We felt fortunate to have visited Tohono Chul on a day when admission was free. However, the admission fee would still have been well worth it! You will see Butterfly Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens, Cactus Gardens, a Garden for Children (interactive), Riparian habitat, and Desert Palm Oasis among many others. They also have some indoor arts and crafts exhibits by local artists. A very well-laid-out plan for hiking on various trails with beautiful views of the Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Mountains. It is still very convenient to get to, in Oro Valley (NW Tucson). The docents are very knowledgable and we were also lucky to find Jill, a bird expert, who took us to areas of the park where we saw many different types of birds (binoculars optional but very helpful). This park is truly an Oasis in the middle of Tucson!
We visited the garden in the morning and toured for three hours. We met a great and knowlwledgeable docent who walked around with ustalking about various desert plants pointing out interesting facts. She also saw several bird species that inhabit the park. My only complaint is thesignage and labeling of plants. I would have appreciated the visit more if I would have known what I was looking at. I think that it would be great to hire a couple of University students to relabel the display plants for those of us unfamiliar with desert flora. Regardless it was worth the trip.
This is a great place to get the feeling of a desert environment. Many different trails to take to experience the flora and fauna of the local desert. Many things were in bloom. Trails are very well groomed. Easy to navigate. They could use more tags of identification we thought on plants. They have some rooms of art as well. As we were leaving they even gave us some local grapefruit that some workers had brought in from their homes. Very nice. :-) We spent about 4 hours here. They have an on sight lunch place that looked very nice. It was more expensive that we were looking for. We just went to a local shop nearby. They allow you to come and go. I really liked this place for my first desert experience.
I loved seeing the desert plants and flowers. The greenhouse and plant shop have a great selection if you want to take some home. The large gift shop has a fantastic selection of jewelry, ornaments, foods, items for kids, and many garden items. I've heard the Café is great but a 15-20 minute quoted wait for a Tuesday lunch hadn't provided a table after 40 minutes, so we gave up and went elsewhere. I highly recommend arriving quite early if you want to actually eat there.
The Cafe is charming, with excellent food. We all had different egg dishes and they were wonderful. The Cafe has a charming outdoor patio for eating if the weather is warm enough.
If your time is limited and you want an interesting primer on the desert environment, this place works. We found the area's well-known attractions (e.g. desert museum, Sabino Canyon) were far superior to this. There are some nice spots to sit and ponder, but on balance this was something of a letdown.
We ate at the restaurant, strolled the surrounding walkable park area, visited the gift shop, although we did not go to the plant sale. Totally enjoyed the food and the place, and the facility. We wished that we knew a little more about the building and it's history, but got to have a three hour brunch, with thoughtful considerate service that did not rush us or make us feel unwelcome. Love this place!
I am a charter member who has been supporting this place for nearly 30 years. What more needs to be said.
The Breakfast is always good. Like the Eggs Benedict especially.The lunches are great as well---like the Cobb Salad. Very filling.The Lemonade is very tasty---it has Prickly Pear juice in it.The garden is lowly--lots of areas for shade as well as partial shade if you don't like the sun or you can eat inside.Great place to bring Tucson guests.
A very worthwhile spot to visit when in Tucson...uncrowded botanic gardens and a small atmospheric bistro great for breakfast or lunch. Knowledgeable docents help you enjoy the scenery...Paths are level, very walkable, many places to sit.