2025 SPE Annual Conference: Adaptations
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print this pageSuggestions for Sunday Afternoon Activities
Sunday, November 06 - 12:00PM to 10:00PM
Note: http://www.visittucson.org/ is a great place to find things to do in Tucson.
PARKS
Saguaro National Park
Tucson, Arizona is home to the nation's largest cacti. The giant saguaro is the universal symbol of the American west. These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park, to the east and west of the modern city of Tucson. Here you have a chance to see these enormous cacti, silhouetted by the beauty of a magnificent desert sunset.
• https://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm
• http://www.saguaronationalpark.com/
Saguaro National Park WEST (Tucson Mountain District)
The Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park ranges from an elevation of 2,180 ft to 4,687 ft and contains 2 biotic communities, desert scrub, and desert grassland. Average annual precipitation is approximately 10.27 in. Common wildlife include the coyote, Gambel’s quail, and desert tortoise.
Red Hills Visitor Center:
2700 N. Kinney Road
Tucson, Arizona
Phone: 520-733-5153
Open from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saguaro National Park EAST (Rincon Mountain District)
The Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park ranges from an elevation of 2,670 ft to 8,666 ft and contains 6 biotic communities. The biotic communities (starting from the lowest elevation) include desert scrub, desert grassland, oak woodland, pine-oak woodland, pine forest and mixed conifer forest. Average annual precipitation is approximately 12.30 in. The Rincon Mountains peak at a considerably higher elevation than the Tucson Mountains, therefore there are more biotic communities and increased plant and wildlife diversity. Because of the higher elevation in the Rincons, animals like the black bear, Mexican spotted owl, Arizona mountain king snake, and white-tailed deer live in this district.
3693 S. Old Spanish Trail
Tucson, Arizona
Phone: 520-733-5158
Open 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Catalina State Park
Catalina State Park sits at the base of the majestic Santa Catalina Mountains. The park is a haven for desert plants and wildlife and nearly 5,000 saguaros. The 5,500 acres of foothills, canyons and streams invites camping, picnicking and bird watching — more than 150 species of birds call the park home. The park provides miles of equestrian, birding, hiking, and biking trails which wind through the park and into the Coronado National Forest at elevations near 3,000 feet. The park is located within minutes of the Tucson metropolitan area.
Notes: If you have the time, I recommend the Romero Pools Hike!
11570 N Oracle Rd
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-628-5798
Open 5:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Web: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/CATA/index.html
Mount Lemmon / Summerhaven
Mount Lemmon (O'odham: Babad Doʼag), with a summit elevation of 9,159 feet, is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Summerhaven is the largest subdivision on the mountain, and home to approximately 40 permanent residents. It can be found by following the Catalina State Highway to the top of the mountain. Summerhaven is on average about 30 degrees cooler than Tucson, so bring your warm clothes!
Notes: Mount Lemmon is also home to the University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, for those interested in astronomy.
Directions: Find Catalina Highway on the northeast side of Tucson. Take it north and up the mountain! This will take about an hour and a half to the top, from Central Tucson.
Phone (US Forest Service – Sabino Canyon Visitor Center):
520-749-8700
Web: http://www.visittucson.org/listings/Mt-Lemmon-Summerhaven/25106/?fromMenu=0&maxshow=10
Gates Pass (County Park)
West of Tucson, along Speedway, is the popular sightseeing area of Gates Pass. Well known as the best sunset viewing site (and date spot), Gates Pass is one of the vantage points to watch the sun drop out of sight in the Tucson area.
Gate's Pass is an easily accessible hike whether you live in Tucson or visiting. If you have the time, you may use Gates Pass Road to reach other attractions such as Old Tucson Studios, Saguaro National Park West, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Directions: Take Speedway Blvd west out of town. The road will become Gates Pass Road.
Web:
• http://southernarizonaguide.com/gates-pass-slideshow/
• http://www.visittucson.org/listings/Tucson-Mountain-Park-and-Gates-Pass-Scenic-Overlook/23244/?fromMenu=0&maxshow=10
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Experience a stunning limestone cave in Southeastern Arizona that boasts world-class features. This “live” cave, discovered in 1974, is host to a wide variety of unique minerals and formations. Water percolates from the surface and calcite formations continue to grow, including stalactites dripping down like icicles and giant stalagmites reaching up from the ground. Tour guides will unveil this fascinating underground landscape during a memorable 1½ hour tour.
The Discovery Center features museums exhibits, a large gift shop, regional displays, theater, and educational information about the caverns and the surrounding landscape. There are also campgrounds, hiking trails, lockers, shaded picnic areas, a deli, an amphitheater, and a hummingbird garden.
Note: This attraction is about an hour from Central Tucson.
2980 AZ-90,
Benson, AZ
Phone: 520-586-2283
Directions: 9 mi. South of Benson on Hwy 90
Hours (Gate): 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Hours (Discovery Visitor Center): 9:00 AM – 5:00 P
Web: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/
Picacho Peak
Visitors traveling along I-10 in southern Arizona can’t miss the prominent 1,500-foot peak of Picacho Peak State Park. Enjoy the view as you hike the trails that wind up the peak and, often in the spring, overlook a sea of wildflowers. The park and surrounding area are known for its unique geological significance, outstanding and varied desert growth, and historical importance. The unique shape has been used as a landmark by travelers since prehistoric times.
