Distance from Tucson
50 miles West

This is one of the most visually striking sights you will ever see. Enormous white observatory domes dot the skyline of a jagged granite mountain range, set off against the bluest sky imaginable. The paths among the facilities are in a quiet setting of oak groves and a new view reveals itself at every turn. The quiet is planned, by the way, as many workers sleep in the dormitories by day after a night of stargazing.

Do not forget to get snacks and gas at the store you pass at Three Points, there is none past there. But, there is a good visitors center with interpretive exhibits and a gift shop featuring astronomy oriented items as well as Tohono O'Odham crafts.

Kitt Peak Road is a mountain road, but a lot better than the Mt. Lemmon highway. It is popular as a work out for hardcore bicyclists.

Kitt Peak at an altitude of 6,875 feet is the highest point in the Quinlin Mountains. All the land in and around the range is on the Tohono O?Odham Reservation. The observatory site is leased by the tribe to a consortium of universities operating as the National Optical Astronomy.