Are you visiting Tucson, new to living in Tucson, or new to being a parent? As a season parent and Tucsonan, I compiled this list of The Top 15 Things To Do With Kids In Tucson.
1 – Skate Country
Located on Tucson’s Eastside, on 7980 E. 22nd St., Skate Country is Tucson’s largest roller skating rink. Open 7 days a week with sessions throughout the day to suit the needs of all skaters, Skate Country offers an experience for everyone. “Skate mates” are available for novice skaters, and they even have a small practice rink. They also have games and races at most of the sessions and they offer prizes. They have a wide variety of food and treats at their snack bar, as well as a store with top-of-the-line new and used skates for purchase. Don’t have your own skates? Don’t worry, Skate Country offers rentals in any size. Also, the entire rink has some pretty amazing murals of famous musicians, which is my personal favorite thing about Skate Country. For more information, please visit: https://skatecountry.com
2– Wild Katz
Centrally located in Tucson, on 4629 E. Speedway Blvd., Wild Katz is a large indoor playground for kids. There are a number of large slides, a dodge ball arena, a ninja warrior course, rock walls, a ball pit, and a toddler area perfect for the little guys who don’t want to have to dodge the bigger kids. Wild Katz offers affordable birthday party options and has a snack bar with a large variety of fountain sodas and other treats. For more information, please visit: https://wldktz.com
3- Happy Foot Farm
Located on Tucson’s Northwest side, at 2405 N. Wetmore Rd., Happy Foot Farm is “not your normal petting zoo,” according to their website. Happy Foot Farm has traditional petting zoo animals, including chickens and goats, but also has animals that you would only see in a zoo, including capybaras, porcupines, Patagonia maras, emus, and kangaroos. In fact, Happy Foot Farm is one of the only petting zoos in the United States where you can feed these exotic animals. A tour guide takes you through the farm to interact with these exotic animals and it is a fun and educational thing to do with the entire family. For more information, please visit: https://tucsonpettingzoo.com
4- PlayFormance
Located in Tucson’s downtown, on 119 E. Toole Ave., PlayFormance offers a parkour program and play-based fitness program for every age and stage, from beginners to advanced. Based on a challenging physical curriculum, this is the perfect place to get your children tired from all of the physical exercise and fun. They even have “nerf battles” in their nerf playground. Playformance also offers camps throughout the year. For more information, please visit: https://www.playformancetucson.com
5- Resort Staycation
My personal favorite resort to have a staycation with kids is La Paloma and Star Pass Marriott is a close second. Let’s start with La Paloma. Located at 3800 E. Sunrise Drive on Tucson’s Northside in the Catalina Foothills, La Paloma offers a large water slide and large swimming pools and spas enjoyable for the entire family. They have a swim-up bar and grill and offer special vacation packages for Tucson locals. Be on the look-out on your Groupon app for those. The JW Star Pass Marirott is located at 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., on Tucson’s West side, and has a lot of fun things to do for kids as well, including a large lazy river to float down. The JW Marriott also has a few large pools and a large water slide. For more information, please visit: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tuswi-the-westin-la-paloma-resort-and-spa/ & https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/tussp-jw-marriott-tucson-starr-pass-resort-and-spa/overview/
6- The Sonoran Desert Museum
Located on Tucson’s far West side, just beyond the Tucson Mountains, on 2021 N. Kinney Rd., the Sonoran Desert Museum attracts visitors from around the world with its interpretation of the Sonoran Desert, one of the most diverse deserts on earth. An AZA-accredited zoo, the Desert Museum has 21-acres with two miles of walking paths through various habitats. The Desert Museum has 230 animal species, including Mountain Lions and Big Horn Sheep, and 1200 types of plants, including a beautiful cactus garden. There are mineral and art exhibitions, and even a man-made cave that strikingly resembles a real cave. In addition, there are restaurants, gift shops, and even an aquarium on the grounds. They even have an exhibit where you can touch live sting reys. For more information, please visit: https://www.desertmuseum.org
7- Defy
Located at 4861 N. Stone Ave., Defy Tucson is Pima County’s largest trampoline and extreme air sports park, offering fun for families, gymnasts and friends. They have basketball hoops on trampolines, a ninja warrior obstacle course, a zip line, just to name a few of their amazing attractions. They offer an amazing venue for kids birthday parties, group events, corporate events, company team building, holiday parties and they also have a summer camp. For more information, please visit: https://www.defytucson.com
8- Trail Dust Town
