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Tucson
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Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon, Tucson: Address, Phone Number, Sabino Canyon Reviews: 4.5/5

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Sabino Canyon

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Sabino Canyon
4.5
4,794
#4 of 337 things to do in Tucson
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Located in the Catalina Mountains and part of the Coronado National Forest, this beautiful canyon offers outdoor recreation including hiking, swimming, biking and picnicking. For an overview of the area, take the narrated shuttle bus tour.
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Tours and Tickets

The area
Address
Best nearby
Restaurants
23 within 3 miles
El Charro Cafe - Ventana
543
1.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Mexican • Southwestern • Spanish
Commoner & Co
185
1.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Bar • Vegetarian Friendly
Piazza Gavi
263
1.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Italian • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options
Brewd - A Coffee Lounge
45
1.2 mi$ • Quick Bites • Cafe
Three Canyon Beer and Wine Garden
23
1.1 mi$$ - $$$ • Bar • Pub
Inca's Peruvian Cuisine
196
1.4 mi$$ - $$$ • Peruvian • Latin • Vegetarian Friendly
Ginza Sushi
112
1.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Japanese • Sushi • Asian
Arizona Pizza Company
43
1.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Pizza
The Hidden Grill
6
1.2 mi$ • American • Healthy
Blue Ice Gelato
43
1.3 mi$ • Dessert
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Attractions
5 within 3 miles
Sabino Canyon Visitor Center and Bookstore
2
0.2 miVisitor Centers
Hutch's Pool
6
0.8 miBodies of Water
Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery
25
1.3 miArt Galleries • Art Museums
Maynard Dixon Museum
6
1.3 miArt Galleries • Art Museums
Seven Falls Trail – Sabino Canyon
0.2 miHiking Trails
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Popular mentions
4.5
4,794 reviews
Excellent
3,824
Very good
794
Average
129
Poor
26
Terrible
21
Jen S.
Milwaukee, WI64 contributions
So beautiful!
May 2021
We took the trolley tour and it was fantastic! Absolutely a diffierent view seeing things from the bottom! I would advise against walking/hiking the paved trail unless you are experienced and have lots of water...there is little to no airflow in the canyon and it gets HOT. Our trolley driver was amazing and it was nice to just sit back and relax and enjoy the views.
Written July 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
stjohnbeachlover
St. Louis, Missouri 1,060 contributions
Loved this park!
Feb 2021 • Couples
My husband and I visited Sabino Canyon in February. The weather was perfect for hiking. We hiked on the 7 Falls Trail. It was 8 miles round-trip and we did a little over half of it. It took us about 2 and a half hours to hike it. The scenery was beautiful with cacti all over.
Written June 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
duckgrl
seattle67 contributions
Amazing and unique adventure
Jun 2021 • Family
What a great outing. A coworker that had lived in Tucson as a college student told me not too miss. He was right! Go early and take the tram tour. We arrived around 8 and bought the last 4 tickets for the 10am shuttle. That gave us time for a short hike from the visitor center. The visitor center has a nice selection of books and gifts. So the shuttle takes you up into the canyon. There is no driving beyond the visitor center so this takes you up the canyon for lots of exploring without making the 4 mile hike in uphill. The shuttle driver describes the scenery as they drive. There are 9 stops, you can get on and off as you like if there is room. We stayed on thru stop 9. Then we hiked back down exploring and taking pictures. It’s easy walking as it’s all down hill. Take plenty of water as not all the stops had water to refill from. For the adventurous there are lots of hikes off the designated stops. Totally worth shuttle price. I would definitely go early. If hiking is not your thing or you can’t just taking guided tram out and back is totally worth it.
Written June 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Empty Nesters
Louisville, KY298 contributions
Good morning adventure
Jun 2021 • Couples
We visited the canyon early 8:00 a.m. to try and beat the heat (didn’t work). We took the shuttle tour with the narration. It was open air and covered roof that provided some breeze and shade which was nice. The tour had nine stops and lasted one hour for $12. It was a good morning activity
Written June 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
1chunkyguy
Rochester, KY138 contributions
A must see
Jun 2021 • Couples
