Guidebook for Tucson
Food Scene
There are a bunch of places close by and others I just love!
Kingfisher
2564 E Grant RdGreat Happy Hour, Fine Dining
Dante's Fire
2526 E Grant RdGreat Food and Bands on weekends
Prep & Pastry
2660 N Campbell AveBest breakfast and lunch - usually packed on weekends
Blue Willow Restaurant
2616 N Campbell Avegreat breakfast and they serve dinner too
Sports bar with good food and a covered "outdoor" room with ping pong tables, shuffleboard and cornhole. This is walkable.
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Culinary Dropout
2543 E Grant RdSports bar with good food and a covered "outdoor" room with ping pong tables, shuffleboard and cornhole. This is walkable.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
2500 E Grant RdGreat breakfast!
Postino Grant
2500 E Grant RdGreat wine bar!
Penca
50 E Broadway BlvdGreat Tapas and excellent food!
Mexcian Food
Oldest Mexican Restaurant in Tucson - excellent Mexican Food - make a reservation!
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El Charro Café
311 N Court AveOldest Mexican Restaurant in Tucson - excellent Mexican Food - make a reservation!
Guadalajara Original Grill
1220 E Prince RdGreat Mexican food with salsa made tableside
Great choice of all sorts of tacos - the chef is also award winning
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BOCA Tacos Y Tequila
533 N 4th AveGreat choice of all sorts of tacos - the chef is also award winning
Tumerico
2526 E 6th StExcellent Vegan - a lot of twists on great mexican food
Vegan
Tumerico
2526 E 6th StGreat vegan mexican food (and other stuff too!)
Great Hikes
Linda Vista Trail makes a ragged loop through the desert landscape, with inner segments that allow hikers to customize their outing. Since I was in no hurry, I stuck to the longer outer segments, totaling 2.8 miles according to the trailhead map. To get most of the climbing out of the way early, take the trail clockwise.
It’s a twisting, rocky pathway but easy to follow. This would be a great route in spring as it weaves through big patches of brittlebush. In fact, a few renegade blooms were already open in early January, welcoming the new year.
Or go just before sunset when soft golden light swabs the peaks overhead. Views stretched back across the city as I reached the high point of the loop near the edge of a shallow canyon. The Linda Vista then angles back downhill to the trailhead.
An unmaintained trail points the way to the top of Pusch Peak but this steep, unstable path should only be attempted by experienced hikers. Also, that trail may be closed in winter due to bighorn sheep lambing season.
Details: From downtown Tucson, take Granada Avenue north (Granada becomes Main Avenue, then Oracle Road) to Oro Valley. Turn right on Linda Vista Drive. Trailhead is on the right. Free. 520-749-8700, https://www.fs.usda.gov/coronado.
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Linda Vista Trail
730 E Linda Vista RdLinda Vista Trail makes a ragged loop through the desert landscape, with inner segments that allow hikers to customize their outing. Since I was in no hurry, I stuck to the longer outer segments, totaling 2.8 miles according to the trailhead map. To get most of the climbing out of the way early, take the trail clockwise.
It’s a twisting, rocky pathway but easy to follow. This would be a great route in spring as it weaves through big patches of brittlebush. In fact, a few renegade blooms were already open in early January, welcoming the new year.
Or go just before sunset when soft golden light swabs the peaks overhead. Views stretched back across the city as I reached the high point of the loop near the edge of a shallow canyon. The Linda Vista then angles back downhill to the trailhead.
An unmaintained trail points the way to the top of Pusch Peak but this steep, unstable path should only be attempted by experienced hikers. Also, that trail may be closed in winter due to bighorn sheep lambing season.
Details: From downtown Tucson, take Granada Avenue north (Granada becomes Main Avenue, then Oracle Road) to Oro Valley. Turn right on Linda Vista Drive. Trailhead is on the right. Free. 520-749-8700, https://www.fs.usda.gov/coronado.
Connecting two trailheads, the Yetman Trail forms the long curving spine of Tucson Mountain Park. Named for David Yetman, an author, environmentalist and former Pima County supervisor, the lanky route delivers fantastic scenery without much elevation gain over its 6-mile length. Doing the whole thing as an out-and-back makes a long day, but connecting trails create other options.
Thick groves of saguaros cover the surrounding hillsides. At just over a mile, I come across the remains of an old stone house known as the Bowen Ranch. A newspaper editor built it during the 1930s. The big roofless ruin is anchored by two fireplaces and ringed by picture windows that are still filled with desert panoramas. Who knew a newspaperman could be so savvy?
The trail climbs to a small saddle with expansive views. The Rock Wren Trail comes in from the right at 2.2 miles but I stay on Yetman as it continues south then swings to the west.
Just past Cat Mountain I take the second junction for Rock Wren as it rises out of a wash and rambles across cactus-studded hills. Craggy cliffs tower overhead and the path squeezes between tall saguaros. Rock Wren reconnects with Yetman and I return to the trailhead, enchanted by the Tucson backcountry.
Details: From downtown Tucson, take Speedway Boulevard west to Camino de Oeste. Turn left and drive 0.6 mile to a parking area at the trailhead. Dogs are not allowed. Free. 520-724-5000, https://webcms.pima.gov.
