Family Friendly Hikes in Tucson: Spend a Day at Sabino Canyon

Are you looking for family friendly hikes in Tucson, Arizona? My family and I are not expert hikers by any means. However, we do enjoy being outdoors and there are several beautiful hiking trails in the Tucson area. While some of the hiking trails can be very grueling and intense, there are also several hiking trails that the whole family will enjoy, including preschool aged children. We like Catalina State Park since it’s nearby, but we recently took advantage of the cooler weather in Tucson and spent the day at Sabino Canyon, located in northeast Tucson.

Sabino Canyon has something for everyone, including families who want to take strollers for their young children. And for those who just want to enjoy the scenery and give their feet a rest, the tram is a huge draw.

The Trams

Sabino Canyon is unique because it has several guided trams that operate throughout the day. It’s the same concept as a hop-on, hop-off bus. There are two main routes for the tram, and both routes have different stops throughout their respective routes. Because of the elevation, we chose to take the tram up, but decided to walk a large portion of the way back. However, my son started running out of steam near the end, telling us that his feet were running out of energy 🙂 So we decided to hop back on the tram to return to the parking lot.

Travel Tip: There is a fee to ride the trams. Make sure you check the website for current prices.

Rock Formations

Sabino Canyon has several beautiful rock formations and kids will have fun identifying different shapes. The formation below looked like a face, which both my son and I thought was interesting.

Beautiful Scenery

Mother Nature is at her finest at Sabino Canyon. While wildlife is present throughout, my son loves seeing the butterflies.

There are also several streams throughout Sabino Canyon. The water level largely depends on the time of the year, but there are streams where children can dip their toes in the water. My son liked the area that looked like a little beach, so we made a point to stop there.

There are even a few waterfalls located off the main trail.

My husband decided to carry our son across the stream 🙂

As you can see by the picture below, there are definitely more adventurous trails. We like to stick with the main path, but for those of you who are more adventurous, there’s plenty to do as well.