by Bennett Kalafut

Created on: June 29, 2010   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Tucson, AZ doesn't look central to anything on a map, but Southern Arizona is so full of trails to hike, places to visit, and sites to explore, that it's easy to come up with dozens of day trips one can start and finish in Tucson.  Below are fifteen of the best, in order counter-clockwise from westbound I-10.  Although a hearty driver could turn visits to the Chiricahuas, Prescott, Puerto Peñasco, or even Sedona's red rocks and San Diego's beaches into day trips, and the truly manic could even make a 24-hour run to Canyon de Chelly and back with plenty of time for touring, the longest distance trip suggested here, to the Pinaleño Mountains, is a two-and-a-half hour drive away from Tucson.

1.  Picacho Peak.  The visually prominent uplifted lava flow across the highway from the Picacho Mountains looks like a difficult technical climb from the bottom, but a trail, with steel cables eye-bolted into the rock to assist with the steep portions, turns it into a walk-up.  The top is an excellent place to stop to have lunch, enjoying the view southeast to the Santa Catalinas, west to Ragged Top and the Silver Bell Mountains over the entire Avra Valley, and north all the way to Phoenix's South Mountain.  Hiking Picacho Peak doesn't take all day; there should be some time left to visit the nearby Casa Grande Ruins, the best-preserved Hohokam village, featuring a structure shown to be a primitive astronomical observatory.

2.  Ironwood Forest National Monument.  Arizona's newest and least developed park is one of the most fun to explore.  Look for the rare Nichol's Turk's Head Cactus in the Watermans, drive over ranch roads to the extensive petroglyph site near Cocoraque Butte, or drive up Silverbell Road to the poorly-marked parking area, bring a GPS, and climb Ragged Top.  The purple and white ironwood flowers, visible in May, are themselves reason to visit; the plant is rare closer to Tucson but abundant in the Monument and points east.  A high-clearance vehicle opens up many more opportunities in this park, but study maps and satellite photos carefully.

3.  Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  A two-hour, extremely scenic drive on AZ 86 (Ajo Way) through the Tohono O'Odham reservation followed by a left onto AZ 85 brings one into Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which preserves a portion of the Sonoran Desert hotter and more tropical than any other in the U.S.A.  Here the saguaros

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