Great museum with many interesting sights and exhibits. An ideal place in this social distancing period of time. Big footprint and not crowded. Primarily outdoors. Some people still dont get it, wear a mask when around others not in your social bubble. Please!

Very cool, mostly outdoor museum. They have a wide variety of desert flora and fauna. Would visit this place again. Plan for at least 3 to 5 hours. Bring sunscreen and a water bottle.

Its a desert paradise. Love the walking trails with lots of plant labels. Hummingbird house was awesome. The grille food was very good and very reasonably priced. AT&T has no service out there so print your ticket before you go.

This place was great. Mostly outdoors. The walking paths were straightf forward and provided views of the animals in their environments. Weather was good and most animals.were active. Covid puts a damper on it a bit, others complied in park pretty well, along with staff. Will visit again.

There are so many good things I can say about this place. Aesthetically it is beautiful and a great place to venture alone or with the family. Full of excitement & calm.More importantly I’ve gotten to see how much the staff truly loves and cares for the animals. The facility is designed in a way that creates environments like the animals would experience in nature, all while providing them with enrichment to keep them mentally and physically healthy.GREAT JOB!Sending many blessing your way.

Beautiful variety of exhibits including an extensive walking path. Great for educational trips or the curious desert tourist (like myself). I loved the live animal exhibits the most but the large variety of cacti were very memorable as well!

Season pass best deal ever!So much to see. Open spaces relaxing yet invigorating

I have been coming here since I was a child; now taking my daughter! Its all in the desert. It allows visitors to see real life desert habitat! I love this place. So peaceful and beautiful. Love the variety of flora and fauna!

We took our children ages 14, 7, and 3 here. My hubby and I enjoyed all the fun exhibits it offers. The kids were totally entertained. It took 4 to 5 hours for us to see everything. Great trip.

Love this place. Used to come as a kid. We took part of the desert loop trail and looked under the bridges and saw javalienas! Love how it feels like you are out in the wild. Very cool gem and rock exhibits too when you first come in

This was such an incredible experience during our trip to AZ. It was a last minute thing as we were headed even further south, but it was such a treat. All of the attractions were amazing. The gift shop was cool as well.

This is probably my number one place to get a good nature hike in and explore the animals and plants that live in our local deserts. You cant beat it and I highly recommend you take your out of town guests here everytime. Bring water, be in decent shape and be ready to walk around for at least 3-5 hours to really see it all.

A truly amazing place to visit! The exhibits were very well put together and there was a lot to see. The coyotes and javelinas were both out (they normally aren’t visible). All the other exhibits were great as well.

This is one of my favorite museums in the country. I find the desert here so strange it is just a wonder to be in it. I visited this museum years ago. There have been a ton of improvements and was worth going to again. Actually, every time I am in Tucson I always make it a point to visit this museum. It is mostly outdoors, so be aware of that on hot days.

This is definitely one of my favorite spots in Tucson. Awesome views and a lot of cool information regarding the surrounding wildlife/vegetation in the Sonoran Desert. You could easily spend the entire day here if you actually take your time to appreciate everything it has to offer!

What a treat to get out of the house and enjoy a museum during the pandemic! I am NOT a pandemic denier and we are careful to do our part. Anyone can visit and feel safe ... its not very busy, and you can walk the paths and hardly ever come within 20 yards of someone. If you wanted to go in the inside parts, everyone was doing a good job distancing and wearing masks. Despite the closures, it honestly meant the world to get out of the house and enjoy a micro-vacation, and the desert museum is my favorite museum in the whole world. Thank you!

Excellent. We spent several hours at the museum to get some relief from the sun and hiking. Very well laid out, with shaded nooks and crannies to sit and watch.....hummingbirds, butterflies, wolves, snakes....a great cactus garden and others. OK cafe, nice coffee shop.

Loved this place! Our toddler was able to walk the entire thing and loved every minute. The variety of plants, animals, exhibits, and views were all amazing. Must see.

The Sonora Desert Museum offers something for everyone. Restaurant, art gallery, exhibits, animals, gardens, humming bird aviary etc. Wear comfortable waking/hiking shoes. The annual membership is a great deal!

