Tucson, AZ

[mommyofthreeboys]

I'll be spending 5 weeks in Tucson, AZ for work. What is there to do on the weekends? I'll have a rental car and I am up for a drive. Just not sure I will be able to handle the 7 hours to Disneyland....even though I am really tempted!!!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I have to admit, Tucson is not one of my favorite cities, but, there are some interesting things to do around there.

They have a zoo. But better yet, they have the Sonoran Desert Museum which is like a zoo with animals indigineous to the desert. They have Old Tucson, which is a movie studio which was used to film a lot of old westerns. Sabino Canyon is very close. If you're interested in history, there is an old mining town, Bisbee, not too far from Tucson. There are vinyards down towards Patagonia. You could check out Kartchner Caverns or Colossal Cave.

You are less than 2 hours away from Phoenix, so you could come up and visit some of our sites. Rawhide is a western town theme tourist place. We have a wonderful zoo and botanical garden.

You are 5-6 hours from San Diego for a quick weekend getaway.

 

[Huff]

Kartchner Caverns is awesome! One of the few living caves, very well done for visitors and a great visitors center. It's a state park and worth the visit. Colossul Caverns is neat but is a dead cave and rather crude but still worth seeing but no comparison to Kartchner.

Lots of great wineries if you're into wine tasting can be found around Sonoita and Elgin south of Tucson.

Bisbee is a very fun old town. The mine tour takes you deep underground.

Tombstone is always a fun day. Be sure to tour the Bird Cage Theater and Boot Hill Cemetery.

A drive up Mt. Lemon will take you to the pine forests and much colder weather. Theres even a small ski area there.

Ghost town of Fairbanks is worth the stop on the way to Tombstone. They've been slowly restoring a few of the buildings. The old train depot platform is still there. Thats the site of a famous shootout involving Wyatt Earp shortly after the OK Corral shootout in Tombstone.

 

[darph nader]

If you do decide to take the trip,take I-10 to I-8. At Gile Bend go north on the 87 to by-pass Phoenix. (not my favorite town )
Head west on I-10 again to the freeway of your choice,south to Anaheim.
Too bad you wont have the kids with you,they might get a kick out of the Pima Air and Space Museum.

 

[starshine514]

Just you, huh? Most of these would be more fun with others along...

Well, I'm just going to go down a list of possibilities:

• Reid Park Zoo
• Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (we went there today)
• Kartchner Caverns (a bit of a drive)
• Colossal Cave (a bit of a drive)
• Mystery Mansion Dinner Theatre
• International Wildlife Museum
• There are several art museums on the U of A campus
• Gaslight Theatre (a lot of fun)
• Biosphere 2 (a short drive to Catalina)
• San Xavier Mission
• Old Tucson Studios
• Pima Air and Space Museum
• Tucson Botanical Gardens
• Mini-time Machine Museum of Miniatures
• The 4th Avenue Street Fair will be happening April 1-3 (outdoor shopping festival)
• April 7-10 will be Spring Fling (rides, food, etc.)
• Pima County Fair April 14-24
• Arizona Renaissance Festival (Apache Junction) is running weekends now through April 3
• Phoenix Zoo
• World Wildlife Zoo and Aquarium (Litchfield Park)
• Sea Life Aquarium (Tempe)
• IMAX Theatre (Tempe, I think)
• Castles and Coasters (Phoenix area)
• and (my personal favorite) IKEA (Tempe, I think)
• We also did a Dolly Steamboat tour near Apache Junction at Canyon Lake. It was fun
• If you're an animal-type person, there's an Ostrich farm near Picacho that we drive by and talk about visiting, but never have.
• There's Sabino Canyon or Mt. Lemmon for hiking.
• Patagonia or Roosevelt lakes are reasonable drives
• And (of course) we're a little over an hour from the US/Mexico border, if you choose...most people head to Nogales for shopping, but I wouldn't go alone

 

[c4alymom]

The Ostrich Farm at Picacho Peak is a must do! We drove by it numerous times and finally made the stop. Well worth it for the kids and adults!