Accommodations

You’ll find just about every kind of place to stay in Tucson—gorgeous mansions, antique adobes, quaint bed-and-breakfasts, luxury spas and resort hotels, and even some old-fashioned dude ranches. Whatever your pleasure, you’ll find it here. When making your travel plans, keep in mind that peak season here is between October and April, when the weather is magnificent. February is a particularly popular month with several major conventions in town, so be sure to make reservations well in advance. Summer (May through September) brings some of the best rates and some of the hottest weather.

Visitors who wish to be pampered have a choice of several resorts and spas. You’ll pay handsomely for facilities that offer a totally upscale experience, but many feel it’s worth the extra cost (most of the resorts do offer fantastic summer rates). Noted for their “elite status” among resorts and spas are Canyon Ranch, Miraval, Starr Pass Marriott, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Westward Look Resort, and many more. You may even spot a famous person or two during your stay.

Overview

Many Tucson lodgings follow the two-room guest-suite trend geared toward business and family travelers. These accommodations typically have a separate bedroom and living room with a kitchen and two televisions. A continental breakfast is often included (we’ll try to let you know which places offer this most welcome amenity). Please note, when we use the word spa at a hotel, we are talking about whirlpools, hot tubs, and the like—as opposed to the spa services you can get at several of the resorts.

For those who prefer to stay at a bed-and-breakfast, we have a separate section in this chapter. Many of the local bed-and-breakfasts are in historic neighborhoods, and the houses’ histories are as interesting and colorful. Several others are found on the perimeter of town, surrounded by the desert. Whichever you might choose, be assured that the owners will be able to tell you all about the history of their home and the surrounding area.

If you want a more unique experience without the “hotel” atmosphere, a guest ranch may be what you are looking for. Some offer true “cowboy” adventures, with horseback riding and cookouts. Others are more like summer camp, with swimming, tennis, volleyball, and horseshoe tossing, but, unlike camp, offer plenty of pampering. Some ranches have rooms with individual kitchens and telephones, while others offer only the basics for those wanting to escape material trappings.

Most establishments offer the choice of smoking or nonsmoking accommodations as well as rooms that are wheelchair accessible. We’ve tried our best to note when an accommodation is not the norm. However, we suggest that if you have special needs or requests, you convey them to the accommodation when making your reservations.

We’ll note a local number, a toll-free reservation telephone number when available, and a price range symbol (see Price Code).

Accommodations - Campgrounds & Rv Parks

The best thing about camping in the Tucson area is that, no matter where the campground, it’s probably close to, if not surrounded by, some of southern Arizona’s most fascinating attractions. The second-best thing is that camping around here offers something to suit just about everyone’s taste—from low-lying desert dotted with cacti to high mountains covered with conifer forests and from backcountry camping to fairly posh RV resorts.

In this chapter we cover all the public campgrounds and several of the best private sites close to Tucson, as well as a number of the best camping areas in each direction away from Tucson—except east. Tucson’s east—actually the Rincon Mountains—only offers backcountry camping, and it’s accessible only by hiking or horseback. (But if that’s your style, contact the Saguaro National Park’s Rincon Mountain District at 520-733-5153 for details on these campsites and the required permits.) We only include an RV park if it also accommodates the “old-fashioned” type of camper—in a tent. So if you’re strictly an RVer, check our Retirement chapter, the Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, or the Yellow Pages for additional offerings. And we hasten to add that rates are subject to change and seem to do so quite often.

Overview

To get the most out of this chapter, you should use it hand in hand with several other chapters of the book, especially the Natural World, Attractions, and Parks & Recreation chapters. The Natural World chapter, for example, contains lots of additional environmental information on the areas in which you’re camping, such as Madera Canyon, the Tucson Mountains, and Mount Lemmon. It can also familiarize you with the unusual flora and fauna you’re likely to see no matter where you set up your tent or RV. The Attractions chapter gives details on the many sites you may want to visit from your campground base. And because many of the campgrounds are in or near parklands, the Parks & Recreation chapter will give you a more complete picture of what awaits you in and around these camping areas.

If you’re a first-time camper or RVer in Tucson, there are two things you should keep in mind when using the campground descriptions in this chapter. Below the name of the campground is an address or city where it’s located. The city listed is the city closest to the camping area. For example, Bog Springs Campground is listed as Green Valley, Arizona; while the campground is near Green Valley, it’s also a ways away in the Santa Rita Mountains. So consider the “city” indicator just a general description of the location.

Our second piece of advice relates to the 520 area code. This chapter contains a number of campgrounds that are far enough from the Tucson metro area to be considered long distance by phone, even though they’re still in the 520 area code. So be aware that in some cases you’ll have to dial the area code even if you’re calling from Tucson, and it will be a long-distance call. Although a recording will tell you the error of your ways if you dial only the seven-digit phone number, it may not be helpful enough to tell you the way to correct it—but now you know how.

Now you’re ready to dive into the fun part of this chapter—our picks of some of the best places to pitch your tent or park your RV in and around Tucson. So pack up your gear, supplies, and sunscreen, and get ready for your adventure in the great outdoors.