By Alan K. Lee
Not your typical museum, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum will surprise you. Equal parts zoo, botanical garden, natural history museum, and educational institution, this museum packs a lot into a single site.
Throw in an art gallery for good measure. And maybe most surprisingly, since it’s located in the middle of the Sonora Desert where water is scarce, an aquarium.
There’s also a (man made) underground cavern to explore, where you can learn about the geology of the area.
The zoological exhibits feature big cats (bobcats, an ocelot, and a mountain lion), desert bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, a gray fox, and other desert mammals and lizards. There is also a riparian area with beavers, a river otter, and fish and other aquatic creatures. And on the desert trail loop you might encounter coyotes or javalinas.
Don’t miss the aviary where you can get up close looks at free flying hummingbirds and other desert birds.
Take a walk through the botanical garden where you can learn about the flora and fauna of the Sonora Desert environment.
The museum also features a cafe, a casual food court, a coffee bar, and an ice cream parlor. You can even get a beer to go at the food court or coffee bar, and take it with you as you explore the exhibits and walk the paved trail through the botanical garden and the gravel desert trail loop.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is one of the Tucson area’s must see attractions, especially for families. There are a lot of opportunities for kids (and adults) to both learn about the desert and its denizens and have fun in the process. There’s something for everyone there.
There is so much here that you probably can’t see it all in one visit. My wife and I have visited the museum on a couple of our Arizona excursions, and on our last visit I was surprised at how much I had missed on our earlier visit. Plan to spend at least two hours at the museum. Allow half a day to more fully explore what the museum has to offer, if you can.
The museum is located west of Tucson, adjacent to the west unit of Saguaro National Park . See the museum’s website for more detailed directions. Tucson Mountain Park and Old Tucson (currently closed) are also nearby.
General admission is $23.95 per person. Seniors get a $2.00 discount, children 3-12 get in for half price, and children under three are free. Winter hours (Oct-Feb) are 8:30-5:00. Spring and Fall (Mar-June and Sept) hours are 7:30-5:00. In July and August the museum closes at 2:00.
Posted June 29, 2021
All photos © Alan K. Lee
If you’re ever in the Tucson area, consider making the drive to the top of Mount Lemmon. A paved road takes you to the summit, more than 6500 feet above the valley floor. Numerous viewpoints along the way provide spectacular vistas the mountain, the surrounding desert below, and the mountains beyond. And numerous trailheads provide access to the ridges and canyons beyond the road for those who want to lace up their hiking boots and immerse themselves in the desert or mountain environment.
The drive takes you through numerous climatic and ecological zones, from the iconic saguaro cactus of the Sonoran Desert at the base of the mountain to an aspen and ponderosa pine forest at the summit.
The summit of Mount Lemmon is only 17 miles as the crow flies from downtown Tucson, but you have to navigate your way across the city and then up the 30 mile long 
Windy Point, about seventeen miles from the beginning of the highway in Tanque Verde, has got to be one of the most spectacular viewpoints in southern Arizona. You’ll want to stop here and just wander around for a while. Take in the views of Tucson and the desert far below, the mountains beyond, and the rock formations around you. About four miles farther up the highway you’ll come to the San Pedro Vista, which gives you a panoramic view east across the San Pedro Valley to the Galiuro Mountains.
Another couple miles brings you to the Palisades Visitor Center, with still more panoramic views. You can get information about the area there, and the non-profit Public Lands Interpretive Association operates a bookstore at the center. Another few miles up the mountain is the Aspen Vista Point, another place you’ll want to stop and explore, especially if you’re there in the fall when the aspens are pure gold.
I was surprised to find a small community, Summerhaven, near the summit of the mountain, and even more surprised to find a small ski area. Snow skiing is not something I would have ever associated with Tucson or any place in southern Arizona. But at an elevation of 9157 feet, the top of the mountain gets enough snow in the winter to support an active ski area. There’s also a small astronomical observatory on the summit. The 
If you go, note that the summit of Mount Lemmon can be thirty degrees cooler than Tucson, so dress accordingly. And if you plan to do any hiking, avoid mid-summer if possible and always bring plenty of water. There are no sources of safe drinking water on any of the hiking trails in the area, to my knowledge.
My wife and I made the drive to the summit in October 2019 while in Arizona to visit my brother and attend a wedding. I had never heard of Mount Lemmon and I wasn’t keen on making that long of a side trip, but my wife convinced me that it would be worthwhile, and she nailed this one. Mount Lemmon is more than just worthwhile, and worth more than just a side trip. Mount Lemmon is a worthy destination in its own right.
Not only am I glad we took the drive, I wish we could have spent more time exploring the mountain. For those that do have the time, there are several picnic areas along the highway, a few places to eat in Summerhaven, and there are several campgrounds a short ways off of the highway if you want to spend more than a day on the mountain. If you don’t want to camp, Summerhaven also has a few rental cabins, and a newly built small hotel. Check the Mount Lemmon General Store 
Note: The Catalina Highway is open as of the date of this post, but in the summer of 2020 the entire area was closed to the public because of the Bighorn Fire that burned 120,000 acres in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Photos taken after the fire showed some badly burned areas, but others that were largely untouched. All of the area is open again, including the Palisades Visitor Center, but some of the attractions and the businesses in Summerhaven may be closed due to the ongoing pandemic. But I wouldn’t let any of that stop you from making the drive if you’re in the Tucson area, or even just passing through. It’s too spectacular to pass up.
Posted April 25, 2021