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Tucson is surrounded by sky-island mountain ranges, sprawling cactus forests, and a string of artsy historic towns. We've spent years exploring this corner of southern Arizona; these guides cover the trips that have earned a permanent spot on our calendar.
Mission San Xavier del Bac is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona — a stark white 1797 Spanish colonial church rising out of the Tohono O'odham Nation, 9 miles south of Tucson.
Sabino Canyon is Tucson's backyard — a creek-fed canyon at the foot of the Santa Catalinas with year-round water, an electric shuttle, and some of the most underrated swimming holes in southern Arizona.
Arizona's first designated American Viticultural Area sits an hour south of Tucson at 5,000 feet, where the grasslands roll out to the Mexican border. It's also the prettiest drive most Arizonans have never done.
Catalina State Park is the easiest way to feel like you've left Tucson without actually leaving. Dense saguaros, real mountains, and the Romero Pools hike that ends in a chain of granite swimming holes.
More than 250 bird species, 15 species of hummingbird, and the only place in the U.S. where you might see an elegant trogon — Madera Canyon is a one-hour drive from Tucson and worth every minute.
Saguaro National Park is split into two halves with Tucson sandwiched between them. They're not interchangeable — the eastern Rincon district and the western Tucson Mountain district feel like different parks. Here's how to pick the right one for the day you have.
Tombstone gets dismissed as a Wild West tourist trap, and parts of it earn that label. But strip away the costumed re-enactors and you're left with a remarkably intact 1880s silver-mining town that's genuinely worth a half day from Tucson.
Tucson sits at the convergence of the Sonoran Desert and four sky-island mountain ranges. That gives it a day-trip radius that runs from saguaro forests to pine-covered 9,000-foot peaks. Here are the 12 trips locals actually take.
