weekender.
Weekend trips from University of Arizona
Hidden spots near Tucson, day trips and weekend road trips from University of Arizona in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from University of Arizona →Local finds near campus
Saguaro National Park
A forest of giant cactus, some 200 years old, right outside Tucson.
Mount Lemmon
Drive from saguaros to pine forest (and snow in winter) in an hour above Tucson.
Day trips
Kartchner Caverns
A living limestone cave, secret until 1988, with one of the world's longest soda straws.
Tombstone
The town too tough to die: wooden boardwalks, the O.K. Corral and Boothill cemetery.
Phoenix
Roosevelt Row's murals, Sonoran hot dogs and a sunrise hike up Camelback.
Bisbee
An old copper-mining town of staircases and art galleries, near the border.
Chiricahua
A 'wonderland of rocks': thousands of balanced stone columns in a sky island. Free entry.
Weekend trips
Phoenix
Roosevelt Row's murals, Sonoran hot dogs and a sunrise hike up Camelback.
Bisbee
An old copper-mining town of staircases and art galleries, near the border.
Chiricahua
A 'wonderland of rocks': thousands of balanced stone columns in a sky island. Free entry.
Sedona
Red rock buttes, slot-canyon swimming holes and a dark-sky town (Red Rock Pass $5 a car).
Petrified Forest
Rainbow logs of stone and the Painted Desert's badlands along old Route 66.
Flagstaff
The world's first dark-sky city, a Route 66 downtown and snow in winter.
Long weekends
Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea
A hand-painted hill, Slab City's off-grid art town and the eerie shores of the Salton Sea.
Lake Havasu
The original London Bridge, rebuilt in the desert, and warm-water coves for boats and paddleboards.
Joshua Tree
Twisted trees, boulder scrambles and some of the darkest skies near LA.
Sedona
Red rock buttes, slot-canyon swimming holes and a dark-sky town (Red Rock Pass $5 a car).
Anza-Borrego & Borrego Springs
Giant metal dinosaur sculptures in the desert, wildflowers in spring and a dark-sky town.
Mojave Preserve & Kelso Dunes
Booming sand dunes that hum when you slide down, and free camping under the stars.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
Find my trips from University of Arizona →