20 Attractions to Explore Near Catalina State Park

Also known as the Mount Lemmon Infrared Observatory, is an astronomical observatory located on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains approximately 28 kilometers northeast of Tucson, Arizona . The site in the Coronado National Forest is used with special permission from the U.S. Forest Service by the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, and contains a number of independently managed telescopes.

It is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon, who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband and E. O. Stratton, a local rancher, by horse and foot in 1881.

Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area is a 56,430 acre wilderness area. It is located within the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Established in 1978, the area varies greatly in elevation and biodiversity, rising from 2,800 feet to over 9,100 feet in elevation.

Mount Lemmon Ski Valley is a recreational ski area in the U.S. state of Arizona, and the southernmost ski destination in the continental United States. Mount Lemmon Ski Valley is located on the slopes of Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson, Arizona. It is part of the Coronado National Forest, located near the mountaintop village of Summerhaven.

A botanical garden, nature preserve and cultural museum located in Casas Adobes, a suburb of Tucson, Arizona. The mission of Tohono Chul is to connect people with the wonders of nature, art and culture in the Sonoran Desert region and inspiring wise stewardship of the natural world.

DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Historic District is the artistic manifestation and architecture constructed by Ettore DeGrazia. The property is a series of buildings scattered throughout a natural desert setting. Built in Tucson near the intersection of Swan Road and Skyline the property is now a museum open to the public.

Sabino Canyon is a significant canyon located in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona. It is a popular recreation area for residents and visitors of Southern Arizona, providing a place to walk, hike or ride. Minutes away from the desert are large waterfalls along Sabino Creek with minor bridges constructed over them. Wildlife in the canyon includes deer, javelina, skunks, tortoises, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions.

Biosphere 2 is an American Earth system science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona. Its mission is to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching, and lifelong learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe. It is a 3.14-acre structure originally built to be an artificial, materially closed ecological system, or vivarium. It remains the largest closed ecological system ever created.

Fort Lowell was a United States Army post active from 1873 to 1891 on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. Fort Lowell was the successor to Camp Lowell, an earlier Army installation. The Army claimed a military reservation that encompassed approximately eighty square miles and extended east toward the Rincon Mountains.

The Tucson Botanical Gardens is a 5.5-acre collection of sixteen residentially scaled urban gardens in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Paths connect these gardens, which include a Zen Garden, a Prehistoric Garden, a Barrio Garden, a Butterfly Garden, a Xeriscape Garden, and a Children’s Garden.

Peppersauce Cave is a limestone cave found in the Santa Catalina Mountains approximately ten miles south of Oracle, Arizona. Peppersauce is frequented by about 23,000 visitors every year and contains approximately one mile of mapped passages. The cave has been subject to vandalism and heavy littering for over fifty years.

Trail Dust Town is a historical outdoor shopping center located in Tucson, Arizona. on its grounds exists a great number of historical artifacts, including an Allan Herschell merry-go-round which was manufactured in 1954 that still contains its original horses and benches.

The Center for Creative Photography established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American photographers. , as well as a collection of over 80,000 images representing more than 2,000 photographers. The CCP collects, preserves, interprets, and makes available materials that are essential to understanding photography and its history.

The Arizona State Museum, founded in 1893, was originally a repository for the collection and protection of archaeological resources. Today, however, ASM stores artifacts exhibits them and provides education and research opportunities. It was formed by the authority of the Arizona Territorial Legislature. The museum is operated by the University of Arizona and is located on the university campus in Tucson.

The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. The national forest is divided into five ranger districts, which are not contiguous; each consists of multiple sky island mountain ranges.

Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón was a presidio located within Tucson, Arizona. The original fortress was built by Spanish soldiers during the 18th century and was the founding structure of what became the city of Tucson. After the American arrival in 1856, the original walls were dismantled, with the last section torn down in 1918.

The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block is an art museum and art education institution located in the Presidio District of downtown Tucson, Arizona. The museum comprises 74,000-square-feet of exhibition space over a four-acre city block that includes a contemporary main museum and 19th C. historic homes that have been adapted for reuse as the Museum restaurant, pottery school, and galleries.

The Cathedral of Saint Augustine is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. It is located in Tucson, Arizona. The cathedral features an elaborate cast stone façade with the coat of arms of Pope Pius XI, who was the pope at the time of the building's construction.

The Reid Park Zoo, founded in 1967, is a 24-acre (9.7 ha) city-owned and operated non-profit zoo located within Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona. The zoo features more than 500 animals. Reid Park Zoo consists of four zones that are organized by the types of habitats and animals they house.

This is a 4,000 acre wildlife refuge in the northern foothills of the Catalina Mountains. The park offers day-use picnic areas and over 15 miles of trails for use by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. The most common plants in Oracle State Park are prickly pear and cholla cactus, scrub oak, mesquite, many wildflowers, and the occasional piñon and juniper. Bird species include red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, prairie falcons, black-throated sparrows and so more.