Fun Things to do in Tucson? (Phoenix, Tempe: construction, university, restaurants)

[m1ndless]

Me and my girl are coming down in a few weeks from phoenix, she has never been to tucson, and I havent been in about 12 years. I want to go hiking or somethind outdoors during the day, I heard Seven Falls is amazing, anyone know if it is flowing good this year?

Also what is the night life like down there, neither of us are 21 yet, so maybe a nice restaurant or something like a club or something at night?

Any other suggestions?

[Valley Native]

I never looked into Tucson's nightlife, or choice of restaurants/bars. Being that it's primarily a college town, I'd think it would be similar to Tempe.

The few times I've gone to Tucson have been for outdoor activities: Mount Lemmon, Desert Sonoran Museum, Old Tucson Studios, Sabino Canyon, etc. Of all those places, Mount Lemmon is probably my favorite. In a short while, you climb from a desert altitude of 2,000 feet to over 9,000 feet with pine trees and cool, crisp mountain air.

Other than that, why not take a drive on Tucson's half freeway (210)? That'll take you from nowhere to nowhere in a matter of minutes.
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[LordBalfor]

Seven Falls was flowing last week when we were there. They've been having a pretty active monsoon season this year. Lots of good restaurants in Tucson (can't tell you about clubs).

Ken

[mdtoaz]

Don't know about the club scene, but we've found a couple resturants that we've liked so far. We're newbs to the area, but liked Feast, Cuvee, Las Candelas and Patiche. Good food, good wine (sorry, you can't partake) and pretty cheap (at least compared to comparable Baltimore restaurants).

Also... where's Seven Falls? Haven't gotten there yet.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Other than that, why not take a drive on Tucson's half freeway (210)? That'll take you from nowhere to nowhere in a matter of minutes.()

LMBO @ Valley

There you go again . . . PICKING ON OUR WONDERFUL FREEWAY SYSTEM!

by the way, latest rumer is a "Golden Gate" style bridge is being planned for our famous 210 Freeway! ! ! ! !

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by m1ndless

Me and my girl are coming down in a few weeks from phoenix, she has never been to tucson, and I havent been in about 12 years. I want to go hiking or somethind outdoors during the day, I heard Seven Falls is amazing, anyone know if it is flowing good this year?

Also what is the night life like down there, neither of us are 21 yet, so maybe a nice restaurant or something like a club or something at night?

Any other suggestions?

My primary suggestion, m1ndless . . . delay your trip until after the Monsoons. Our storms are fairly severe during many afternoons and evenings and could put a damper on enjoying the outside attractions that have been recommended.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Bummer

LMBO @ Valley

There you go again . . . PICKING ON OUR WONDERFUL FREEWAY SYSTEM!

by the way, latest rumer is a "Golden Gate" style bridge is being planned for our famous 210 Freeway! ! ! ! !

And what will the bridge go over??? A better idea would be to build a real bypass or loop freeway in or around Tucson ... not a road that starts at one street and dead ends at another. The 210 reminds me somewhat of Phoenix's 153 (Sky Harbor Expressway) ... begins at Washington and ends abruptly at University. That's AduhT for you!

The only good thing about so called freeways like that is they usually don't have much traffic. I'm planning a trip this fall to the Chiricahua mountains, so I may use the 210 as a "short cut" through Tucson ... being that Interstate 10 is all torn up (from what I heard).

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

And what will the bridge go over??? A better idea would be to build a real bypass or loop freeway in or around Tucson ... not a road that starts at one street and dead ends at another. The 210 reminds me somewhat of Phoenix's 153 (Sky Harbor Expressway) ... begins at Washington and ends abruptly at University. That's AduhT for you!

The only good thing about so called freeways like that is they usually don't have much traffic. I'm planning a trip this fall to the Chiricahua mountains, so I may use the 210 as a "short cut" through Tucson ... being that Interstate 10 is all torn up (from what I heard).

Just returned from Tucson (spent 2 weeks there) and actually, for those just wanting to pass through the city, the fact that the freeway through town is being torn up is a huge advantage. Since all downtown on-ramps and off-ramps are closed, the 2 remaining lanes have become effectively an express-lane pipeline right through the city - no merging traffic to deal with at all, so the traffic actually flows VERY well. They just raised the speed limit from 45 to 55 through that zone because everyone was going at least that fast anyway (actually closer to 65).

If you are just passing through the city, don't let the construction intimidate you.

Ken

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

Just returned from Tucson (spent 2 weeks there) and actually, for those just wanting to pass through the city, the fact that the freeway through town is being torn up is a huge advantage. Since all downtown on-ramps and off-ramps are closed, the 2 remaining lanes have become effectively an express-lane pipeline right through the city - no merging traffic to deal with at all, so the traffic actually flows VERY well. They just raised the speed limit from 45 to 55 through that zone because everyone was going at least that fast anyway (actually closer to 65).

If you are just passing through the city, don't let the construction intimidate you.

Ken

But what if I have to stop in Tucson and pee? I guess ADOT didn't have Diabetics in mind when they closed all the exit ramps. Oh well. I guess I'll stop outside of Tucson somwehere & use a cactus ... or else take a chance on bursting when I reach Benson.
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[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

But what if I have to stop in Tucson and pee? I guess ADOT didn't have Diabetics in mind when they closed all the exit ramps. Oh well. I guess I'll stop outside of Tucson somwehere & use a cactus ... or else take a chance on bursting when I reach Benson.
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No peeing for you!!! C'mon, now... Since you know beforehand, you'll stop just before Tucson. Surely can hold it for 20-30 minutes. They should've put some port-a-potties along I-10. I haven't been around and don't know what the mess looks like exactly, but a coworker of mine coming every day from Marana bitches all the time.

Btw, read the other day about some study trying to pass the idea for a freeway between PHX and TUS starting West of PHX and ending East of TUS. Naturally, there's all kinds of opposition. Hey, this is AZ here... we like it backwards.