March 2025. I was headed back to Arizona.
I had previously spent time in Phoenix, Tempe and Sedona in 2018, but the plan this time was to check out the Grand Canyon and other to-be-decided spots that were new and interesting.
I did one of my favorite things and perused Google Maps — The first thing I noticed? Tucson, just 1.5 hours south of Phoenix, is surrounded by some pretty serious nature. Most obviously, the sprawling Saguaro National Park surrounds both the west and east of Tucson, but there is much, much more.
Mount Lemmon, Gates Pass, and Sabino Canyon (among others) all provide an additional treasure trove of outdoor experiences — experiences I would argue that are lesser known and under-appreciated in the minds of many who have never ventured to Tucson. Over a few days, these places etched themselves into my memories forever and I implore you to experience them in person or at least here, virtually.
This is 2.5 days in Tucson: Cacti, Canyons, and a Cookie Cabin.
Swig
After a long flight from Philadelphia and being dropped in hot weather, an ice cold drink sounded amazing. We had heard about Swig and were interested in trying it!
So, what is Swig? It’s (mostly) a drink drive-thru specializing in unique and creative twists on sodas, starting with a base of typical products such as Coke or Pepsi offerings. You can get all sorts of combinations of ingredients from coconut to lavender to vanilla and chocolate to fruit puree. I was really impressed with what I sampled and how little the finished mix resembled the original soda flavor the recipe began with. While a regular soda is still my favorite, Swig is a unique experience that the adventurous soda lover will at least appreciate, if not thoroughly enjoy. Most locations of Swig are in Utah.
Grimaldi’s Pizza
We saw an ad for Grimaldi’s Pizza upon arrival in the PHX airport and, feeling completely starving from the flight, knew we had to have it. Immediately. After getting the rental car, we made Grimaldi’s one of our first stops and really enjoyed the entire experience, especially the cozy Italian ambiance.
We got a margherita pizza and salad. Both hit the spot. While this isn’t a must-hit spot in Phoenix, Grimaldi’s was a great stop for us famished travelers and I’d go back without hesitation. The tab was about $45 after tax and tip — a bit more than a normal lunch out — but we had some nice leftovers!
Gate’s Pass
Gate’s Pass is a popular spot for sunsets and, arriving in town just before sunset, this was the first official Tucson stop of the trip. It did not disappoint.
Driving around the Gate’s Pass area is absolutely stunning. The road curves around the cactus-lined mountainsides and I couldn’t believe some of the sights. I’ve seen a lot of sunsets over the years, and while this one was pretty standard, the landscape was really pretty to take in, especially after a long day of traveling. Fortunately, there was a second chance to experience Gates Pass the following morning on the way to Saguaro National Park West. I still would love some more time to hike and photograph this area.
Eegee’s
A Tucson fast food staple, Eegee’s is named after their frozen fruit beverages. For my fellow Philadelphia-area friends, it is similar to a water ice or an Icee, but made with more natural ingredients and includes fresh fruit — which also results in less calories.
While the eegee was served with a straw, a spoon was definitely the accomplice of choice for quite some time. The menu also offers sub sandwiches, chicken tenders, french fries and more. I had the turkey sub and was surprised by the roll — Compared to a typical roll, it was slightly dense but fluffy at the same time, very much like a potato roll. Eegee’s is fun and local, and it was exciting to point out locations around town.
Driving to Saguaro National Park (West)
Given the remarkable landscape along the way, driving from our hotel in downtown Tucson through Gate’s Pass to get to Saguaro National Park was half the fun.
The drive is lined with tumultuous terrain, saguaro cacti (above) and even prickly pear cacti (below)!
Saguaro National Park (West)
Pronounced suh-whar-oh, Saguaro National Park is named after the large, iconic cacti that grow in Arizona and in particularly large quanities in the park. Compared to the east side of the park, the West side is the more popular side and is known for having a larger quantity of saguaro cacti (though the east has older saguaros).
Red Hills Visitor Center
A great first stop, the Red Hills Visitor Center has information, a film, bathrooms and some noticeably nice souvenirs. This is also where you can pay the park’s entrance fee. While access to the West side of the park did not seem restricted in any way without paying the entry fee, it is certainly the right thing to do to support the park and its ongoing maintenance.
Cactus Garden Trail
Also located at the visitor center is the Cactus Garden Trail. This trail can be done in several minutes and includes examples of numerous cactus and plants found in the park along with fun facts that provide helpful insight into the ecosystem.
