Tucson, Arizona – A Bit of Everything, Lots of Cool
Before this year, I’d never pegged Tucson as a city I wanted to visit. I realized how wrong I was the moment we arrived. Tucson is a perfect blend of trendy city life and outdoor activities. Surrounded by Saguaro National Park on both sides, and close to various mountain ranges, you can easily do a morning hike, then head to trendy 4th street to reward yourself after. Below is a run-down of my favorite things in and around Tucson.
(Editor’s Note: If you’re looking for the ‘travel with dogs’ portion of this post, scroll to the section covering Borderlands Brewing. It’s a very dog-friendly brewery in Tucson).
Saguaro National Park
This national park boasts thousands of Saguaro cacti the size of small houses and lots of hiking trails. It’s a great place to take a break from city-life and hike amongst the Redwoods of cacti.
Borderlands Brewing
This brewery combines everything I love – Sustainable brewing practices, a fantastic selection of excellent New England IPAs, foosball, outdoor bocce ball, a great outdoor seating area, and art. Even the food trucks it invites in are sustainable. As an added bonus, dogs are allowed both in the brewery and in the massive outdoor area. I couldn’t love this brewery more!
Crooked Tooth Brewing
If not for Borderlands, this would have been my favorite brewery in Tucson. Its beers are very good, but its atmosphere is even better. It has an 80s/90s vibe, unique live music, and fun board games. Plus tastings are served in skateboards!
Historic 4th Street
Historic 4th street is a great place to spend your time in Tucson. It rivals the trendy areas of most major cities, just on a smaller scale. It has lots of breweries, unique restaurants, bars, vintage stores, record stores, and unique clothing shops. We spent most of our time walking around this area.
Barrio Brewing
Although I wasn’t as fond of Barrio’s beer as I was of the beer at the aforementioned breweries, Barrio has the best veggie burgers I’ve ever eaten, and a great outdoor seating area. I particularly recommend trying the Bang Bang burger with veggie patty.
Solar Powered Pizza by Brooklyn Pizza Co
This pizza joint serves up great pizza by the slice, and is 100% solar powered! Good for you, good for the planet. A win-win!
BLM Dispersed Camping Near Tucson
There’s an odd BLM camping area just outside Tucson city limits. I say ‘odd’ because it’s a little triangular area surrounding a small mountain that’s boxed in by a major highway and houses. I’ve never seen anything quite like it! It’s a great place to spend a few nights for free while still staying near the city. Be warned, though, it gets really crowded. However it has great cell service.
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