The Ramsey Canyon Inn is tucked a mile and a half into the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The historic bed and breakfast offers ten units for guests with varying room sizes. The owners of the bed and breakfast explain that the area where they are located is well known in the birdwatching community. They note that on their property, guests can experience more than 170 species of birds and a wide variety of other wildlife, including leopard frogs, ringtail cats, coatimundi, Coues whitetail, Gould’s turkey, cliff chipmunks, Arizona grey squirrels, rock squirrels, and Arizona black bear. The owners mention that one of the unique features of their business is the "blue-ribbon" pies they serve to guests at 4 p.m. daily. They explain that this was a legacy tradition of the B&B dating back as far as 1975. Scott says that they strive to provide a place where guests can "get away from their busy lives" and enjoy the outdoor wildlife.
The Ramsey Canyon Inn sits on two acres in Hereford, Arizona, acting as a bed and breakfast with ten units available for overnight accommodations. Among all of the rooms, standard amenities include 200 mbps wifi, a private bathroom, and hair dryers. The amenities vary from room to room as each room varies in size. The establishment does have wheelchair-accessible rooms available. According to the owners, the two most popular rooms are the Costa's Room and the Hummingbird House. The Costa's Room contains parts of the building's original 1950s structure with a stone feature wall and patio. It provides a king-size bed and a private bathroom. The Hummingbird House is separate from the main lodge and contains two bedrooms. Each bedroom contains a king-size bed and two twin beds. The overall unit also includes a full residential kitchen and one and a half bathrooms. Scott explains that the house is commonly used as the bridal suite for those getting married, given that it contains a bridal dressing room. Also found in the Hummingbird House is a front and back porch.
Guests of the property can gather in common areas located around the estate, such as the Family Kitchen, the Guest Lobby, the Pie Lounge, and five outdoor courtyards throughout the property. Guests in the main lodge that do not have a kitchen in their room have access to the Pie Lounge, where they will find a full-size refrigerator and freezer, ice maker, filtered water dispenser, microwave, and coffee machine. Patrons can also find seating on the front porch which, as the owners describe, is the best spot to enjoy the birds and other wildlife.
Breakfast is served daily at 8 AM in the Family Dining Room. The owners explain that they accommodate special dietary requirements and ask that any food accommodations be mentioned when someone reserves their stay. The owners then pass that information on to the executive chef, who creates a menu unique to each group staying at the bed and breakfast. Each day at 4 PM, they also serve pies from a menu of 35 flavors. The owners explain the most requested pies from return guests include the blueberry goat cheese and basil pie, the pineapple pecan pie, and the chocolate and peanut butter pie. Pies are served at 4 PM daily and are complimentary for all the guests of the bed and breakfast.
Outside the main lodge are five courtyards with approximately 75 bird feeders scattered around the property. The owners explain that the area is well known for bird-watching opportunities, and avid birdwatchers frequently visit their property and the surrounding area. On their property, they also have a fountain and pond, which an endangered species of leopard frog lives in during the spring and summer months. The bed and breakfast is located in the Huachuca Mountains, which allows guests to see more than 170 species of birds and around 13 species of hummingbirds. Various other wildlife can be spotted in the surrounding forest, such as bats, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, deer, bears, and more.
The bed and breakfast features a wildlife photography blind that can be booked by overnight guests and folks not staying at the B&B.
The establishment also includes a wedding ceremony and reception area that can accommodate up to 100 guests. The owners explain that they built the wedding venue in 2021 and currently host about 50 weddings per year. Wedding packages that include lodging options are available for reservation.
Next to the bed and breakfast is the Ramsey Canyon Preserve which is owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy. Guests staying at the bed and breakfast can walk from their rooms to the visitor center, and trailheads at the nature preserve nearby, mentions the owners.
Additional outdoor interests in the nearby area include the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, the Kartchner Caverns State Park, Fort Huachuca, the Coronado National Memorial, and more. The owners also mention a variety of restaurants within 15 minutes of the property. They suggest as their top recommendation the Pizzeria Mimosa, located within a few miles of the property. However, they explain that there are approximately 50 restaurants within a 15-minute drive of the B&B.
The owners describe the bed and breakfast as a place for people to feel safe and "unplug from their day-to-day routines and enjoy the outdoors." A goal for the property is for guests to feel like they can "take a break from the business of life." The owners work to achieve this objective by greeting every guest and providing tips and other suggestions for outdoor activities. The owners explain that they do not live on the property because they do not want the patrons to feel as if they are hovering over them. One guest explained they enjoyed that "the rooms were clean, beds were comfy, and the atmosphere was warm and staff very accommodating during their stay. The breakfast was great, and the homemade pies were great. The birds were incredible, and the hiking beautiful".
The owners state that they are committed to community involvement. Primarily, this occurs through their efforts to provide free community events to educate residents and youth on the birds, animals, reptiles, plants, and other wildlife that surround the property. They bring in and host overnight guest speakers with varying areas of expertise. They also host all kinds of other events, such as birthday parties, baby showers, family reunions, memorials, and guided bird tours.
The Ramsey Canyon Inn has a few policies they ask the guests to respect. There is no smoking on the property except in the designated smoking location that is provided. The establishment also does not allow pets on the property. The owners explain that although they love animals, domesticated pets have an adverse impact on birds and wildlife. Since they host guests from all over the world that specifically come to see the birds and wildlife, they do not allow pets on the property. The owners mention that they can recommend a "highly-rated" boarding facility within five minutes of the B&B.
The owners of the bed and breakfast mention that the majority of their patrons are of an older demographic. They also say that they receive many returning guests who typically are avid birdwatchers. The owners explain that they have met people from around the world who stay at the property to see the different species of birds that frequent southeastern Arizona. The bed and breakfast is open year-round, with its busiest season being March through September, as that is the most common time to see birds. Wedding season, around September through November, also tends to be a busy time for the bed and breakfast.
The current owners of the Ramsey Canyon Inn, Scott and April, bought the bed and breakfast from the original owner Shirlene in 2021. Shirlene lived on the property since the 1950s and inherited the property in the 1970s. She began renting rooms around 1975. She officially opened the bed and breakfast to the public in 1988. The owners explain that Sherlene constantly saw birdwatchers coming back into the canyon, and this is what gave her the idea to start the bed and breakfast. She started renting out some rooms and serving pies to her guests. The owners mention that the pies were very well-loved by the guests and that when they bought the property from Shirlene, they also purchased the recipes from her to continue that tradition of the inn. They still provide pies at 4 PM daily for the people staying at the bed and breakfast.
They have made several changes since buying the property from Shirlene. The Eagle Nest Room and the Hummingbird House were originally for the owners and were unavailable to rent. Scott and April renovated those rooms and made them available for the guests to reserve. Before Scott and April bought the bed and breakfast, the outdoor part of the property was prohibited to anyone not staying at the bed and breakfast. Scott and April built several courtyards and a wedding reception area for guests of the bed and breakfast to enjoy. They also opened up the front courtyard to the public so anyone in the canyon could enjoy watching the bird feeders.
Scott and April have plans to potentially renovate 8 acres of land adjacent to the bed and breakfast to be developed into camping cabins. They explain that these cabins will be more rustic living and allow guests a different experience than staying in the main lodge.
29 Ramsey Canyon Road
Hereford, Arizona 85615
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Scott and Amy
