Parks

Explore wide-open spaces in and around Marana.

Southern Arizona is home to some of the country’s most spectacular open spaces, and Marana offers the perfect launching point for outdoor adventures. The Tortolita Mountains showcase the grandeur of the surprisingly verdant Sonoran Desert. As the Wild Burro Trail climbs ever deeper into this vast wilderness, the stunning north face of Mt. Lemmon looms overhead. With its summit towering over a mile above the desert floor, onlookers can admire eight distinct biomes on these slopes, from the arid desert scrub at the base to the dense pine forest at the top. In between resides a diverse landscape of flora and fauna, with manzanita trees shading seasonal and perennial streams, wind-carved hoodoos rising overhead, and a wide expanse of bright sun and blue sky shining above throughout the year.

South of Marana sits Saguaro National Park West, home not only to the world’s largest cacti, but also to abundant wildlife.  Tortoises, javelina, and even jaguars await the desert wanderer. The parks of Southern Arizona are sure to reward the bold explorers who venture into them.