Tucson is located in southern Arizona, 116 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix. Tucson’s southwestern culture provides unique cuisine, artwork and crafts. The city is home to the University of Arizona and has several quality golf courses. Here are three activities you shouldn’t miss on a trip to Tucson:
Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park has two districts in Tucson – the Tucson Mountain District, also called Saguaro West, and the Rincon Mountain District, also called Saguaro East. Entrance fees are charged at both locations, which are approximately 30 miles apart. In addition to viewing hundreds of giant Saguaro cacti and desert wildlife, the park offers hiking and biking trails. Saguaro East ranges in elevation from 2,670 feet to 8,666 feet at the top of Mica Mountain, where the landscape breaks from desert flora and features Ponderosa Pines, Douglas Firs, Alligator Junipers and Aspen trees. The real highlight in the park, though, is the Saguaro cacti, which are found only in the Sonoran Desert stretching from southeastern California and southern Arizona down to northwestern Mexico. The Saguaro cactus produces white flowers with yellow centers – the state flower of Arizona – that are in bloom in May and June and open up at night. Saguaro grow incredibly slowly but can reach heights of 15 to 50 feet; the largest in Saguaro National Park are estimated to be 200 years old.
Contact:
Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center: 520-733-5153
Tucson Mountain District Visitor Center: 520-733-5158
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum combines a zoo, botanical garden and natural history museum. View 300 animal species native to southern Arizona, such as mountain lions, Gila monsters, prairie dogs and a variety of birds, including a hummingbird habitat. There are more than two miles of paths through the 21-acre desert museum, which also has 1,200 types of plants. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum offers classes, interpretive programs, bird walks and daily demonstrations involving desert mammals, birds and reptiles. The Raptor Free Flight demonstration, which runs from late October through early April, features roadrunners, Ferruginous Hawks, owls and Harris Hawks. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has an on-site restaurant and cafe, and a gift shop with a variety of local-made artwork and crafts.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85743
520-883-2702
desertmuseum.org
Old Tucson Studios
Old Tucson Studios, also known as Hollywood in the Desert, transports visitors back to the old west, with western stunt shows, gunfights, musical saloon acts and tours of movie and TV show filming sets. More than 300 film and TV projects have been shot at Old Tucson Studios since 1939, including “Rio Bravo,” “Gunfight at the OK Corral,” “The Three Amigos” and scenes from “Tombstone.” TV shows that filmed at Old Tucson Studios include “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie.” There are car, train and trail rides, a shooting gallery, an indoor mine and a gold-panning area, as well as a handful of restaurants and shops. Visit Tucson during the month of October for Nightfall at Old Tucson Studios, when everything in the studio takes on a Halloween theme and activities include a haunted train ride and a variety of pyrotechnic and stunt shows.
Old Tucson Studios
201 S. Kinney Road
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-883-0100
oldtucson.com
