Tucson Visit 3/22-29 - Looking for Local Advice

We%26#39;re visiting Tucson for a week in March and are hoping to get some local tips on Tucson (we%26#39;ll take advice from past visitors too!). We had sort of decided on a few things already, but would welcome some feedback on our plans as well as any other suggestions. Especially valuable would be ways to combine places visited so we see the things that are nearby each other, on the same day.

Here%26#39;s what I had scoped out as ';definite'; things to do (not in any particular order):

1.Kartchner Caverns (expensive but interesting);

2.Tombstone %26amp; Bisbee (can these be done in a single day-looks tough);

3.see a spring training baseball game (which field/team is the most fun experience?);

4. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum;

5. Titan Missile Museum (is this any good? sounds cool to us)

6. Sabino Canyon %26amp; Saguaro Natl Park East (any tips on the best way to see these)

In the ';possible'; category is

a. Old Tucson (haven%26#39;t seen much positive on this)

b. Horseback ride (any recommendations--we have 2 adults and 3 teenagers, 4 intermediate %26amp; 1 beginner)

c. Biosphere 2

ALSO, (as if I haven%26#39;t asked enough):

How about some recommendations on great affordable restaurants....we love Tex-Mex and steak joints....don%26#39;t need fancy, looking for the places where the locals go...

We are staying in Ventana Canyon near Sunrise Dr. and Kolb Rd.

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,

Kevin

Tucson Visit 3/22-29 - Looking for Local Advice

tombstone and bisbee - can be done in one day trip; mine tour is very interesting

desert museum - a must do. animals active because it will be mild weather. unique in the world.

sabino canyon - tram takes you up, and you can hike or ride back down. not completely open yet after flood damage 2 years ago but is beautiful.

saguaro natl monument - you will be in the middle of it when going to the desert museum.

old tucson studios - low priority.

horseback ride - are you at a hotel? most available are trail rides .... you know here you could ride backwards and the horse would still go where it is supposed to. hotel concierge can help find places where you can actually ride.

biosphere - pretty expensive now and i wouldn%26#39;t recommend taking the time to go there.

tex-mex - then you want to go to chains like el paso bbq and on the border. tucson mexican is sonoran not tex-mex. i%26#39;m sure others will give you suggestions as well. best is el charro. sonoran cuisine is more savory than spicy .... you add the spice. tamales, burritos, chimchangas, stuffed chiles, seafood specialties. other great mexican: guadalajara grill, la parilla suiza, cocoyaya, crossroads, las cazuelitas. also lots of not well known places.

Tucson Visit 3/22-29 - Looking for Local Advice

My grandson and I are headed to Tucson at the same time this year specifically to watch the Colorado Rockies play. We went a few years ago to see the Rockies play during Spring Training at Hi Corbett Field. It was fun to watch the Rockies play in a small ballfield setting. Tickets are inexpensive and in my opinion the Rockies have a great group of young ballplayers that when they are on, there is not a more fun team to watch play.

Spring training is a lot of fun. The best game .. by far ... is the White Sox vs. Cubs game. It usually falls on a Friday and I never miss it.

Old Tucson ... take it or leave it. Unless your teenagers are western movie fans, they will probably find it boring.

Biosphere ... expensive. If it is something that you are personally interested in give it a shot .. otherwise, skip it.

Horseback riding ... yes. Beautiful weather, beautiful time of year. You%26#39;ll love it.

You won%26#39;t find a lot of Tex-Mex here... and what you will find is not that great. One of my favorite Mexican resturants here is Guadalajara Grill. It is on Prince. They have both indoor and outdoor dining, great food and they make your salsa at your table according to your taste.

Enjoy your stay.

I used to live in Tucson and my family was in the midwest so I took visitors around all of the time...here are my suggestions:

DEFINITELY SKIP OLD TUCSON AND BIOSPHERE 2! They sound interesting, but aren%26#39;t and are a waste of money.

I would recommend a spring training game at Tucson Electric Park...the White Sox always draw a good crowd. And if you like to enjoy a cold beer while at the game, when I lived there they did Tasty Tuesdays with $1 beers and hot dogs.

Definitely spend a day at the Sonoran Desert Museum...this is a can%26#39;t miss! And if you plan to leave right before sun down, you can stop on your way back out through the Tucson Mountains and watch the sunset.

Sabino Canyon is another great place if you want to hike to see the scenery of the Tucson area. You should also check out Mount Lemmon. This is the tallest mountain in Tucson and has a 30 mile highway that goes all the way to the top. You can stop at each of the different view points along the way and see the city as well as the change in the environment/landscape as you go up in elevation. There is a ski park with a little town at the top with a restaurant that is a great place to stop and get pie!

As for food, I%26#39;m with the last poster...the Guadalajara Grill on Prince is the place to go. They will make your salsa at the table and have a variety of things to choose from on the menu. And if you want steak, try Chad%26#39;s Steakhouse on Swan. It%26#39;s not as stuffy as the other steakhouses and the food is great and comes in large portions.

The other answers were pretty much right on. You asked about combining so I%26#39;ll just add that the desert museum is pretty much an all day event but at the end of the day you can do the Saguaro NP West Unit which is only about a mile away. It would take about 30-60 minutes to see the visitor center and do the drive.

Sabino Canyon is near your resort but not that close to Saguaro NP East Unit although you could do them both in one day. Sabino requires you to get a tram to get to the end of the road however you could walk it if you wanted. Personally I%26#39;d pay the money and take the tram and do my walking off road in the canyon at the end of the road rather than walk along a paved roadway (there%26#39;s no personal cars allowed on the roadway, only park trams).

We went to Titan Missile Museum in June and found it fascinating. You could combine this with a visit to the Mission San Xavier del Bac.

We did Tombstone and Bisbee each on a separate day. I think it would be tough to do both without really rushing.