Yetman Trail
Yetman TrailConnecting two trailheads, the Yetman Trail forms the long curving spine of Tucson Mountain Park. Named for David Yetman, an author, environmentalist and former Pima County supervisor, the lanky route delivers fantastic scenery without much elevation gain over its 6-mile length. Doing the whole thing as an out-and-back makes a long day, but connecting trails create other options.
Thick groves of saguaros cover the surrounding hillsides. At just over a mile, I come across the remains of an old stone house known as the Bowen Ranch. A newspaper editor built it during the 1930s. The big roofless ruin is anchored by two fireplaces and ringed by picture windows that are still filled with desert panoramas. Who knew a newspaperman could be so savvy?
The trail climbs to a small saddle with expansive views. The Rock Wren Trail comes in from the right at 2.2 miles but I stay on Yetman as it continues south then swings to the west.
Just past Cat Mountain I take the second junction for Rock Wren as it rises out of a wash and rambles across cactus-studded hills. Craggy cliffs tower overhead and the path squeezes between tall saguaros. Rock Wren reconnects with Yetman and I return to the trailhead, enchanted by the Tucson backcountry.
Details: From downtown Tucson, take Speedway Boulevard west to Camino de Oeste. Turn left and drive 0.6 mile to a parking area at the trailhead. Dogs are not allowed. Free. 520-724-5000, https://webcms.pima.gov.
Lower Tanque Verde Falls
A creek cuts a narrow canyon through the Rincon Mountains and that makes for one of the most popular adventures in Tucson — an outing to an 80-foot tall waterfall pouring into a large pool. At 2 miles round trip, this is the shortest hike. It starts with a steep half-mile descent into the canyon. While there’s nothing easy about the climb, things are about to turn even more challenging. Once in the canyon, you have to pick a route through the streambed. It’s mostly rock hopping and scrambling over boulders. There’s more climbing than hiking.
It’s a perilous trail and more than 30 people have died from drowning or falls. So this is not one to take lightly. Of course, when the water is low, travel through the canyon is easier. When it’s running high like in early January, it can be dicey.
Cascades spilled over rocks and through chutes all over the place. They filled the gorge with music, the symphony of splash.
Details: Drive east on Tanque Verde Road until it becomes Redington Road. Soon after the pavement ends, look for the signed parking area on the left. Free. 520-749-8700, www.fs.usda.gov/coronado.
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Tanque Verde Falls
Lower Tanque Verde Falls
A creek cuts a narrow canyon through the Rincon Mountains and that makes for one of the most popular adventures in Tucson — an outing to an 80-foot tall waterfall pouring into a large pool. At 2 miles round trip, this is the shortest hike. It starts with a steep half-mile descent into the canyon. While there’s nothing easy about the climb, things are about to turn even more challenging. Once in the canyon, you have to pick a route through the streambed. It’s mostly rock hopping and scrambling over boulders. There’s more climbing than hiking.
It’s a perilous trail and more than 30 people have died from drowning or falls. So this is not one to take lightly. Of course, when the water is low, travel through the canyon is easier. When it’s running high like in early January, it can be dicey.
Cascades spilled over rocks and through chutes all over the place. They filled the gorge with music, the symphony of splash.
Details: Drive east on Tanque Verde Road until it becomes Redington Road. Soon after the pavement ends, look for the signed parking area on the left. Free. 520-749-8700, www.fs.usda.gov/coronado.
In the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park east of downtown Tucson, I combined three trails — Loma Verde, Pink Hill and Squeeze Pen — to make an easy 3.5-mile loop through a peaceful section of the park.
Loma Verde Trail points north through mesquite woodlands. It twice crosses a sandy wash and skirts past the remains of an old copper mine. Multiple trails connect with Loma Verde but signs at every junction keep me on the right path. The Santa Catalina Mountains form a rugged skyline in the distance, dusted with snow in their highest reaches.
Saguaros, which are scarce on the first section of trail, begin to crowd around. Pink Hill Trail comes in from the east and a quick scramble leads to an overlook atop the low summit for dramatic views of the bristling cactus forest.
Details: The entrance to Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain District is at 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail. The Loma Verde Trailhead is off the Cactus Forest Scenic Drive. $25 per vehicle, good for seven days. 520-733-5153, www.nps.gov/sagu.
Loma Verde
Лома ВердеIn the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park east of downtown Tucson, I combined three trails — Loma Verde, Pink Hill and Squeeze Pen — to make an easy 3.5-mile loop through a peaceful section of the park.
Loma Verde Trail points north through mesquite woodlands. It twice crosses a sandy wash and skirts past the remains of an old copper mine. Multiple trails connect with Loma Verde but signs at every junction keep me on the right path. The Santa Catalina Mountains form a rugged skyline in the distance, dusted with snow in their highest reaches.
Saguaros, which are scarce on the first section of trail, begin to crowd around. Pink Hill Trail comes in from the east and a quick scramble leads to an overlook atop the low summit for dramatic views of the bristling cactus forest.
Details: The entrance to Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain District is at 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail. The Loma Verde Trailhead is off the Cactus Forest Scenic Drive. $25 per vehicle, good for seven days. 520-733-5153, www.nps.gov/sagu.