Tucson, Arizona: Saguaro National Park & Sonora Desert

The Area

Art Galleries •  Astronomy •  Ballooning •  Bicycling •  Bird Watching • Dining
Festivals Crafts & Fairs •  Gambling •  Ghost Towns •  Golf •  Hiking • Historic Sites
Horseback Riding •  Hunting & Fishing • Missions & Churches • Museums & Art Exhibits
Night Life •  Parks • Rock Climbing •  Skiing •  Sports •  Tours

From desert floor to alpine forest in 60 minutes, from fine dining at Maynard’s Kitchen while watching the Southern Pacific trains roll by to a cowboy steak at Pinnacle Peak Restaurant inTrail Dust Town, you can create amazing adventures in a single day from Rancho Merlita! Tucson ranks in the top 10 for clean air, best town for trail runners, best cycling city, best city for triathlete training, accommodations and visitor destinations in North America. Our in-house Certified Tourism Ambassador Innkeeper will help you with choices and reservations.

Towering saguaro cactus populate hiking and bicycling trails in Saguaro National Park, while the sound of running water surrounds you in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Prepare for the El Tour de Tucson, bicycling up the Catalina Highway into the cool sky island of the Coronado National Forest, or become a caballero as you horseback into one of our famous Sonora Desert sunsets. You are only 10 minutes away at El Rancho Merlita Ranch House Bed and Breakfast. Go back in time 200,000 years when you enter the world-renowned Kartchner Caverns, a beautiful 60 minute drive, or see if you can find the elusive bag of gold only 15 minutes away at the locally famous Colossal Cave.

Art Galleries

Art by Illene
Chris Bubany Studio
Conrad Wilde Gallery
David Dominquez Gallery
Gallery West
HF Coors Dinnerware
Madaras Gallery
Obsidian Gallery
Old Town Artisans
Philabaum Glass Studio & Gallery
Sara Spanjers’ Casita de Arte
Downtown Art Gallery

Astronomy

Our dry desert night air is great for astronomy and star gazing! Stay at the Ranch House Bed and Breakfast Inn and look up from our star gazing patio, or venture out to Kitt Peak National Observatory to see iridescent hues swirl as you look closely at a nebula through one of their powerful telescopes.

Kitt Peak National Observatory
Mt. Lemmon Sky Center
Starizona
Steward Observatory Mirror Lab
University of Arizona Flandrau Planetarium

Ballooning

Fleur de Tucson Balloon Tours
Southern Arizona Balloon Excursions

Bicycling

Broadway Bicycles

Carmichael Training Systems

Catalina Scenic Byway
Fair Wheel Bikes
Fantasy Island
Old Spanish Trail
Rillito River Park Trail
Sabino Canyon
Saguaro National Park
Tucson Bicycles

Bird Watching

Enjoy bird watching from the back porch of the Ranch House, or allow the cry of a red tail hawk to lure you beyond the accommodations of our Tucson Bed and Breakfast.

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Cave Creek Canyon Recreational Area
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
Madera Canyon
Nature’s Hideaway at Discovery Park
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve

Price Canyon Dude Ranch – Chiricahua Mountains

Ramsey Canyon Preserve
San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
Swift Trail
Wilcox Playa Wildlife Area

Dining

Southwestern cuisine abounds with Sizzling fajitas, Tohono O’odham inspired soups and world famous mesquite grilled Cowboy steaks or ribs. Our favorite restaurants for dining include the fabulous Mexican Food at the famous El Charro Café and the mouth watering French-inspired Southwestern Cuisine at Janos Restaurant, another Tucson original.

Amber
Anthony’s
Cup Café inside Hotel Congress
El Charro Mexican Café
El Corral
El Minuto Café
Eclectic Café & Pizza
Feast
Flying V Bar & Grill
Frost
Gavi Italian Restaurant
Ghini’s French Café
J Bar A Latin Grill
Janos Restaurant
Jax Kitchen
Jonathan’s Tucson Cork
Kingfisher Bar & Grill
Le-Delice
Le Rendez-vous
Maynard’s Market & Kitchen
Mi Nidito
Montana Avenue
Nimbus Brewery
Pastiche Modern Eatery
Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse
Tohono Chul Park Tea Room
Zona 78

Festivals, Crafts & Fairs

Wanna rock? The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is the largest gem and mineral show in the United States. For two weeks prior to the show, the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase springs up at nearly 50 sites around town. At the Fourth Avenue Street Fair meet the artists while you shop for everything from paintings and metal sculptures to local organic foods and handmade jewelry.