Great place. We had a 10:00 time slot and it was great. Plenty of open parking spots. It was cool and overcast. Animals were active. We were sad that we could not touch the stingrays. I think the stingrays were sad too! No crowds. Pleasant visit.

The place is a very nice family oriented establishment where anyone can enjoy several hours for the whole day in a very well kept Desert Oasis. You may eat at the restaurant there and you better do some shopping at the gift shops as you rest.

Beautiful, peaceful, and I learned so much! Cant wait to see what its like after the covid 19 restrictions are lifted. My friend was telling me about all the fun things they do. My family will be getting a membership so we can go as often as we can!

My brother took me here while in Tucson visiting. We didn’t have much time to check out everything but I plan to come back and see the rest in the near future. This is a great museum to check out if you’re not from this area. There are signs on all of the plants/wildlife. I really enjoyed myself and I can’t wait to come back!

A favorite for my kids. We bought a family pass for the year. Its best to see the animals first thing while they are active, then take the desert walk. Mixing visits to indoor and outdoor exhibits helps maximize your day. There are plenty of fountains along trails to refill a water bottle.

Amazing museum. Has a zoo, nature walk, geology exhibits, aquarium and really great botanical gardens! Must see in Tuscon. Plan to spend a few hours here to see everything

Wow! What a fantastic living plant and animal museum! We spent a half day there and had a great time. We would definitely come again. Covid procedures are top-notch.

Great place to spend the day. Everything is spaced out and mostly outside. Perfect place to go during COVID-19.

Nice museum. A good bit of walking but worth every step. The weather was great for us. Even so there are lots of shaddy areas and benches if you get tired.

The sonoran desert is beautiful. you learn a lot about the animals and plant life with little information tags along the way. the habitats are realistic to what they would be in real life. It is about a 2.5-3hr walk around the full park. everywhere you go youll find something to marble about.

Loved it. Great stroll. Great exhibits. Great animal displays. Can not recommend this enough.

Was very pleasant experience but take a hat n sunscreen n bottle of water. Couldnt see the big cats cuz they were napping. Saw the humming birds and the spiders. A nice experience but be aware is super hot

This place was spectacular. The animal exhibits are very well done and the cactus garden alone is worth the admission. The landscape is a beautiful clustering of cactus found in other regions and brought together in adoringly different ways. This is not the landscape outside of this museum. The animals were all visible and active, which made for some great photography. We loved this place and can see why its so adored.

Very interesting, fully integrated with the landscape. Lots of great things to see and enjoyed.

Amazing planting, grouping of species was stunning. Extremely well orchestrated. Incredible hardscape, good collection of animals

Love visiting with the family. We have a family membership & its nice to go walk around often. The packrat playhouse is awesome & my kids enjoyed the classes they had for them too. The Ocotillo restaurant was really good & they had great service. Its just hard to eat here because of the times that they are open vary. We love the desert museum & all the educational opportunities!

We are members here and absolutely love it but Im leaving this review for the event last night. Saturdays this Oct they are open in the evenings, weve come to cool summer nights before and enjoyed it so we decided to come last night. Not many places I feel safe visiting during Covid but the Desert Museum has been one of them, weve come in the mornings and barely seen other people. Right now you need a reservation to come and I thought the whole point was to keep the crowds low and SAFE. This was not the case last night, it was crazy crowded and no one was respecting the 6 foot social distancing, strangers we all up in my personal space and one point an older man came and stood right by me and my son and coughed very loudly on us!!! Im praying now we dont get sick. I really think events like this should be kept to members and please please do better about the amount of people you allow in during a pandemic so that distance can be observed. Last night was not acceptable at all.

Dont waste your money. I dont understand how this place is getting such good reviews. Every exhibit was empty. No animals, except a skunk and a sad otter all by himself who looked neglected. If your thinking about this place or another choose the other one.

Dont forget a hat. They have sunscreen in the restrooms! Even on a warm day there are shady spots and cool buildings throughout.