Signal Hill Trail
Just 0.3 miles to Signal Hill (it really is just a small hill), this trail shows Hohakam tribe petroglyphs on the the red rocks and provides a nice 360 degree panoramic view of the park. Spiral petroglyph designs are pretty common. These rock inscriptions are believed to date back to 300-1450 AD.
Valley View Overlook Trail
This short trail winds you along desert landscape and ultimately leads to a really beautiful overlook of the area surrounding park including the surprisingly steep drop off into the valley. With more time, I would have liked to explore some of the side trails in this area!
Fun Facts about saguaro cacti
- They grow extremely slowly.
- They won’t begin growing any arms until 50 or 75 years old, so the more arms on one, the older you know it must be.
- They are considered an adult at about 115 or 125 years old.
- They have a very strong wood-like “skeleton” that can support huge size and weight. This also means they will not explode if you drive a truck into them. Stories I’ve heard can confirm this.
- Animals, such as owls, sometimes burrow in them
- Exposure to 24+ hours of freezing temperatures will significantly harm and potentially destroy them
- If a saguaro is growing on your property, it is a felony to remove it
- They have been known to live as old as 200-300 years
El Charro
While the Tucson itinerary is mostly about the amazing nature, I suspect many people do not realize that Tucson is renowned for its food, particularly the local dishes and flavors inspired by Mexican recipes.
One such Mexican restaurant, El Charro, claims to be the oldest Mexican restaurant in the United States in continuous operation by the same family. That’s a bit of a tongue twister but the point is clear — this restaurant has been around since 1922 and something like that doesn’t happen by accident. If you’re still not impressed, they claim to have invented the chimichanga. I didn’t travel all the way to Tucson to NOT try this spot.
The experience started with warm chips and one of the best salsas I’ve ever had. I ate it too fast to really break down the flavors, but it reminded me a bit of a marinara sauce. Simple, unique and delectable.
For my main entree, I had the Chicken Al’ Pastor. Full of flavor and happiness.
All in all, El Charro was one of my favorite meals of the entire Arizona trip and I’d go back next time in Tucson. It seems like this restaurant ain’t going anywhere any time soon.
Old Town Artisans
While in the neighborhood, a visit to Old Town Artisans, located just a couple blocks away from El Charro, is an easy choice. This collection of tiny shops shares a central courtyard and garden.
The unpredictable maze of rooms features local vendors and unique gifts, souvenirs and original crafts and creations. It’s really fun to peruse the rooms and lose track of where you are. It was a fun way to spend at least 20 or 30 minutes, and maybe even much more, supporting small, local vendors.
Saguaro National Park East
From the West side of the park, Saguaro National Park East requires cutting across Tucson about 45 minutes. Upon arrival, there is immediately a visitor center with information, bathrooms and souvenirs.
Not far beyond is the entry gate to the 8-mile scenic drive, which winds you around the desert landscape with plenty of pull offs, trails, and informational signs to explore.
This side of the park features fewer saguaro cacti than the west side, but has the oldest saguaro in the park. By this time of day, the sun was lowering in the sky for the 6:35pm sunset resulting in some really cool views of the cacti. I noticed a lot of people gathered at the Javellina Rock for sunset and, if I had another chance, I would do the same! While this side of the park is less visited compared to the West, it’s definitely worth making the most of your admission ticket and visiting this section of the park if you have the time.
Mount Lemmon
Truly a world class experience, Mount Lemmon is my absolute favorite nature in Tucson. This is the thing to do.
To experience Mount Lemon, you wind your way up and around the mountain 25 miles on a two lane road, ultimately reaching 9,000+ feet of elevation. All the along the way, there are countless opportunities to explore pull-offs, overlooks, diverse nature and trails.
It’s really remarkable — At the base of the mountain, you may experience summer weather and, by the time you make it to the little town of Summerhaven at the top, the mountain-top ski lodge is open and people are skiing. With such a diverse range of elevation and temperature from top to bottom, you can actually watch the change in the ecosystems before your eyes. You’ll go from plentiful saguaro cacti at the base, to smaller trees and bushes, to entirely pine trees at the top.
I only had a chance to hit the highlights of Mount Lemmon, but I could have easily spent days exploring this drive. I spent an hour at Windy Vista overlook alone, which is the most-popular stop on the drive and I can totally understand why. There are amazing rock formations, valley views and hiking and climbing opportunities.
The Cookie Cabin
Even with all the gorgeous, jaw dropping nature along the way, the most beautiful sight awaits at the top of the moutain — the Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin.
The fact that this place exists is nothing short of amazing and really locked in Tucson for me.
