Tohono Chul Park - An Arizona Treasure
Think of 49 gorgeous acres right at the northwestern edge of Tucson. If you're out shopping at La Encantada or Tucson Mall, it's only 4 miles away, and even closer to Foothills Mall or Casas Adobes.
Governor Janet Napolitano named it officially an Arizona Treasure, one of only two places in Tucson to achieve that recognition.
The 49 acres contain several unique gardens and trails, and even a forest! A forest of cholla cacti, that is. There is no charge to park, and one can dine for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea or desserts at the Tohono Chul Park Tea Room and shop at the La Entrada Museum Shop and Greenhouse and the La Fuente Museum Shop without paying the park's admission fee.
The admission fee of $5 ($4 for seniors, $3 for students with ID, $2 for children 5-12) is waived for members, and there are other benefits for members worth checking out, even if you're only in Tucson for a few weeks.
The park has activities going year-round. There is a concert series in the spring and another in the fall, with performers on stage in the beautiful outdoor performance garden. Spring brings the Wildflower Festival, the big fundraiser of the year.
Sometime in June, often on an evening determined earlier in the same day, the park is open till midnight, free to the public,to herald the night-blooming cereus. The lovely and fragrant white flower blooms only once a year, on a quite scrawny cactus plant. The celebration is timed for the maximum number of plants to be blooming at once. The event always receives tremendous media attention.
