In one of Dick Mueller's early years hosting the Hidden in the Hills tour, his house was still being built. The contractor had promised the windows would be in by the tour, and they weren't. Mueller told the Cave Creek / Carefree Independent that he "had to put cardboard in the windows and sleep in the kitchen overnight to protect our art and our guests' art. I remember it being very cold."
He has kept hosting since then. This year Mueller begins his 30th tour and his 29th as host at Coyote Crossing Studio No. 2, which overlooks Grapevine Wash. The doors open tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 20. From then until the week before Christmas, nearly every major date on the Cave Creek and Carefree calendar works the same way: a space that usually stays closed, whether a home studio, a town stage or a private stretch of desert, opens to the public for a short, set window.
Two weekends, 38 studios, and the people who started it
The 30th annual Hidden in the Hills Artist Studio Tour runs Nov. 20–22 and Nov. 27–29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. It is free and self-guided, with 150 artists at 38 studios across Cave Creek, Carefree and north Scottsdale. The Sonoran Arts League presents the tour, which it describes on hiddeninthehills.org as a chance to meet artists, see how they work and buy directly from them.
The tour bills itself as Arizona's largest and longest-running artist studio tour. Still, its basic unit is a working room inside someone's property. Seven artists have taken part in all 30 years. The anniversary coverage profiles two of them, and the 2026 directory cover adds a third name worth planning around:
- Coyote Crossing, Studio No. 2. Dick Mueller began with graphite drawings on paper. Colored pencil now makes up about two-thirds of his work, which centers on Western scenes, wildlife and people. "Brushes dry out, but pencils don't," he told the Independent.
- Robin's Nest, Studio No. 28. Robin Ray is another of the original seven. Over her career she has worked in painting, tapestry, papier-mâché, murals, sculpture and ceramics, and she taught visual art at Cactus Shadows High School for 25 years.
- Studio No. 15. North Scottsdale romantic realist Jeanne Bonine painted "Welcome to My World," the oil chosen for the cover of the 2026 Hidden in the Hills Artist Directory. The original hangs in her studio alongside new oils, limited-edition giclées, mini oils, hand-painted heirloom glass ornaments, greeting cards and her coffee-table book, "Inspirations of Timeless Beauty." Abstract painter Bela Fidel is her guest artist.
Bonine has painted professionally for more than 60 years. She told the Independent that being "elevated by my peers" as cover artist is still exciting and meaningful.
The anniversary roster also includes first- and second-year participants, plus artists coming from Goodyear, Tucson, Chandler, Queen Creek and Fountain Hills. On one afternoon you can visit an original-seven host above a wash and then a newcomer's studio down the road. Thousands of visitors move through the studios over the two weekends, and because the tour falls just before the holidays, people come looking for one-of-a-kind gifts in paintings, ceramics, sculpture, photography, jewelry and mixed media.
The Saturday when the studios and the tree overlap
The busiest day of the season is Saturday, Nov. 28. Studios are open until 5 p.m. that day for the tour's second weekend, and Carefree switches on its holiday lights the same evening.
The Town of Carefree's event calendar lists Kiwanis Christmas for the Kids at 10 a.m. and Carefree Lights Up! at 5 p.m. As the Independent describes the evening, it starts in Carefree Desert Gardens beside the 20-foot Christmas tree near the Veterans Memorial. The Desert Hills Presbyterian Church Bell Ringers lead carols, and Mayor John Crane shares holiday wishes before leading the countdown to light the tree.
The crowd then crosses the street to the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion. Young string players from the Jubilate Conservatory of Music provide background music while the town hands out free hot chocolate, and a Christmas concert begins at 6 p.m. The Desert Cactus Kickers, a senior tap troupe, perform, as does POP, the Performing Outreach Project, an inclusive dance group whose performers have physical and learning disabilities.
If you're touring studios in the north end that day, the timing works. Studios close at 5, the countdown begins at 5, and the music runs past 6. A late-afternoon stop at a Carefree-area studio leads directly into the lighting.
The same weekend, Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center in Carefree hosts the ThanksLiving Music Fest from Black Friday, Nov. 27, through Cyber Monday, Nov. 30. Overnight packages start at $449 per person.
Eight December nights at the same pavilion
After the tree is lit, the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion stays busy. The Carefree Cave Creek Chamber's December calendar lists Chanukah in Carefree at the pavilion for eight evenings in a row, Dec. 4 through Dec. 11, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. each night.
Taken together, a single covered stage in the middle of town hosts the Christmas concert on Nov. 28 and eight nights of Chanukah a week later. Most of Carefree's December happens within a short walk of the Desert Gardens, so you can make a quick evening of it.
One night at Harmony Hollow
The last date on the calendar opens the most private space of all. On Friday, Dec. 18, the Luminaria Walk at Harmony Hollow begins at 6 p.m. Walkers meet at the Spur Cross Conservation Area parking lot. The Town of Cave Creek's calendar listing lists the event as free.
Harmony Hollow is a 28-acre riparian property in the Spur Cross area. Cave Creek residents Steve and Lori Greenberg have restored it and continue to care for it. The house on the property dates to the 1970s and was built by artist Jeffrey Cross. For the walk, about a mile of trail is lined with luminarias, and guests walk it at their own pace, self-guided.
The Cave Creek Guide listing spells out what to bring:
- Sturdy shoes, since the route has gentle elevation changes and some rocky ground.
- Layers for an outdoor evening.
- A flashlight if you need extra light. Organizers ask walkers to leave headlamps at home so the lit path stays calm for everyone.
Hot chocolate and cookies are free. The event has no charge, and donations go to the Desert Foothills Land Trust.
The season by date
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 20–22, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Hidden in the Hills, weekend one | 38 studios across Cave Creek, Carefree and north Scottsdale | Free |
| Nov. 27–29, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Hidden in the Hills, weekend two | Same studios | Free |
| Nov. 27–30 | ThanksLiving Music Fest | Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center, Carefree | Overnight packages from $449 per person |
| Nov. 28, 10 a.m. | Kiwanis Christmas for the Kids | Listed on the Town of Carefree calendar | Not listed |
| Nov. 28, 5 p.m. | Carefree Lights Up! | Carefree Desert Gardens, then Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion | Free hot chocolate |
| Dec. 4–11, 5:30–9 p.m. | Chanukah in Carefree | Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion | Not listed |
| Dec. 18, from 6 p.m. | Luminaria Walk at Harmony Hollow | Meet at Spur Cross Conservation Area parking lot | Free; donations to Desert Foothills Land Trust |
Why the studio tour still opens the season
All of these events share a format. Each runs for a set window and invites the public into a space that is closed the rest of the year. Hidden in the Hills set that pattern 30 years ago, when artists first opened their studio doors to show what they were making. The Independent notes that the basic idea has barely changed, even though nearly everything around it has. The first chance to see that this year is Friday at 10 a.m., when Studio No. 2 above Grapevine Wash opens for the 30th time.
If you own a home in Cave Creek or Carefree and are thinking about when, and to whom, it should be shown, Hague Luxury Network can take you through a private, well-timed plan. Request a Confidential Consultation.