Museum is more like a zoo plus museum. There are contactless water filling stations and hand sanitizers everywhere. They have implemented timed entry and online reservations to control the number of people inside the museum at a time.I loved this place. It has hot too much information. I could easily spend 3-4 hours here if it was not 108 degrees outside.

A great place to see a lot of desert animals and plants. Best to start your tour a min. of 2 hrs before sunset. Or be there when they open

It was amazing! There were only a few of the larger animals out the rest were sleeping or avoiding the sun. The aquarium was fun to watch. The hummingbird sanctuary was fun too. We took lost of pictures. We would go again definitely.

Well curated zoo. Natural exhibits. One of our favorite places to visit. Just remember water and sunscreen. Its a good place to get some steps in too, so be sure to wear good walking shoes.

Had a good time. Animals, gems, and some good information. Will go again

SPECTACULAR DESERT EXPERIENCE!! Been there 2 times and still have not seen everything! Pics dont do its justice. Zoo and botanical garden combined into one spot!

My husband and I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon (2 days ago). Unfortunately, not a lot of the animals were out. The cactus garden was beautiful. Bring good walking shoes and plenty of water.

Great weather this time of year in the desert. Not a lot of animals out though. I was there from 11:00am-2:00pm. Ive also been there in the springtime and I highly recommend going there to see all the cactus in bloom as it is quite beautiful.

Neat museum / outdoor style walking zoo. A little toasty when we were there so we didnt do the whole thing but still worth the price of admission. Great gift shop with a lot of native American art, jewelry and impressive assortment of rocks, semi precious stones and fossils in an air conditioned setting! We would definitely return in a cooler season and post COVID to better enjoy this great find!

Was a beautiful place to learn and connect with the nature and history of AZ.

A little disappointed... The grounds are well kept, but Im not sure the animals are being well cared of for. The big horn sheep were completely out of water during the hottest part of the day. The hottest part of the day is not the time to go if you want to see all the animals apparently because the bear and cougar were nowhere to be found. The hawk enclosures seemed extraordinarily small and I didnt see a single hummingbird...all their feeders were bone dry. The icing on the cake was the on-premise restaurant that charged $35 and some change for two frozen hamburger pattys (yuck), a side of fries, and two sodas with no straw or lid. Yet they pride themselves on the wooden forks they provide that are wrapped in high dollar plastic along with the condiments that are all in plastic packaging. Some of us old-timers need a straw for sensitive teeth! The world does make paper straws! I really enjoyed seeing the Studebaker as it brought back memories of watching Hal on Saturday mornings after Wild Kingdom as a child. Hal would be disappointed.

An absolutle MUST if you ever find yourself in the Tucson area!!A 30 minute walk through their desert landscape and you can see everything from Javelinas to coyotes to Bobcats to ocelots.On top of the animals, some of which are wild, you are going to find an EXTENSIVE spread of cacti from Saguaro to Agaves to Prickly Pear and more.They do a REALLY good job with this museum, and there is something for everyone here.It is really quite something to be able to walk through the desert heat and see the environment these amazing plants and animals live in.Please, check this place out, its really quite incredible!!

A real nice place to go. Lots to see and do.

Lots of fun, great animal exhibits. Take water and sunscreen and definitely check out the gift shops! Good food, too!

Great early morning experience..Very informative and so much flora and fauna

Taking a class at the Art Institute at the Sonora Desert Museum. Great class!Looking forward to more! Masked and socially distant (every student has their own six foot table)

So much to see and do here, very family friendly. Every docent I’ve encountered has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Always a great time when we visit.

What a fabulous place and one ofthe best day activities in Tucson. The facilities are well taken care of and in great condition and the Care for animals is visible

Always Loved this place when we would visit Arizona and always have good memories here. Especially great because they dont have any goats that run up and bite my brother in the nuts. Cant beat a zoo that offers that!

Great way to spend a few hours w the family. Part botanical gardens, part zoo - it has a little for all ages. Felt very safe during Covid as well with limited attendance and masks in use indoors.

Magnificent. I have never used that word to describe anything until now but this is a place you will want to visit more than one time. So much variety and you are up close and personal with the Sonoran Desert. Don’t miss this.

