, Oracle State Park offers groups a chance to learn more about human's impact on nature.

Oracle State Park is a 4,000 acre wildlife refuge in the northern foothills of the Catalina Mountains. Once part of the Kannally family cattle ranch, the unique Mediterranean style ranch house in the park is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ranging from 3,700 to 4,600 feet in elevation, the surrounding landscape transitions from oak woodland to desert grassland, with sweeping views of the Catalinas and granite boulder outcrops to the south; and San Pedro River Valley and Galiuro Mountains to the north-east. The diverse vegetation, slope and elevation within the park provide habitat for a variety of animals. Oracle State Park offers day-use picnic sites and over 15 miles of trail for use by hikers, bicyclists and equestrians. A four mile section of the Arizona Trail passes through the park, connecting Mexico to Utah.

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The purpose of Oracle State Park is to protect the designated wildlife refuge and act as an environmental learning center. Educational trail programs emphasize participatory outdoor learning experiences for all ages. Students learn about habitat and interrelationships between plants, animals and people. Guided walks, workshops, presentations and special events are planned throughout the year to expand awareness and deepen appreciation of natural and cultural resources. An important focus of educational programming at the park is to understand people as part of nature and to clarify options for environmentally appropriate lifestyles.

On-Going Events

Tour the historic Kannally Ranch House at 10 am and 2 pm, on Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays.

Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays: Guided tours of the historic Kannally Ranch House, start times at 10 am and 2 pm, 45 minute duration. The tour is free with park entrance fee; no reservation needed. The four level Mediterranean revival style adobe ranch house was built from 1929–33 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours are also scheduled by reservation, call 896-2425.

Upcoming Events

Friday, June 12: Astronomy Night with Starizona, 7:30-9:30pm on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House. Starizona experts will be on hand with two telescopes to interpret the planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, moon views and constellations of the early summer skies. No reservation required. Free with park entrance fee ($5 per vehicle, summer fee). Family-friendly. Call (520) 896-2425. This is a reschedule from a week ago due to rain, and replaces the evening wildlife walk previously scheduled on this day.

Saturday, July 11: Evening Guided Bird Walk, with Audubon specialist, Kathe Anderson, 6pm-8pm. Meet at 5:30pm at the Kannally Ranch House for bird-watching from the patios. Follow along on a bird walk from 6pm-8pm through the corrals, washes and trails of Oracle State Park, past owl, woodpecker and hummingbird nests; looking for warblers, flycatchers, hawks, towhees and more. Bring binoculars if you have a pair. Reservation preferred, please call (520) 896-2425 or by email: jenar2@azstateparks.gov.

Sunday, July 12: Morning Guided Bird Walk, with Audubon specialist, Kathe Anderson, 7am-9:30am. Go birding before breakfast. Meet at 7am on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House for more bird identification with Kathe around the ranch house, corrals and trails of the park. Kathe is back by popular demand for these two back-to-back dusk and dawn bird walks, so take advantage of her rare visits to Oracle State Park. Binoculars help; Reservation preferred, please call (520) 896-2425. Free with park entrance fee, $5 per vehicle; annual passes available.

July date TBA: Mesquite Bean Harvesting Workshop. Help harvest ripe mesquite beans and learn how to preserve and store them for grinding into mesquite flour. Learn recipes for cooking with locally collected mesquite meal. This year’s 10th Annual Fiesta de las Calabazas at Oracle State Park will feature wild foods, and a hammer-mill to grind your own mesquite beans into flour for home cooking use.

Ongoing Weekends: Historic Kannally Ranch House Guided Tours, each Saturday, Sunday and holidays, beginning at 10am and again at 2pm; 45-minute duration. The four level Mediterranean revival style adobe ranch house was built from 1929-33 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours are also scheduled by reservation, call (520) 896-2425.

Oracle State Park Summer Open Hours Have Changed!
Oracle State Park is open Thursday through Monday, 7am-3pm. The park is closed to the public Tuesday and Wednesday (the main gate on Mt. Lemmon Road is locked). The American Avenue parking lot and trailhead remains open seven days, dawn to dusk. The park entrance fee through Labor Day is $5 per vehicle ($2 per person non-motorized entry on bicycle, horseback, or walk-in; kids free).

August, date TBA: Fifth Annual Bug Fest

Saturday, October 3: Aldo Leopold Southwest Centennial Celebration and Wild Food Fest. Details TBA. Learn more about Aldo Leopold events.

Area History

Although the land has been a park for just a short while, the area has been visited and used by man since prehistoric times. This interaction between man and the park environment has played an important role in shaping the landscape we see today.

Clovis Man occupied areas along the San Pedro River 10,000 to 11,000 years ago and quite possibly visited the current park site during these early times. It is also believed that the Hohokam resided in the relatively flat, grassy areas of the park and used the adjacent woodlands for hunting and food gathering some 600-800 years ago.

In the middle 1880s the Apache Wars had ceased in central and southern Arizona. This opened up large areas to mining, ranching, farming and the settlement of small towns.

In 1902 Neil Kannally arrived in Oracle from Illinois. After moving to the area, he homesteaded the land that would later become the park. Later, other members of the Kannally family joined him. The ranch grew substantially over the next several years and eventually 1100 Hereford cattle grazed the land.

In 1976, Lucile Kannally, the last surviving family member, donated the land to Defenders of Wildlife who later transferred the property to the State Parks Board

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Oracle State Park: Center for Environmental Education

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