Things to do around Tucson

Tucson has so much to offer! There’s great riding on over 200 miles of bike paths. As good as the riding, the hiking is even better! The hiking is surprisingly varied given that you are in the desert. There are great museums, cultural events and restaurants.

Cycling

Tucson has a lot of bike paths. This is the official bike path map of Tucson. The really nice paths are the purple ones surrounding the city. Tucson is famous for “The Loop”. Check it out here. It’s great cycling and has a ton of art on it.
There is an informal tandem group in nearby Oro Valley. They may have a ride going on while you are in town. You can join the group by emailing us. You can always unsubscribe when you get back home.
We run our Southern Arizona tour from the Lodge on the Desert. We have some routes you can use that start there.

Hiking

All Trails has hikes throughout Tucson. Some of our favorites are:

For more, see the Tucson Hiking Guide.

Attractions

As for things to do in the area, depending on your interests:
  • Arizona Sonora Desert Museum – if you go, make sure to see what time the raptor show is and don’t miss it.
  • Titan Missile Museum
  • Kartchner Caverns
  • Saguaro East NP – this is a great cycling loop (AZ8), but there is also a lot of great hiking there.
  • Saguaro West NP – the visitor’s center here is really good.
  • Sabino Canyon Recreation Area – your National Parks pass gets you in. There are great hikes. They also have a road that goes up the canyon that you have to take a bus to see (or walk). However at around 5pm, the busses stop running and they let bikes go in. It is only about 4 miles in and out (8 miles total), but it is quite lovely. Time it so that the sun is setting as you are finishing the ride for some spectacular views.
  • Pima Air and Space Museum
  • Tohono Chul and the Tucson Botanical Gardens are two separate botanical gardens. Each is quite nice. Unless you are really into gardening, you probably don’t need to do both.
  • Drive up Mount Lemmon – you could also ride up Mount Lemmon. There is an audio guide that you can download. Its in a free app called “Mt Lemmon Science Tour“. Windy Point is about 2/3rds up the mountain. There are rock formations there and you get a birds eye view of Tucson. We have gotten take out dinner (like Panera salads) and brought it up there to relax and watch the sunset. Be sure to check the forecast as it can be chilly and windy there.
  • Tubac has great art galleries.
  • The University of Arizona has a facility that makes enormous mirrors for telescopes. They are in the process of building mirrors for the Giant Magellan Telescope to be installed in a remote part of Chile in about ten years. This will entail seven 28 foot mirrors. The lab is located underneath the U of A football stadium. They give tours of the lab. See here for more details.
  • Check out Kitt Peak Observatory. They had a fire there and were closed for a couple of years, but they are open again now.
  • The Rolling Thru Time Auto Museum opened recently. It is only open Thursday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
  • Tour some of the great murals around town.
  • The Tucson area also has some of the best sport rock climbing anywhere! If you are looking for a guide, check out these guys.
The This Is Tucson website is a great resource to find stuff to do around town.

Restaurants

Here is what we tell folks from our Southern Arizona tour about restaurants:
  • There is a good Italian restaurant called Locale Neighborhood Italian a block from the Lodge on the Desert hotel. They take reservations for 8 or more people. There is nice outdoor seating. Closed Mondays
  • Also walking distance from the Lodge on the Desert hotel is Azian with Korean BBQ and sushi. Closed Mondays
  • You have additional dinner options if you have a car. We recommend Wild Garlic Grill, but you will need to drive there. Closed Mondays
  • We have also enjoyed, Wildflower, New American Cuisine. We especially like their outdoor seating area. Open Mondays
As you may know, we have relocated to the Tucson area. We have not been to many restaurants as we generally prefer to eat at home; however, one of our neighbors had a bunch of restaurants to recommend. I put these order by type of food and then alphabetically. They seem to be partial to Italian food.
Italian:
Botega Michaelangelo – 420 W Magee Rd – Closed Mondays
Caffe Torino – 10325 N La Canada Dr – Closed Mondays
Perche’ No – 46 W Congress St – Closed Mondays
Tavolino – 2890 E Skyline Dr – Closed Mondays
Trattoria Pina – 5541 N Swan Rd – Closed Mondays
Vivace – 6440 N Campbell – Open Mondays!
New American:
Maynards – 400 N Toole Ave – located at the historic Hotel Congress – Closed Mondays
Mexican:
El Charro Cafe – a chain with four locations in Tucson – Open Mondays
Regional:
Hacienda del Sol – 5501 N Hacienda Del Sol Rd. – Circa 1929, Southwestern-style property set amid desert landscapes with a regional restaurant – Open Mondays
Seafood:
Kingfisher Bar and Grill – 2564 E Grant Road – Open Mondays
Steakhouse:
HiFalutin Rapid Western Grill – 6780 N Oracle Rd – Open Mondays
Casual Food Near Mount Lemmon: 
We recently discovered the Tandem American Eatery, located on Tanque Verde not far from the base of Mount Lemmon. Expect decent food, large portions, a great restaurant name and quick service. This is a perfect place to have dinner after watching the sun set over Windy Point on Mount Lemmon.
Here is a link to the Trip Advisor restaurant guide. It is useful since it shows which restaurants have outdoor seating and which ones deliver.
Enjoy Tucson!