Very cool place to walk around for a couple hours. Beautiful and informative.

This beautiful museum is a must see for any Tucson resident or vacationer. The walk through the varying exhibits and landscapes is informative and unforgettable!

Im not quite sure how to describe my experience here. This is a mixture of zoo, botanical garden and nature preserve. I like that the animal exhibits have a lot of hiding places for the animals, so actually seeing them is hit or miss. I think this concept is healthier and kinder to the animals, theyre not always on display.There are signs everywhere, explaining the native flora and fauna and history of the Sonoran desert. Its quite a bit of walking, I spent over 2 hours just staying on the main path, one can easily spend 3 or 4 hours.The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a unique experience, I enjoyed it.

The Museum was incredible!! We enjoyed the beautiful outdoors in the Desert and seeing all the animals and beautiful cacti!!

Wonderful park! Mostly a botanical garden of Sonora Desert plants (including the rare and exotic) but also a zoo with an aquarium, bird sanctuary, butterfly garden, etc. Touch a meteorite older than the sun! See a moon rock! Good for half a day or all day. This is the only place I have seen golden barrel cactus and golden saguaros. If I lived in Arizona, I would become a permanent member. It is nice now in January but different flowers will come out in various seasons. Lots to do for nature lovers of all ages!

Don’t let the name of museum deter you. Amazing mix of animals, exhibits and activities. My kids loves this place. Every time we come there is something else happening. Love it! We will for sure return again. AZ residents pay only 18.00 for adults. Worth every penny!!

Had a great time (again). Love the Desert Museum!

Good outdoor/indoor mix of things to see. Good mix of exhibits in general. Didnt see many animals.

Great introduction to the Sonora Desert. Educational and a nice walk. Most of it is outside so beware of the weather. They limit the number of people.

Fun and educating place. Very hot the day we went. Very nice trails to walk through. Had a good time.

O think this place is awesome. There are just enough things to see that it can be done in a day without having to rush. The prices are good for the museum and everyone of the volunteers are very knowledgeable. Great place for all ages.

Upgraded my one time passes to an annual membership. Best to visit first thing in the morning as there is more activity. Be aware that the sting rays are view only due to COVID. While that is not optimum we did have one on one time with the handler and found out they think a few of them are pregnant. Will be watching for that update on FB.

We came down from ny and it was a very nice and my kids had a really great time. I would recommend this place for people visit

Love this place. Quiet stroll through the cacti while absorbing all the information. Extremely clean and safe.

We paid alot of money to not see hardly any desert animals, or learn anything about the desert!! we did see cactus and my sons girlfriend is from Louisiana so she loved the cactus.. Very disappointing....

It was AMAZING. We thoroughly enjoyed it, it was well worth the time and reasonable fee to enter. We took a guided tour with Kathy and she did a phenomenal job showing us around. I would ask for slightly better maps and directional signage. Fantastic!

Such a new experience. However make sure you wear a hat, it gets really hot really fast. The drinking fountains and shade spots help a lot.

Absolutely stunning, honestly I would’ve paid twice as much for the experience. It was gorgeous and the staff were so friendly and helpful, I definitely recommend. We got there at about 1:30pm and I didn’t realize how fast time passed and we were walking on the dirt paths and a staff member came and said they were closing up shop soon and I looked down at my watch and it was 5pm. I could’ve stayed all day and all night, Beautiful place!

This place is pretty cool. First time coming here today with family. Its pretty cool and it has everything. From animals to fish to birds. Everything you can find in the desert all the way to the gulf of mexico. The plants are all beautiful. Such a great place to visit while Im Tuscon!

I loved the museum. The exhibits had all kinds of desert critters Ive heard about and not seen. It was very hot that day so it was difficult for us to stay and enjoy for a long time. The drive out to the museum was beautiful too! Highly recommended.

Such a beautiful place. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Love to spend time here

This is the coolest museum, botanical garden, zoo etc I have ever been to. Make sure you experience this place. Well worth your time.