Located at 6541 E. Tanque Verde Rd., Trail Dust Town has fun for all ages! See the amazing Pistoleros Wild West Stunt Show or take a ride through the “West” on a real “mini” train that even goes through a mine. Enjoy a spin on the vintage Carousel or Circle-the-Wagons Ferris Wheel. Try your hand at panning for gold or test your skill in the shooting gallery! The shops and restaurants are unique and the grounds are impeccable. For more information, please visit: https://www.traildusttown.com
9- Funtasticks
Located at 221 E. Wetmore Rd., Funtastics has mini-golf, a large arcade, bumper boats and cars, laser tag and more. Kiddie Land has rides geared to accommodate younger guest. The Cactus Springs Water Park is a perfect place to cool off in the summer. Cactus Springs Water Park attraction has multiple levels, featuring colorful water slides and multiple gigantic tipping buckets that dump 1000 gallons of water every 10 minutes. You can rent a cabana or enjoy sitting in the sun on a lounge chair while the kids play. For more information, please visit: https://www.funtasticks.com
10- Golf-n-Stuff
Located at 6503 E. Tanque Verde Rd., Golf-n-Stuff features unique miniature golf courses, go-karts, bumper boats and laser tag. In addition, Golf-n-Stuff has lush landscaping and water features. Golf-n-Stuff also has a batting cage and the most current and up-to-date video and prize arcade games. If you are planning a group outing, birthday party, company event, sports banquet, or just a special get together, look no further. According to their old commercial “Golf N’ Stuff can’t get enough.” For more information, please visit: https://golfnstuff.com/tucson/info.html
11- Mount Lemmon Day Trip
Mount Lemmon has a summit elevation of 9,159 feet, which is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest and is an average of 15-30 degrees cooler than Tucson. In the summer months, you can take the kids to Rose Canyon Lake to beat the heat and fish, or you can take them on a hike and let them play in a stream. In the winter, it snows often and you can take the kids to Ski Valley to ski, which is the Southern-most ski resort in the United States, or you can just find a place to play in the snow or sled. At the top of Mount Lemmon is a town called Summer Haven and it has restaurants like the Cookie Cabin, the Iron Door Restaurant and Sawmill Run. Creative fudge flavors at Mt. Lemmon General Store & Gift Shop satisfy any sweet tooth. For more information, please visit: https://www.skithelemmon.com
12- The Tucson Children’s Museum
Located downtown, at 200 S. Sixth Ave., the Tucson Children’s Museum provides fun, hands-on learning experiences for kids. It has 17,000-square feet and 13 exhibit areas filled with components that encourage kids to build, create, imagine, explore and discover. There is also a large outdoor playground. The Tucson Children’s Museum is play-based learning at its best! For more information, please visit: https://www.childrensmuseumtucson.org
13- Hiking Trails
Number 13- Hiking Trails. There is no doubt about it that Tucson has some of the best hiking in the United States. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. My personal favorite thing to do after it rains is to take my kids to running washes and let the kids play in the water. It truly feels like a beach and my kids can play for hours. My favorite creeks include the Bear Canyon Trail Head and the Tanque Verde wash. Another Tucson favorite is the hike to 7 Falls where at the end of the hike, there are 7 waterfalls leading to large pools of water. Make sure you bring a bathing suit, plenty of water, sunscreen and a hat. And please educate yourself on what a flash flood is before venturing out by washes especially during monsoon season. For more information, please visit: http://www.arizonahikersguide.com/all-hikes
14- Reid Park Zoo
Located minutes from downtown, at 3400 E. Zoo Ct., the zoo has been a local favorite for generations. There are over 250 animals from around the world. Take a ride on the Cox Wildlife Carousel and the Zoo train, and sign up for behind-the-scenes for a once in a lifetime tour. The zoo also offers the unforgettable “feed a giraffe experience.” The zoo also has holiday events, including Boo at the Zoo for Halloween and Zoo Lights around the holidays. After enjoying a zoo, go play at the park where there is a large duck pond, water falls, and playgrounds. For more information, please visit: https://reidparkzoo.org
15- The Pima Air & Space Museum
Located at 6000 E. Valencia Rd., the Pima Air & Space Museum features about 400 historic aircrafts, from a Wright Flyer to a 787 Dreamliner. Sitting on 80 acres, the museum opened its doors to the public in May of 1976. Over the past forty years, the museum has grown immensely and today encompasses six indoor exhibit hangars (three dedicated to WWII). The Pima Air and Space Museum also offers exclusive tours of the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Known as the “Boneyard,” it is the world’s largest military aircraft storage facility. For more information, please visit: https://pimaair.org
So, there you have it, the top 15 things for kids to do in Tucson! Here is a video of the same information:
Are you thinking about buying or selling a home in the Tucson area? Please feel free to contact me to go over your needs: alexisburrowshomes@gmail.com. 520-869-3176.
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