We decided to take a little staycation the other weekend. We have both never really explored Tucson, Arizona and I was able to book a Hyatt Hotel for only 5k points making it a sign to go.
Table of Contents:
- Blue Willow
- Cookie Cabin
- Upper Green Mountain Hike
- Tanque Verde Falls Hike
Blue Willow
The first stop we made in Tucson before heading up to Mt. Lemmon was Blue Willow for Breakfast. I got a Macaroon Iced Latte and Nutella French toast which were both delicious! I would definitely go back and get it again, although there crepes sounded good too.
The restaurant had such a cute atmosphere with indoor seating and an enclosed patio. We ate at the bar area of the patio and enjoyed it. They also have a cute gift shop with a ton of interesting and unique things you can buy. I loved the variety of coloring books and socks they had for sale. Plus they had some Schitt’s Creek themed items which I found funny (love that show)!
The prices were pretty average and the food was definitely worth going back to when in the area.
Cookie Cabin
After breakfast we headed up Mt. Lemmon to the Cookie Cabin. It was a gorgeous drive up and got down to 66 degrees Fahrenheit in the Arizona summer! I wasn’t expecting it and had wished I brought a jacket!
They had a cute little local market going on our walk to the Cookie Cabin that we walked around and found some yummy pecans to snack on. The town at the top in general was just adorable!
The Cookie Cabin was definitely a popular destination on a Saturday morning. We had to wait about 20 minutes in line before being able to order then another 10 minutes to get the cookie. The place has a really cozy feel to it and I could had spent some time just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere and views while doing work or reading a book.
We ordered a cookie sampler with a scoop of ice cream to share. They were all good but my personal favorites were the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin which I was surprised. Chris loved the white chocolate macadamia nut one, it was a fun experience.
Upper Green Mountain Hike
Well short and easy wasn’t the case. I’m pretty sure we got lost a few times during this hike and not even sure if we took the right trails. We did eventually make it to the top of the mountain though and the views were 100% worth it.
Tanque Verde Falls Hike
This was the highlight of our trip in Tucson! After a busy day exploring Mt. Lemmon we went to sleep early so we could get an early start the next morning.
We got to the trailhead at 6am, beating the rush! We were the first ones there but with filming for the YouTube video we had a couple groups pass us. It is a short hike down to the ravine and then a pretty difficult and longer than expected hike back to the actual falls.
I would not recommend bringing kids or dogs, if you plan to hike all the way back to the falls.
The whole hike back to the falls was beautiful with little streams, small waterfalls, medium waterfalls, and just amazing views the whole time.
Once we finally made it to the Tanque Verde Falls, we took a nice little break to enjoy the water. We didn’t bring bathing suits and just went up to my knees in the refreshing water. I kinda wish I had a bathing suit on to enjoy swimming in this gorgeous waterfall.
The hike out went a lot faster. On our way out we passed so many groups of people and it was pretty busy! It was definitely worth getting an early start to this hike because we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. We also had shade the whole time until we started hiking out of the ravine for the last 15 minutes of the hike, which was another perk to getting an early start.
We really enjoyed this hike! You will want to bring more water than you think because it took us way longer than expected and wished we had brought an extra water bottle. Stay safe and make sure to stay hydrated!
Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed our time in Tucson, Arizona! I would like to go back and explore more hikes and maybe some camping on Mt. Lemmon in the future.
We used credit card points to book our night at the Hyatt for free using only 5k points. If earning free travel interests you, I recommend starting with doing my FREE card consultation below!
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