Outstanding dessert museum. Some indoor displays are closed but the varieties of cacti and other desert flora and fauna are still on display. Kids love the animal displays and I loved the hummingbirds

Always a fantastic experience. Best at the early am. Not too hot yet. Raptor Flight was amazing!!!! I cant describe the exhilarating experience to have these beautiful birds of prey fly just inches above our heads.If you love Gods creatures, itll bring you to tears, because of the sheer beauty and amazing care these animals have.Thanks for making our daughters 11th birthday special. The restaurant is 5 stars yummy.Im excited to come back.

Enjoyable for the whole family. Many things to do. Many of my older family live it though.

Great park. We went while some areas where closed, but they gave us a free ticket for later in the year. Animals, desert gardens, hummingbird exhibits, history, art and more. Theres so much to do! Most of the park is outside, so be prepared for heat. Even with large sections of the park closed off due to national closures, we still were there for 3 hours. We will have to come back to see more another time!

I wanted this to be a great experience but it was a huge disappointment. The facility is nicely landscaped and staff is friendly. However, there were far more empty animal enclosures than those with animals. Or if not empty, the animals were completely hidden from view which is the same from an observers point of view. In the end I did not get to see ANY of the animals that I came to see. No mountain lion, no bobcat, no bear, no coati, no javelina, no ring tail cat, no fox, no owl, no eagle, no hawk, no rattlesnake, no gila monster. All of them were either cometely hidden from view or not in their enclosures. The only animals I did get to see were hummingbirds, ducks, doves, frogs, toads, bighorn sheep, an otter, a beaver, and fish in the aquarium. Not worth the price of admission or the 100 miles drive each way. I feel like the website was false advertising as it did not even remotely reflect my families experience.

As most of the reviewers have pointed out, this isnt exactly a museum, but a small zoo, which is centred round a small desert trail walk. A good interesting mixture of things to see and always informative with a lively sense of fun. The raptor free flight was a definite highlight and I also enjoyed the humming bird aviary and the aquarium. The earth science exhibit was entertaining Nd well put together, but I would have liked more information about the localities and ages of the displayed fossils

If you want to experience nature without having to deal with nature, this is a really good place to go. Lots of desert animals and flora and a really nice gift shop. Its a nice place to take the family or people who dont necessarily want to hike among the saguaro.Make sure to plan around the bird shows, they are awesome.

I just loved the experience there. It takes at least 2 hours to see everything in the museum. So I suggest you to go with time. The cave and the view that you get there are the 2 best things for me. Be aware to stay hydrated. I recommend to go there with comfortable clothes to walk, since you are going to, for at least 2 or 3 miles. If you are visiting Tucson this is a must see.

I really enjoyed this place especially the restaurant located by the exit. The trails were great and it was nice to see the animals as well. They do a great bird show so make time for that. Old Tucson and Saguaro National Park is close by as well.

This museum is wonderful. It’s so large that my boyfriend and I sent about 3 hours here. It pricey, but the experience is unique and worth it. We were lucky enough to go on a sunny but cool day, so all of the animals were out. There is a hummingbird exhibit, an underground cave exhibit, and a stingray exhibit that you can pay $3 to touch them.

Drove out there prepared to have a good time. The tickets were a bit pricey, but I was willing to drop the money. However, instead of receiving a friendly welcome, my wife and I experienced disgusting attitude from the ticket lady. Her manners were as ugly as her face. My wife and I turned around and walked away. I want to thank that rude lady for saving me my hard earned money.

Awesome place to visit! Cant wait to go back!

I love it here will be returning soon

Always a great experience. Love this place!! The gift shop also. Turquoise, pottery and much more with knowledgeable staff!!

Great place for a nature foray. I especially enjoyed the fact that the animal enclosures were much more open for photographing said animals. Arizona residents are offered a discount but the pricing overall wasn’t too bad. Lots of trails to walk around and the flora was wide and varied.

We came here on a hot day but had a lot of fun anyway. if youre planning on coming here, especially during covid-19, make sure you bring water or at least a water bottle.

Great Museum really terrific layout plenty of free water stations and bathrooms, you really can spend the whole day here.

Loved how they brought the museum to life! The javalinas were the best part!

Pretty great desert museum and a must see in the area but go early to avoid crowds.