Description:​​​​

The Turquoise Trail is a historical walking tour of downtown Tucson, where adobe buildings from the 1800s now share the street with towering modern art.  The Trail is a project of the Presidio Museum which offers guided history tours and an App to follow the Trail on your phone (for a fee).  The Museum has facilitated a self-guided tour by painting a turquoise stripe along downtown sidewalks with numbered stops along the Trail.  Historical plaques, interpretive signs, and art credits provide information about most sights along this trail.

The Trail runs along a paved urban route that is considered fully wheelchair accessible.  There are multiple restrooms and drinking fountains in nearby museums, cafes, and public buildings.  The 2.4-mile loop starts at the Presidio Museum, which is near the streetcar stop at Broadway Boulevard and Church Avenue.  The Trail can be walked in shorter segments by reboarding the streetcar at the stop of your choice to return to your starting point.  In fact, the streetcar trip is an art tour itself, displaying public art at 11 of its 22 stops.

The streetcar trip begins at El Mercado San Agustin where there is ample free parking, accessible restrooms, and a breakfast café.  From there, it is only a 10-minute 6-stop ride to the point where the streetcar route and the Turquoise Trail intersect.  From the Broadway/Church stop, walk north on Church Avenue to the Presidio Museum where the guided tours begin.  But for a self-guided hike, simply continue following the turquoise stripe, stopping wherever you like. 

Though the Turquoise Trail is designed to tell the story of Tucson’s history, it is also ideal for viewing Tucson’s contemporary murals and sculptures.  For example, on the way to the Presidio Museum, the Trail passes the iconic El Tour de Tucson mural.  Near the historic railroad depot is a multi-story mural of La Mujer Empoderada (the empowered woman).  The beautiful Saint Augustine Cathedral dating to the 1800s was recently updated with a steel band shell made of 300 giant flowers, 1000 leaves, and dozens of butterflies and birds.  And the Rialto Theatre - built in the 1920s - has a wall-sized mural that honors the musician Prince who died nearly 100 years later.  

To sum it up, the Turquoise Trail is a pleasant stroll through Tucson’s multicultural history and an eye-catching display of contemporary outdoor art.

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