Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
An outdoor desert museum that combines a zoo, botanical garden, and natural history museum. Watch mountain lions, coyotes, and raptor flight shows up close.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is the top-rated attraction in Tucson on Tripadvisor. About 85% of its exhibits are outdoors, along roughly 3 km of trails that showcase the plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. Highlights include mountain lions, javelinas (collared peccaries), coyotes, prairie dogs, a hummingbird aviary, geology caves, and a mineral gallery. Free-flying raptor shows take place each morning from October to April, and they are the biggest highlight. The cactus garden and desert plant collections are rich, and you can see the Tucson Mountains in the distance. Admission starts at about $30. Arrive when the museum opens and allow 3–4 hours. Summer days are very hot, but there are evening openings on Saturdays from June to August. The museum is next to Saguaro National Park West.
Opening hours
Approx. 08:00–17:00 (summer 07:30–14:00, with night sessions)
Nearby sights
- Saguaro National Park – Tucson Mountain District (West)
- Old Tucson
- Gates Pass
- Sentinel Peak (A Mountain)
- Mission Garden
- Barrio Viejo
- Fourth Avenue
- Tohono Chul