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The Tucson region is a natural playground surrounded by four mountain ranges, with many lakes an hour or two away. These offer all kinds of recreational possibilities like hiking to a desert canyon waterfall, riding a horse on a mountain trail, or spending the day boating and fishing. And snow skiing is available just an hour away at Mount Lemmon, in the pine-covered Santa Catalina mountain range, which is home to the country’s southernmost ski resort.
Man-made amenities par excellence include more than 40 exceptional golf courses (book a tee time!) and a multitude of tennis courts.
This is the second-best midsized cycling city in the nation according to Bicycling magazine in 2006. And a favorite of cycling icon Lance Armstrong who says, "Tucson is a real cycling mecca, I think, for the United States. You have a good infrastructure with roads, good climbs. You have nice flats. You also have a lot of bike lanes, which is helpful for any cyclist." Many locals join visiting cyclists from all over in the El Tour de Tucson, the country’s largest perimeter cycling event. Learn more about cycling in Tucson.
When Tucsonans aren’t out participating in their own favorite activities, they can choose from a variety of spectator sports, like baseball. The city is the spring training home for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The D-backs’ Triple-A team, the Tucson Sidewinders, provide a fun outing on many a summer evening at the region’s ballpark, Tucson Electric Park. In September the Sidewinders claimed their first Pacific Coast League Championship title with a three-game sweep of the Round Rock team from Texas. Just days later they were crowned the 2006 Triple-A Champions after defeating the International League Toledo MudHens.
The University of Arizona is a member of the prestigious Pac-10 Conference and the school has teams in all major men’s and women’s NCAA sports. Men’s basketball and women’s softball have been recent national champions. Go Wildcats!
For years, Tucson has been home to two premier professional golf events, the Chrysler Classic PGA Tournament and the PING/Welch’s Championship LPGA event. Starting in February 2007, and through at least 2010, Tucson will host the Accenture Match Play championship billed as the cornerstone of World Championship Golf (WGA). Sixty-four of the world’s best golfers will challenge the breathtaking Gallery at Dove Mountain in Marana – and challenge each other for a $7.5 million purse.
Speed is king at local NASCAR, horse, and greyhound races, and there are plenty of thrills at the annual Fiesta de los Vaqueros, the largest mid-winter rodeo in the U.S. And at the end of the day – after refreshed and invigorated from all the activities – Tucsonans can enjoy some of the most beautiful sunsets in the nation. |
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Tucson features more
than 40 golf courses
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