Friends of Oracle State Park

 

Friends of Oracle State Park, Inc.
P.O. Box 8405
Tucson, AZ 85738
(520) 818-7883

 

 

News from the Park

PDF file AZ State Parks - Aldo Leopold events
PDF file Oracle State Park - Friends receive AZ State Parks awards 
PDF file Oracle State Park - Stays open, but hours and staff decrease

 

Oracle State Park, Center for Environmental Education
Upcoming Events:


 Friday, June 12: Astronomy Night with Starizona, 7:30-9:30pm on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House.  Starizona experts will be on hand with two telescopes to interpret the planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, moon views and constellations of the early summer skies.  No reservation required.  Free with park entrance fee ($5 per vehicle, summer fee).  Family-friendly.  Call (520) 896-2425.  This is a reschedule from a week ago due to rain, and replaces the evening wildlife walk previously scheduled on this day.

Saturday, July 11: Evening Guided Bird Walk, with Audubon specialist, Kathe Anderson, 6pm-8pm.  Meet at 5:30pm at the Kannally Ranch House for bird-watching from the patios.  Follow along on a bird walk from 6pm-8pm through the corrals, washes and trails of Oracle State Park, past owl, woodpecker and hummingbird nests; looking for warblers, flycatchers, hawks, towhees and more.  Bring binoculars if you have a pair.  Reservation preferred, please call (520) 896-2425 or by email: jenar2@azstateparks.gov.

Sunday, July 12: Morning Guided Bird Walk, with Audubon specialist, Kathe Anderson, 7am-9:30am.  Go birding before breakfast.  Meet at 7am on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House for more bird identification with Kathe around the ranch house, corrals and trails of the park.  Kathe is back by popular demand for these two back-to-back dusk and dawn bird walks, so take advantage of her rare visits to Oracle State Park.  Binoculars help; Reservation preferred, please call (520) 896-2425.  Free with park entrance fee, $5 per vehicle; annual passes available.

July date TBA: Mesquite Bean Harvesting Workshop. Help harvest ripe mesquite beans and learn how to preserve and store them for grinding into mesquite flour. Learn recipes for cooking with locally collected mesquite meal.  This year’s 10th Annual Fiesta de las Calabazas at Oracle State Park will feature wild foods, and a hammer-mill to grind your own mesquite beans into flour for home cooking use.

Ongoing Weekends: Historic Kannally Ranch House Guided Tours, each Saturday, Sunday and holidays, beginning at 10am and again at 2pm; 45-minute duration.  The four level Mediterranean revival style adobe ranch house was built from 1929-33 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Guided tours are also scheduled by reservation, call (520) 896-2425. 

Oracle State Park Summer Open Hours Have Changed!
Oracle State Park is open Thursday through Monday, 7am-3pm.  The park is closed to the public Tuesday and Wednesday (the main gate on Mt. Lemmon Road is locked).  The American Avenue parking lot and trailhead remains open seven days, dawn to dusk.  The park entrance fee through Labor Day is $5 per vehicle ($2 per person non-motorized entry on bicycle, horseback, or walk-in; kids free).