Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso

Posted by: Forum Host

Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 03/01/04 12:48 PM

What's there to do at Rancho Vistoso? We want to hear what you did and saw while staying at this resort.
Posted by: amiellen

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 01/02/14 02:13 PM

I took my daughter here for the weekend last August to visit her boyfriend from Tuscon (visiting hotter than hades AZ in Aug. should put me in the running for parent of the year, eh?!). The only thing we did besides visit the pool was go on a tour at Biosphere. This was actually pretty cool. It is about 20 min. from the resort, and August is NOT the high season so there were no crowds! It was about an hourish, mostly inside walking tour, and even the 17 yr. olds found it interesting! Biosphere was really an engineering feat and it is still used as a working research facility. I'd recommend for older teens+.

I'd really like to go here back in cooler seasons and explore the desert area.
Posted by: 2010

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 04/09/15 07:44 AM

We just returned from Rancho Vistoso. We had a wonderful visit to AZ! The Biosphere 2 is a must and only 20+ miles away. We enjoyed the Desert Museum too. It's not just a museum! It's part zoo. aquarium, and botanical gardens. The staff as always was very helpful.
I do have a negative. Make sure you know where you are going in Oro Valley. Everything looks the same, the streets aren't well marked, and there's a lot of construction. I don't know how many U turns we made!
Also this was funny-the volunteer in the visitor center in Tuscon didn't know where the state capitol was!
Posted by: cotraveller

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 04/27/15 06:01 PM

Originally Posted By: 2010
Also this was funny-the volunteer in the visitor center in Tuscon didn't know where the state capitol was!

Maybe he was a newcomer to the state and didn't know the capitol was in Phoenix.
Posted by: Munoz222

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 06/24/15 02:27 PM

Just spent 8 days at Rancho Vistoso with my wife and grandchildren. Really enjoyed the resort. It could have used a few more updated video games and pool tables and a bigger pool other than that the resort staff was friendly and helpful. The area is somewhat confusing but thank god for Onstar. We fould he Pima Air and Space Museum very Educational as well as the Univ of Arizona at Tucson's Planetarium. Wanted to visit the Biosphere II but did not get a chance.The only bad thing was the weather. Tucson was going through a heatwave they had not seen in 2 years. Temps reached 113%. The people and Restuarants in ORO Valley were area. Al in all, the desertis the desert, but we had a great view from our room, visited the Hoover dam and the Grand Canyon when we left Wyndam Tropicana in Vegas.Rancho Vistoso is quiet and peaceful.
Posted by: heidiburton

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 09/30/15 10:39 AM

My family of four went to Rancho Vistoso April 2014. We were interested in outdoor and cultural activities. Here is what we did along with my recommendations.
Catalina State Park is the closest state park to the resort. You pay $7 to drive in for the day. There are many trails to choose from, but be wary that hiking up mountains in the dessert is quite exerting. We chose the Romero Canyon Trail, which was 2.8 miles to beautiful pools, and then back 2.8 miles. This was really tough.
Even closer to the resort is Honey Bee Canyon Park. You will see it on the map they give you at the resort. This is free, has bathrooms, and covered picnic area. There are easy trails, flora, fauna, and wildlife. We found an unusual stone pathway to a hidden sandy canyon here. Listen for the sound of bees and look up to find they are dwelling in a rocky crevice.
Sabino Canyon is also close to the resort. You have to pay $3 to drive in, then go to the visitor’s center and speak with a guide before you choose which trail you wish to do. I recommend purchasing the tram tickets and riding it all the way up to the last stop #9. After that, you can choose to get on and off trams all between stops 1-9. I recommend stopping at #8 where there are pools that you can dip in. We spent a long time here.
We splurged on tickets to Kartchner Caverns. Reserve online using promo code: livingcave to get $1 off adult admission. This was really fun and worth it! It was about 1 ½ hour drive to get to this state park. Read about it online before going to get all the details. This fully guided tour begins with a tram ride to the site, then an hour tour below ground, and a tram ride back.
The Tucson Passport is currently $18 and gives you 2 for 1 discounts on admissions to museums and theme parks. You need to buy 1 for every 2 persons in your party. We did NOT buy this as we were not interested in going to more than one of these places. You need to go to at least 2 places to make it pay for itself. The one exception we went to was the Pima Air and Space museum, which we got the AAA discount price and were happy with that. There is a lot to see here. You need at least 3 hours.
Posted by: Papa

Re: Activities & Things To Do - Rancho Vistoso - 04/09/16 03:04 PM

D & D pinball... if you're over sixty and know how to put English on the ball and love to hear the pop when you win and extra game... 7th street old downtown. Tohono Chul: Beautiful desert botanical garden. Seniors 8$, go early, take water. Best in spring, but wonderful all year round. Ride the new street car from the old Mercado to the university campus. Scout downtown, limit the walking. All for $4 for 24 hours.