2 Best Sights in Ajo, Southern Arizona

This 860,000-acre national wildlife refuge, about 5 miles (a 10-minute drive) from Ajo, was established in 1939 as a preserve for endangered bighorn sheep and other Sonoran Desert wildlife, including the long-nosed bat and the Sonoran pronghorn deer, the fastest mammal in North America. People come here for hiking, photography, and primitive desert camping. There are interesting petroglyphs here, as well as wildlife; but be aware that there are no toilets, pit or otherwise. 

A free permit, essentially a "hold-harmless" agreement, is required to enter, and four-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicles or all-terrain vehicles—needed to traverse the rugged terrain—are strongly advised.

Pick up a permit from the refuge's visitor center in Ajo, about a mile north of the downtown plaza; or go online, watch the 13-minute safety video, then download the permit to your phone or tablet.

You get an expansive view of Ajo's ugly gash of an open-pit mine, almost 2 miles wide, from the New Cornelia Open Pit Mine Lookout Point. Some of the abandoned equipment remains in the pit, and mining operations are diagrammed at the volunteer-run visitor center, where there's a 30-minute film about mining. The lookout point is always "open," but the visitor center's hours are sporadic. The mine is about a mile southwest of the plaza; take La Mina Road or Estrella Road to Indian Village Road.