DAILY TOURS AND ECO-STATIONS
We are pleased to announce that Tohono Chul will be reopening with limited days and times beginning August 13. Please check out the Visit page for information on how to purchase timed admission tickets.
For your continued health and safety, and for that of staff and volunteers, we will not be re-instituting our daily tour or Eco-Station schedule, however, greeters will be available at Admissions and in the Overlook to answer questions and provide directions.
We will also be installing temporary interpretive signage at various points of interest along the one-way loop path through the heart of the gardens. Be sure to check them out!
Your patience and understanding during this difficult time is greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much!
To receive the most up-to-date information, please follow us on Facebook, visit our website, or read our email newsletters.
All public tours are included in the price of admission, no reservations are necessary. Private group tours are also available. For non-profit and education groups please contact sspikes@tohonochul.org. For bus tours, corporate or destination management companies please contact marketing@tohonochul.org.
Butterflies and their Plants
Year-round | Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m.
Nature lovers, shutterbugs and bug lovers will get an in-depth glimpse of some of the most engaging creatures in the Sonoran Desert, butterflies! View the Butterfly ID Guide here.
Free with admission.
Birds of Prey – Night & Day
2nd & 4th Wednesdays | February 12 to April 22 | 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Children’s Ramada
Naturalist and wildlife rehabilitator Kathie Schroeder rejoins us with her Harris’ Hawk buddy Sueño and two new friends Poppy, the Western Screech Owl, and Banshee, the Barn Owl. Discover the different habits of birds of prey who hunt by night or by day, and get to know a collection of the most unflappable birds in town.
Weekly Happenings
MONDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 10a.m.
TOUR | Birds of Tohono Chul
Year-round: 8:30a.m.
ECO STATION | Winged Things | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
TUESDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 10a.m.
EVENT | Gallery Buzz | Oct-Apr: 11a.m.
TOUR | Wildflowers: What’s Bloomin’?
Mar-Apr: 10a.m.
EVENT | Stories in the Garden | Chidren’s Ramada | Year-round: 10a.m.
ECO STATION | Ocean to Desert | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
WEDNESDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m.
TOUR | Birds of Tohono Chul
Year-round: 8:30a.m.
EVENT | Birds of Prey – Night & Day
February-April, October-December
Periodically 2nd & 4th Wednesdays | 11a.m. to 1p.m.
Check Tohono Chul’s website for the Birds of Prey – Night & Day Schedule
ECO STATION | Rock & Ruins | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
THURSDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m.
EVENT | Gallery Buzz | Oct-Apr: 11a.m.
TOUR | Wildflowers: What’s Bloomin’?
Mar-Apr: 10a.m.
ECO STATION | Desert Chow | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
FRIDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m.
TOUR | Birds of Tohono Chul
Year-round: 8:30a.m.
TOUR | Connecting Plants & People
Year-round: 11a.m.
EVENT | Reptile Ramble | mid-Aug to mid-Nov & Mar-May (not in summer or winter): 10a.m.
ECO STATION | Creepy Crawlies | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
SATURDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens
Oct-Apr: 10a.m., 12p.m. & 2p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m.
TOUR | Birds of Tohono Chul
Year-round: 8:30a.m.
TOUR | Wildflowers: What’s Bloomin’?
Mar-Apr: 10a.m.
TOUR | Butterflies & Their Plants
Year-round: 11a.m.
TOUR | Desert Landscaping
Year-round: 9a.m.
ECO-STATION | Prickly Plants | Overlook
Oct-Apr: 11a.m. to 1p.m. | May-Sept: 9a.m. to 11a.m.
SUNDAYS
TOUR | Walk in the Gardens | Year-round: 10a.m.
TOUR | Art in the Gardens | Oct-Apr: 12p.m.
TOUR | Butterflies & Their Plants
Year-round: 11a.m.
Activity Descriptions
Walk in the Gardens –
Experience Tohono Chul while learning some of the basics of the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.
Birds of Tohono Chul –
Learn to identify residents and those just passing through, plus information on habits and habitat.
Download Tohono Chul Park’s Bird Checklist (PDF format)
Gallery Buzz –
Get an in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at our changing art and cultural exhibits.
Stories in the Garden –
Traditional and original stories about the desert and its creatures in the Children’s Ramada.
Wildflowers: What’s Bloomin’? –
Bring your camera to capture the colors of spring and develop more than a nodding acquaintance with our annual wildflowers. View the Wildflower ID Guide here.
Reptile Ramble –
Learn to identify resident reptiles and find the answer to the age-old question, “Why do lizards do push ups?” Be prepared to meet a few non-venomous reptiles, perhaps a lizard or even a tortoise, and a few venomous, rattlesnakes and or a Gila monster.
Connecting Plants and People –
Discover the edible and useful plants of the Sonoran Desert.
Desert Landscaping –
Unearth the how-to’s for using native and arid-adapted plants in water-saving landscapes.
Art in the Gardens
Meander the trails and paths in search of both permanent and changing outdoor sculptures.
Eco-Stations at the Overlook
These touch carts, staffed by Park Docents, feature hands-on Sonoran Desert learning opportunities for visitors of all ages. Stocked with everything from binoculars and hand lenses to mounted specimens and scientific models, and supplemented with an amazing array of feathers, bones, skins, and plant parts, these investigation stations allow for a full range of sensory experiences.
Winged Things – Mondays
From birds to butterflies, a look at the winged things of the skies
Ocean to Desert – Tuesdays
Explore the relationship between the Gulf of California and the coastal Sonoran Desert
Rocks and Ruins – Wednesdays
Explore Tucson Basin geology and archaeology
Desert Chow – Thursdays
Follow the predator/prey trail and explore a tangled food web
Creepy Crawlies – Fridays
Sometimes scary, but always cool! – spiders, scorpions, snakes and lizards
Plants and People – Saturdays
Spiny and downright hostile, plants are well adapted to our desert environment