In addition to their huge cookies, the Cookie Cabin also serves pizza and a “sampler” cookie, which features every cookie flavors as one mega cookie. Could life get any more beautiful than this!
It didn’t really matter how good the pizza and cookies tasted, I knew I would love it. Both menu items were decent and symbolic in ways difficult to describe.
Summerhaven
The town of Summerhaven also features several other interesting shops and eateries as well as some lodgings. At the community center, there is a bathroom with all the modern bells and whistles, which is great after the the life-saving but primitive bathrooms that are occasionally available along the drive up.
Only hitting the most important stops, this ended up being a 4 hour experience. I would absolutely love to go back to explore more and maybe even spend a night or two atop the mountain in Summerhaven.
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area
Visiting Sabino Canyon is a really nice compliment to climbing the summit of Mount Lemmon — rather than being on the side and top of a mountain looking down into canyons and valleys, you are now in a canyon instead. It’s a fresh perspective.
Sabino Canyon offers a tram ride called “THE CRAWLER” that takes riders “9 stops” all the way into the canyon with a 30-minute headphone narrated tour. While you don’t need to take the tram ride, I suspect many visitors (who are not regulars) do. Once all the way into the canyon, you have the option to ride the tram back or to walk back nearly 4 miles and explore at your own pace.
In my opinion, while there are 9 stops you can exit the tram ride on heading into the canyon, the best nature and views are all the way in the canyon. You would be wasting an amazing opportunity if you exited sooner. And if you’re able, I do recommend walking back. Not only do you see all the details of this beautiful canyon, you feel them. The size and peace of the canyon can only be experienced when you are by your lonesome walking it, soaking it it all in.
The tram driver reported that this was the first time the canyon had water in 10 months. This is crazy to imagine. How lucky to see it like this!
There are plenty of bathrooms along the route, but there’s hardly any shade from the sun. I wouldn’t do this hike in the heat of the summer, especially in the heat of the day. It is also worth noting that there is a fee to enter and park in Sabino Canyon that is separate from the tram ride fee.
Sodalicious
Similar to Swig, Sodalicious offers a variety of special soda recipes. While you can find some really creative flavors, I found Swig’s products to be better. However, I like the name Sodalicous better. In any case, I was excited to try this spot!
BK Tacos
BK Tacos came highly recommended to me for their Sonoran Hot Dog. What’s a Sonoran Hot Dog? It’s a classic Tucson area menu item and it truly packs a punch. After being wrapped in bacon, this hot dog is topped with whole pinto beans, grilled onions, diced tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and, in this case, a jalapeño sauce with a side of grilled yellow pepper. It is served on a light but doughy roll.
Rolling up to BK Tacos, it’s a bit difficult to get a read on the place, but once inside there’s a cozy interior, a toppings bar, and plenty of friendly service. To start, we got the guacamole and chips. It is extremely rare that a serving of guac is so large that we don’t finish it, but this was that exception, even for how good it was. For my main entrees, of course, I order the Sonoran Hot Dog, plus a Chicken Taco for good measure.
The Sonoran Hot Dog is messy and bursting with flavor. In fact, it’s tough to break down all the flavor going on here because so much happens all at once. Given the amount of ingredients, it’s difficult to grasp it. All I know is it is delicious.
My chicken taco arrived truly with just chicken on a tortilla. However, with the toppings bar and spare guacamole, the taco quickly had plenty of additional toppings. The taco wasn’t particularly interesting, but the Sonoran Hot Dog more than made up for it.
Downtown Tucson Nightlife
The headline of visiting Tucson was 100% the amazing nature and food, but checking out the downtown nightlife scene was worth a try. A few interesting spots included Borderlands Brewing, Crooked Tooth Brewing, the Sky Bar, Che’s Lounge and most certainly Tigers Taproom in the famous and historic Congress Hotel.
Final Words on Tucson
Oh gosh, how do I say this. Tucson left a lasting impression on me. The funny thing is that I heard a lot comments that might discourage someone from visiting and I understand where those feelings are coming from. The town of Tucson might not be very glamorous or polished but the nature around it is too prominent to ignore. Ultimately, I can’t believe this area doesn’t get more love. If Tucson tidied up the town a little bit and leaned into all the nature it has to offer, it could become a big time, major destination. What I saw and experienced is the real deal. World class. As it currently stands, Tucson is a hidden gem…But that could easily change.
Next Stop: Grand Canyon
Tucson was just the first stop of this trip. Still ahead was the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix, Cactus League Baseball and more.
