9 Fun Family-Friendly Things To Do in Tucson

Take a Road Trip to Tucson

Tucson, which is located in Arizona in the Sonoran Desert, offers plenty of places to explore. It's a destination that lends itself to family-friendly travel or to couples or small groups. 

Tucson History Lesson

Tucson historians can tell you that people have been settled in the area for more than 10,000 years. Tucson grew around Sentinel Peak, which was first inhabited by Hohokam Native Americans. The Spanish arrived in the area in the late 1600's. Tucson's birthdate is considered to be in August of 1775, which is when the Spanish explorers built a fort called Presidio San Agustin del Tucson. That fort no longer stands, although there is a small collection of adobe structures located there. It was eventually purchased by a local businessman as a combination home and for his business location.

Mexican and European immigrants settled in the Tucson area but it was still relatively inaccessible until 1880, when the Southern Pacific Railroad connected Tucson to the rest of the world.

9 Places to Visit in the Tucson area

• Part of the Saguaro National Park is located on the outskirts of Tucson. You'll learn about these giant cactus plants and have plenty of opportunity to hike, drive, and explore.
• One of the highlights of Tucson is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Its botanical garden is world-famous, but it also offers a zoo, a natural history museum, and even an aquarium! You can visit their website (link above) or follow the museum on Instagram for information. Don't miss the Raptor Free Flight demonstration!
• Old Tucson is a theme park that is on the site of a former western movie set.
• If you like to see taxidermy take time to stop at the International Wildlife Museum, which houses dioramas that show more than 400 species of insects, mammals and birds from around the globe.
• If you love plants be sure to stop at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, which is found on the site of an historical property formerly called the Porter Property. You'll be treated to a butterfly garden there, October through May, which also showcases orchids.  There's more for garden lovers in Tucson at the Tohono Chul gardens. 
• Drive out to Sabino Canyon, which is a part of the Coronado National Forest. Sabino Canyon tours offers a narrated, educational 45-minute, 3.8 mile tour into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. There's plenty of exploring and hiking in the canyon, too.
• Next up is the world's largest airplane boneyard, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It's the boneyard for all excess military and government airplanes. You can also visit the Pima Air and Space Museum, where you'll find President John F Kennedy's Air Force One. 
• If you want still more about planes and space make a visit to Tucson's Titan Missile Museum. You'll visit the last of the 54 Titan missile sites that stayed on alert across the United States until 1987. 
• There are many cactus nurseries in the Tucson area and most are open to visitors. One of them is Bach's Cactus Nursery, which has been in business for more than 40 years. For a listing of other local cactus nurseries browse "cactus nurseries Tucson."