Tucson
Unfortunately, we experienced a series of unexpected events during our time in Tucson, which left us not being able to do all of the things that were originally on our list. So, I’ll mention what we did get to do and enjoy with the kids and highlight the other things that we had planned, but sadly will have to save for next time. Luckily, the RV resort had plenty of activities to keep us busy even with the unfortunate circumstances. (*We do have a great recommendation for an ER in the area though…but we really hope you won’t need it!)
Family-friendly activities we enjoyed in Tucson:
Saguaro National Park - home to the nation’s largest cacti, the saguaro! This national park has two sections, one on each side of Tucson - Rincon Mountain District is in the east and Tucson Mountain District is in the west. Each section has scenic drives to enjoy around cactus forest. We wanted to do so many more hikes here, but we only ended up getting to come to the park for one day, so we made the best of it!
We started on the west side of the national park at The Red Hills Visitor Center - Saguaro National Park has a very helpful Hiking Guide with trail maps that are color-coded with easy/moderate/strenuous hikes and also includes short/medium/long trail information, so be sure to stop at a visitor center to get one to prepare for your day. On the west side, we hiked the Valley View Trail (0.3 mile) and Wild Dog Trail (1.8 mile round trip). These ended up being easy hikes for the kids to do with great views of the cactus forest.
We made our way to the east section of the park for the afternoon and sunset. We enjoyed the scenic drive and then parked at the Javelina Picnic Area and hiked 0.75 miles along the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail to the top of the rocky area. This gave us beautiful views of the cactus forest and Tucson for sunset. Our 5-year-old really enjoyed “rock climbing on the mountains” for this hike - a little more climbing, but definitely still enjoyable with the kids.
Get pastries at La Estrella Bakery. My goodness, this was the BEST pan dulce that we’ve ever had! Everything was so fresh and delicious. If you love pastries and sweets as much as we do, this is a must stop for you in the Tucson area.
*Things we had on our list that seemed like fun family-friendly activities, but didn’t make it to: Reid Park Zoo, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and Mount Lemmon. We can’t vouch for these, but they have great family-friendly reviews.
Where we stayed: Tucson/Lazydays KOA Resort - this place was GREAT! All of the amenities that you expect with a KOA with a great location close to everything in Tucson. There are daily crafts for kids, a craft/play room with a rock wall, an RC track, pond, little library with books and games to borrow, a playground, two swimming pools, pickleball courts, mini golf, laundry, bathrooms, gym and scheduled activities - we loved our time here and plan to come back. They even have citrus trees on property that you can pick fruit from (ask for a fruit picker at the front office)! What we really appreciated was the price of this KOA; oftentimes, we find KOAs to be out of our budget but this was so reasonably priced.
Brewery Spotlight: As always, we are on a quest to bring you recommendations for great local craft beer and/or food in cities all across America that also have a kid-friendly spaces. In Tucson, we really enjoyed MotoSonora Brewery. This brewery had a very chill vibe with a nice outdoor space for the kids to run around and lots of comfortable seating. The beer was good and they also have pizza available for food (we didn’t try it, but it looked delish!). They even have homemade sodas, which for our 5-year-old is pretty much the best thing ever. A great spot to stop if you are in Tucson!
Favorite Food Stop: Poco & Mom’s Cantina. The food was delicious, the portions were large, the margaritas were yummy, the patio was relaxing and the kids even ate all of their food - you can’t beat that!