Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is one of Southern Arizona’s premier attractions, featuring a world-renowned zoo, botanical garden, aquarium, natural history museum, and art gallery, showcasing and celebrating the unique environment of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico.
See a wide selection of plant and animal species that reflect the incredible biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert: mountain lions, bobcats, bears, coyotes, rattlesnakes, bighorn sheep, river otters, birds of prey, hummingbirds, lizards, agaves, cacti, flowering plants, yuccas, and many more! You can also take a stroll along the half-mile-long Desert Loop Trail where you can encounter coyotes, javelinas, and lizards in very naturalistic enclosures, and see palo verde trees and saguaro cacti.
The museum also offers docent tours and demos, live animal presentations with keepers, an Earth Sciences Center where you can learn about the area’s geology, an art gallery with rotating exhibitions featuring interpretive works related to the Sonoran Desert, three restaurants, a gift shop, and many other ways to experience the natural history of the region.
The museum is located just to the west of the Tucson Mountains, approximately 30-35 minutes from most parts of Marana. You can get there via Interstate 10 and Gates Pass Rd., or you can take a more scenic route, by taking Sandario Rd. to Kinney Rd. The scenic route takes you through Saguaro National Park West! Old Tucson, Saguaro National Park West, and Tucson Mountain Park are also located near the museum.
Visit the museum’s website for more attraction details, event schedules, tickets, and some helpful tips for your visit.
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