The drive up through the canyon is very scenic. As you make your way up the mountain they're numerous places to pull off and enjoy the views. Definitely a must see while in the area.
Written June 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gary
Culver City, CA2,467 contributions
A great place to get out into nature!
May 2021
Spent a Sunday morning walking and hiking along the many trails in Sabino Canyon. We arrived around 9:30 AM and the timing seemed right to miss the early and later crowds. Lots of the cacti were in bloom. The trails are very well marked. We pretty much stayed to the main trails, but there were a lot of offshoot trails we could have taken to explore more. Allow 3 hours to get a good tour of the property.
Written May 31, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bobej
Litchfield Park, AZ385 contributions
Take the crawler!
May 2021 • Couples
We arrived at Sabino canyon visitors center around 11:00am. and went to the area to purchase tickets for the shuttle. Two shuttle routes are offered, Sabino canyon (9 stops)and Bear canyon (3 stops). Most people take the shuttle to a stop and hike back to the visitors center or you can board another shuttle for your return trip. The Sabino Canyon shuttle operates on an hourly schedule. You can board an unlimited number of times but you must be at the designated bus stop. The cost for the shuttle was $12/adult. We were able to board a small bus at 11:45. The windows of the bus were removed and replaced with a dense screen making it impossible to take pictures from the shuttle! When I asked about pictures from the shuttle the worker said you can take an open air “crawler” before 11:00 to take pictures along the route. The driver waited for people to take pictures at stop number 9, this was the only photo op you had unless you got off the shuttle. There was a recorded narrative while we were on the shuttle which referenced hiking, swimming and picnic areas. Very little water was seen mostly dry stream beds. Stop #9 is at Sabino Creek which was dry! The trip was about an hour round trip if you stayed on the shuttle. Ii would strongly suggest getting to the visitors center and take the crawler!!! An absolute must if you’re not a hiker. Hope this is helpful.
Written May 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dede A
Huntington, NY258 contributions
I have never seen it so dry
May 2021
We took the tram and that was great. I was say to see such a drought. It's not cheap and you need reservations but I'd do it again.
Written May 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Arizona Time
7 contributions
Love this beautiful place
May 2021
We have been coming here since we were kids. Love this hike and it’s a Tucson gem for sure. Easy path and a tram if you want to hop on and hop off.
Written May 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
aBadgerandaGopher
Bloomington, MN41 contributions
Beautiful Canyon, shuttle sort of OK
Apr 2021
The canyon is spectacular. The stream did have some water flowing. It must be quite something after a rain. We took the crawler and it's a good example of - it helps if you've done it before, so I'll spend more space on the crawler. We took the crawler in the afternoon and got a good overview of the canyon. There was a prerecorded narration, via the earbuds they provided, that gave some good info on the canyon. The narration only mentioned picnic tables at one stop, but there are others if you look. The information on the website for the crawler has some striking inaccuracies. The shuttle runs every hour NOT every 30 minutes. The last shuttle is at 2 PM. The 3PM and 4 PM crawlers don't exist, even though the website says they operate until 4 - the booking website oddly has the 3 and 4 PM crawlers shown as sold out. There were a few confused folks at the starting point at 3. If you get off and want to get back on, you have to be at a stop to get picked up. Try to flag it down in between and you'll watch it pass you by. If you miss a return trip on the 2PM, enjoy the walk down. (I'm not sure, but they may do a sweep with their open air bus to pick up stragglers sometime after 3.) What you get for a $12 ticket is one round trip - hop on and off at stops as you work your way up and down but they won't pick you up going up if you got off going down. The shuttle driver seemed a bit stressed and pushed to keep on schedule. They do insist on wearing masks on the shuttle - the driver stopped and called out anyone she noticed without one on. It is open air and there is no social distancing between passengers. The row of seats behind the driver is kept empty. In general, other hikers were the most helpful in learning the ins and outs of the crawler.
Written April 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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