Visit and Explore

The Santa Cruz River is a unique resource in our community. Learn how to connect with this riparian habitat.

8 – 9 a.m., April 6, 2025

Signs of the Season Phenology Walk Early April

8 – 9:30 a.m., April 10, 2025

El Rio Preserve Nature Trek (Apr)

8 – 9 a.m., April 13, 2025

Signs of the Season Phenology Walk Mid April

Group of teachers sketching at the Santa Cruz River

Santa Cruz River Research Days

Join the Sonoran Institute at Santa Cruz River Research Days.

Santa Cruz River Research Days

Sonoran mud turtle in the Santa Cruz River

River Videos

Watch videos on our YouTube Channel.

YouTube Channel

Group of people standing on edge of Santa Cruz River

Dispatches from the Santa Cruz River

Read our quick river stories and volunteer thank yous.

River Dispatches

Santa Cruz River in Marana AZ

Group of people in Santa Cruz River

People standing in river holding measuring equipment

Two people measuring length of a turtle

Sonoran mud turtle in the Santa Cruz River

View of people in Santa Cruz River Channel

Researchers gathering plant data in transect square

People looking in container filled with water and aquatic life

Coyotes walking along a river in Tucson

Image of 2 Sonoran Desert toads

Santa Cruz River in Marana

People standing in Santa Cruz river

People standing in a river looking at rocks

Person holding dragonfly in their fingers

Image of Vermilion Flycatcher, a bird with a red head and chest, with gray wings