Sabino Canyon
Good Morning! I just tried my first class at Ride! I haven’t taken a spin class since living in Virginia Beach a few years ago so this kicked my ass! I am drenched in sweat and feeling really bad for the people s
itting near me at Whole Foods. Yikes.
We did a trip to Arizona over spring break and as always, mama needed to get her hike on so we went to Sabino Canyon. I don’t feel like we were well prepared at all so hopefully this can help you avoid the errors we made.
Error number one: We brought the BOB stroller instead of the baby backpack. For one, our 2 year old only spent a small portion of the time in the stroller and walked or was carried for the majority of the time. Secondly, to get down to the water or up a lot of the paths mama was puttin’ it in four low while Daddy carried the toddler. I was working my rear end off pushing the stroller through the sand and over rocks. Not a smart move. It would have been much better to have the backpack and at the very least to have not had the stroller with us. I repeat DO NOT BRING THE STROLLER, BRING THE BACKPACK!!! 
Error number two: No bathing suits. There are some nice swimming holes and places for the kids to splash around. And they’ll want to for sure. Our nine year old rolled up her capris and was okay but I was stressing thinking she was going to fall over and be drenched and miserable and bring our fun outing to a quick halt. The two year old, on the other hand, stripped down completely naked. We were those parents. Years ago, when I was a young, single Mom, I would have been mortified if child one had done this. Over the years I’ve become far less self conscious so this didn’t bother me and I ignored any looks I received. He’s two, y’all. It was fine—but avoid this blunder and put bathing suits on under their clothes!
Error number three: We rode the tram at the very end of the day which meant it was packed and we couldn’t get off at the various stops and explore. By this time we had ditched the stroller at the car-but just another reason to not bring a stroller.
This is my recommendation for structuring your day at Sabino Canyon:
Eat breakfast at one of the cute places in downtown Tucson and then pack a lunch, put bathing suits on under your clothes, pack water, snacks, etc and then head to Sabino Canyon. Bring a baby backpack instead of your stroller. Lots of sunscreen as shade is hard to come by. Get cash because this is what you’ll need in order to buy the tram tickets. Snag a couple of smaller bills to tip your tram drivers. We gave the kids a big talk about cacti (am I using that correctly?) and how they will poke you and to stay away from them. Maybe your kids don’t need that talk? We had no cactus injuries so I’m pleased by that.
Use the porta potties at the entrance and then take off to the first dam which is dam west. Play there for a while. Hike back to the front and buy your tickets and take the tram to stop eight which has a swimming hole and waterfall. Explore and then play in the swimming hole, eat your lunch, and then catch the tram back!
We had a fantastic day despite our little mistakes! I hope y’all check it out and enjoy! Let me know if you have any other tips I’ve missed!
Disclaimer: These are just my opinions! Always do your own research and make good choices.