Visiting Gates Pass

You can't come to Tucson without visiting Gates Pass.

Located a short drive west of town, Gates Pass is a great place to escape the city and watch a sunset or a desert storm. You can visit Gates Pass on your way out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, but its worth the time and effort to climb a nearby peak and watch the sun go down for an hour or so.

Gates Pass is tourist-friendly, so you won't need hiking shoes or copious amounts of water to enjoy the views unless you plan on hiking to a higher peak.

Tip: If you're up for a short climb, the peak closest to the parking lot takes 10 minutes to climb and is high enough to see for miles around. Watch the sun go down, then turn around and watch as the city lights up as the sky goes dark.

To get there:

Drive west on Speedway Boulevard. Once you pass Silverbell, the drive will mostly be uphill and you'll start seeing more cacti. This means you're headed in the right direction.

Continue driving west, following the signs to Gates Pass. There will be a gate to your right, and Parking is to the right of the gate entrance. Take a camera.

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