Dear Tucsonan:
So, it’s been a while since you’ve been outside. And that’s OK, you don’t need to explain yourself. You’re an outdoorsy person, and everybody knows it. Between late September and early May, you’re the spitting image of Thoreau. You go on hikes, take the 12-speed home from work, drive out to Sabino Canyon or Saguaro National Park on the weekends.
Cut to summer. It’s a billion degrees outside at the crack of dawn, and if another person says, “Just get up earlier,” you might just up and move.
The bright side? Science is on your side. The Arizona Department of Health Services suggests that people limit their time outdoors and strenuous outdoor activity in any heat above 90 degrees. The even brighter side? Tucson has plenty of ways to scratch that itch while circumventing the heat or the sun. Here are five “outdoorsy” activities that don’t actually require going outside.
Kartchner Caverns
Is a cave inside or outside? That’s one for the fact-checkers. Whatever the technical answer is, Kartchner Caverns, located nine miles from Benson, is a classic for Tucson outings. The caves aren’t what many would call cold, with a year-round average of 70 degrees and high humidity. But compared to the outside temperature and off-the-charts UV, the caverns definitely provide refuge from the sun.
The caverns were discovered in 1974, when Gary Tenen and Randy Tufts went looking for a cave and found one (the full, storied history is available at the Kartchner Caverns website). Now, decades later, Kartchner Caverns is a bonafide state park, complete with camping, hiking, an extensive visitor’s center, a cafe, and, of course, cave tours.
During the summer months, visitors can take the Rotunda/Throne Room Tour, which spans about a half mile of the cavern and takes about 90 minutes to finish. Led by a guide, this route displays, among other attractions, the original cave trail and the largest column formation in the state.
Kartchner Caverns is also a dark sky park, which means the land is protected for its brilliant night sky. So, if a day trip just isn’t in the stars, take an overnight stay at one of the park’s campgrounds or cabins, and enjoy a clear look at the cosmos.
Indoor bouldering / rock climbing
Tucson is a stronghold for rock climbers. Outdoor climbing isn’t a sport for the faint of heart, but climbing in the extreme heat is a bad idea for a list of reasons too numerous to publish. Fortunately, anyone can try their hand at this outdoor activity from the comfort of an air-conditioned facility. Not only is rock climbing/bouldering an exhilarating outing, it’s the workout of a lifetime, and has a positive effect on focus, flexibility, endurance and balance.
Tucson has several indoor rock gyms, including Rock Solid Climbing + Fitness, and The BLOC Climbing + Fitness + Yoga. These gyms offer plenty of climbing experiences, like educational events, fitness programs and competitions. Climbing is an incredibly social sport, and can be a great way to make friends or find community. If organized sports aren’t your cup of tea, anyone can climb with day passes or memberships.
Climbing gyms also pose an answer to one of Tucson parents’ tallest orders: keeping the rugrats entertained during the summers. Most gyms have summer camps, youth programs and birthday party opportunities, where the little ones can burn off some of their energy (if such a thing is possible).
Flandrau Science Center
At the Flandrau Science Center — named a top 10 astronomy destination in the West — visitors take a trip through the natural world without seeing the sun.
In the Undersea Discovery exhibit, guests can get up close and personal with intertidal creatures, and the Wild World of Bugs provides an immersive experience into insect life. The Fossil Corner boasts science that attendees will “really dig,” per its website, and in Sharks: Magnificent & Misunderstood, anyone can be the captain of their own deep-sea research submarine (thanks to some simulation technology).
If the bottom of the ocean or the inside of an insect colony are not considered escapes, visitors can leave the planet through the Destination Mars, Solar System Revealed, and HiRISE: Eyes in the Martian Sky exhibits. And, of course, Flandrau is home to Tucson’s own Eos Foundation Planetarium Theatre, which hosts star tours and laser shows six days a week.
Colossal Cave
Colossal Cave Mountain Park is ripe with history, from its natural creation hundreds of millions of years ago, to its prehistoric human life in the early ADs, to its Wild West, cattle-prodding-and-train-robbing mythos (look up the “Colossal Cave Bandits”).
The park offers three cave tours of increasing intensity. The Classic Cave Tour is a family-friendly, half-mile excursion. The Ladder Tour, in which participants squeeze, scale and scramble, and meet lesser-seen sections of the cave. And then there’s the Wild Cave Tour, which is a genuine caving experience.
Afterward, visitors can head to the Terrace Cafe for a bite to eat and the Cave Shop for a souvenir. Colossal Cave also has 30 intimate campsites that are scattered among the dense desert flora of Posta Quemada Canyon.
Look at artwork
Horace famously defined a picture as “a poem without words.” The dictionary defines a picture as “a painting or a drawing.” Whoever may be right, when it’s simply too hot to enjoy the Southwest’s stunning desert landscapes, go look at a picture. It might sound like a cruel joke, but seriously, Tucson is one of Arizona’s top locales for art, and looking at natural artwork might be the next best thing.
Madaras Gallery is home to the largest collection of Tucson art, and its owner, Diana Madaras, is one of Tucson’s top visual artists. Every piece in the gallery has a distinct Southwestern or Western flavor that captures the bucolic beauty of the American outdoors.
DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun is an art and architecture project that famous Arizona artist Ettore DeGrazia started in the early ’50s. Nestled into the base of the Catalina Mountains, this gallery is home to six permanent collections and rotating exhibits of original Degrazias.
Wilde Meyer Gallery Tucson offers Western and contemporary artwork in a variety of styles and media, including painting, sculpture and glass. The gallery represents works from many artists, some of whom depict local, Arizona scenery in their own, creative way.