The park facilities include a visitor center with exhibits and a gift store, hiking trails, playground, historical markers, campground, picnic areas, ramadas, grills, dump station, restrooms, and showers. The group use areas, for day & overnight use, are available by reservation. Before you hike, be prepared with enough water and proper footwear as the trails are steep and challenging.
P.O. Box 907
Eloy, AZ
Phone: 520-466-3183
Directions: I-10 Exit 219
Hours: 5:00 AM – 10:00 PM, everyday
Web: http://azstateparks.com/Parks/PIPE/
Botanical Gardens
A five-and-a-half-acre urban garden, Tucson Botanical Gardens is a lush and tranquil oasis in the heart of the city.
Built from the historic nursery and home of the Porter Family, the shaded Historic Gardens and the Porter House Gallery offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy eleven rotating exhibits annual. These focus on emerging and established local and regional artists whose themes interpret the flora, fauna, and landscape of desert regions.
2150 North Alvernon Way
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-326-9686
Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday, Sunday, 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Admission: $13
Web: https://www.tucsonbotanical.org/
MUSEUMS
Pima Air and Space Museum / Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Aircraft Bone Yard
The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world! Featuring over 300 historical aircrafts, from a Wright Flyer to a 787 Dreamliner. Sitting on 80 acres the museum opened its doors to the public in May of 1976. Over the past forty years, the museum has grown immensely and today encompasses five indoor exhibit hangars (two dedicated to WWII).
Docent-led walking tours and museum ground Tram Tours are offered daily. The museum is the exclusive offeror of bus tours of the 2,600-acre “Aircraft Boneyard”/U.S. military and government aircraft storage facility, Monday-Friday, non-federal holidays only.
6000 E. Valencia Road
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-574-0462
Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, everyday
Admission: $15.50
Tours of Boneyard: $7.00
Web: http://www.pimaair.org/
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The Desert Museum is ranked on TripAdvisor.com as one of the Top 10 Museums in the country and the #1 Tucson attraction. Unlike most museums, about 85% of the experience is outdoors!
The 98 acre Desert Museum is a fusion experience: zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history museum, and aquarium.
• 21 interpreted acres with two miles of walking paths through various desert habitats
• 230 animal species
• 1200 types of plants – 56,000 individual specimens
• One of the world’s most comprehensive regional mineral collections
Beyond merely an attraction, the Museum’s conservation and research programs are providing important information to help conserve the Sonoran Desert region.
2021 N. Kinney Rd
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-883-2702
Hours: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, everyday
Admission: $20.50
Web: http://www.desertmuseum.org/
Titan Missile Museum
The Titan Missile Museum is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality.
The Titan Missile Museum showcases the dramatic vestiges of the Cold War between the U.S. and former Soviet Union and provides a vivid education about the history of nuclear conflict-a history of keeping the peace.
At the Titan Missile Museum, near Tucson, Arizona, visitors journey through time to stand on the front line of the Cold War. This preserved Titan II missile site, officially known as complex 571-7, is all that remains of the 54 Titan II missile sites that were on alert across the United States from 1963 to 1987.
1580 W Duval Mine Rd
Green Valley, AZ
Phone: 520-625-7736
Hours: Sunday – Friday, 9:45 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday, 8:45 AM – 5:00 PM
Admission: $9.50
Web: http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/
Tucson Museum of Art
The Tucson Museum of Art and historic Block encompasses an entire city block in historic downtown, and features original and traveling exhibitions focusing on Art of Latin America, Art of the American West, Modern and Contemporary Art and Asian Art as well as tours, education programs, studio art classes, and Museum Store to delight and educate visitors.
140 North Main Avenue
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-624-2333
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Admission: $12
Web: https://www.tucsonmuseumofart.org/
Museum of Contemporary Art “MOCA”
Established by artists, MOCA is Tucson’s only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art from Tucson and around the globe. MOCA is committed to thinking globally, acting locally, and engaging with the ethics and aesthetics of contemporary life. Through varied programs, MOCA is Tucson’s primary educational resource for contemporary art and maintains a full exhibition, education, and artist-in-residence program.
265 South Church Avenue
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-624-5019
Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Admission: $8
Web: https://www.moca-tucson.org/
MONUMENTS
Mission San Xavier del Bac
A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church's interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It is a place where visitors can truly step back in time and enter an authentic 18th Century space.
The church retains its original purpose of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners.
1950 West San Xavier Road
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-294-2624
Hours: 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM, everyday
Web: http://www.sanxaviermission.org/
Cathedral of Saint Augustine
The Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. It is in the Spanish Colonial style and was opened in 1896, and retains its original purpose of ministering to the relivious needs of its parishioners.
192 South Stone Avenue
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-623-6351
Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, during the week
See Mass Schedule on website.
Web: http://cathedral-staugustine.org/index.html
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Ancient Pueblo Peoples Hohokam structures of the Pueblo III and Pueblo IV Eras.
The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century.
1100 West Ruins Drive
Coolidge, AZ
Phone: 520-723-3172
Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, everyday
Web: https://www.nps.gov/cagr/index.htm
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