Gates Pass

Gates Pass takes its name from Thomas Gates, a Tucson businessman who in the 1880s built a road over the saddle to shorten the route to his operations in the desert to the west. His original wagon road was rough and steep, and it was later improved and rerouted into the scenic drive that crosses the pass today, part of the county's mountain park system.

The modern road twists tightly up to the crest, where a stone overlook and parking areas give access to the views and to short trails that climb the ridges on either side. Because the road is narrow and winding, larger vehicles are restricted, but for cars it is a short, dramatic drive that delivers you into the heart of the Tucson Mountains and their saguaro forests.

What draws people to Gates Pass above all is the sunset. The pass faces west over a vast, cactus-studded basin, with the ranges of the western desert fading into the distance, and on a clear evening the whole sky lights up behind the silhouettes of the saguaros. People gather at the overlooks with cameras and quiet anticipation, and the show rarely disappoints.

Beyond the pass, the road drops toward some of the finest desert country around Tucson. Saguaro National Park's western district spreads across the far slopes, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum sits below, and the classic Sonoran Desert of giant cactus, ocotillo, and rugged rock stretches on. Gates Pass is both a destination and a gateway to that western desert world.

The Tucson Mountains are prime Sonoran Desert habitat, and the saguaro forest that blankets Gates Pass is one of the densest and healthiest anywhere. The giant saguaro, which can live for well over a century and stands as the symbol of the desert, supports a whole community of life, from Gila woodpeckers and elf owls nesting in its trunk to bats and birds feeding on its night-blooming flowers and fruit.

Among the rocks and cactus live desert creatures great and small, including javelina, coyote, desert tortoise, rattlesnake, and a wealth of lizards and birds. The Tohono O'odham, whose homeland includes this desert, have long harvested the saguaro fruit and understood the rhythms of this landscape, and their connection to the Sonoran Desert continues today.

Winter is the finest season in the Tucson desert, mild and sunny, perfect for the drive, the overlooks, and short hikes at the pass, with cool, comfortable air. Spring brings wildflowers and blooming cactus to the slopes, one of the most beautiful times to visit, especially around sunset.

Summer is hot, so the pass is best enjoyed early in the day or in the evening, when the sunset is at its most dramatic, and the late-summer monsoon can bring towering clouds and lightning that make for spectacular skies. Fall cools the desert back to comfort and brings clear, glowing evening light, an excellent stretch for sunset watching from the pass.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.