Fourth Avenue Street Fair
Holiday Craft Market
Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase

Historic Sites

“Hanged by Mistake,” reads a tombstone at Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, an authentic old western town. In Bisbee take one of the tours deep into the famous Copper Queen Mine, or wander among architectural gems from southern Arizona’s golden mining era, or should we say copper era.

Arizona Folklore Preserve
Arizona Historical Society
Barrio Historico
Bisbee, Arizona
Black Hills Rockhound Area
Cochise Stronghold
Dankworth Village
Downtown Walking Tour
Fourth Avenue
Morenci Copper Mine
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
Old Pueblo Trolly
Old Tucson Studios
Queen Mine Tours
Signal Hill Petroglyphs
Summerhaven
Tombstone, Arizona
Trail Dust Town
Tubac Presidio State Historic Park
Valley of the Moon

Horseback Riding

Arizona Horseback Experience
Hacienda Del Sol Stables
Pusch Ridge Stables

Hunting & Fishing

King Guide Service
Patagonia Lake

Safari Club International
San Carlos Lake

Missions & Churches

Church Square
DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun
El Tiradito “The Wishing Shrine”
Garden of Gethsemane
Holy Trinity Monastery
Mission San Xavier del Bac
Our Lady of the Sierras Shrine
San Pedro Chapel
St. Ann’s Catholic Church
St. Augustine Cathedral
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
St. Philip’s in the Hills
Tumacacori National Historical Park

Museums & Art Exhibits

Bright red masks with horns, straw and “carnival” faces will remind you of eastern gods … but surprise! They are a small sampling of the local folk art collection you will find among the varied collections at the Tucson Museum of Art. The Museum is one of many museums in the downtown area known as El Presidio including some of the oldest buildings in Tucson. Drive over Gates Pass in the Tucson Mountains for spectacular views and see the unique flora and fauna of the AZ Sonoran desert on display at the zoo-like Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.

Amerind Foundation & Museum
Arizona Historical Society Museum
Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum
Arizona State Museum
ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center
Biosphere 2
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum
Center for Creative Photography
Fort Lowell Museum
International Wildlife Museum
Jewish History Museum
Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
Pima Air & Space Museum
Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum
Titan Missile Museum
Tucson Children’s Museum
Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum
University of Arizona Museum of Art

Night Life

Downtown nightlife in Tucson is active. Waves of live music beckon as you eat classic candy from the Chocolate Iguana on 4th Avenue. There is always something happening at the Hotel Congress, one of the most popular places to go in downtown Tucson. Great food, great music and great ghosts stories will make for a memorable evening. Catch a top musician at the Rialto Theatre or see a film at the vintage Fox Theater. Check out what’s playing at the Temple of Music and Art or find gambling at one of the two casinos located on the nearby Tohon O-odham Indian Reservation.

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music
Arizona Opera
Arizona Theatre Company at the Temple of Music and Art
Ballet Arizona
Ballet Tucson
Beowulf Alley Theatre Company
Broadway in Tucson
Chamber Music PLUS
Fox Tucson Theatre
Live music always playing. Check with us for current venue.
The Rialto Theater
Tucson Jazz Society
Tucson Symphony Orchestra

Parks

The cry of a red tail hawk lures you out the front door of our Tucson Bed and Breakfast. Towering saguaro cactus stud trails in Saguaro National Park, while the sound of running water guides your hike in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Prepare for the El Tour de Tucson as you bicycle up the Catalina Highway into the cool sky island of the Coronado National Forest, or become a caballero as you horseback into one of our famous Sonora Desert sunsets. You are only 10 minutes away at El Rancho Merlita Ranch House Bed and Breakfast. Go back in time 200,000 years when you enter the world-renowned Kartchner Caverns, a beautiful 60 minute drive, or see if you can find the elusive bag of gold only 15 minutes away at the locally famous Colossal Cave.

Agua Caliente
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Catalina State Park
Colossal Cave Mountain Park
Coronado National Memorial & Coronado Cave
Grand Canyon National Park
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Murray Springs and Garden Canyon
Oracle State Park
Picacho Peak State Park
Reid Park Zoo
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
Saguaro National Park East & West
Tohono Chul Park
Tucson Botanical Gardens