Rattlesnake Bridge Tucson Arizona

Before driving down to Tucson for the Rock & Gem show, I was did a bit of light research on the area. I already knew about the legendary Hotel Congress, the historical downtown haunt which we were staying at, but what I was beginning to learn was that Tucson is home to many other notable oddities. There’s the CD Skull I saw once and then it disappeared, Valley of the Moon, and now the Rattlesnake Bridge Tucson Arizona.

The Rattlesnake Bridge is a pedestrian crossing over Broadway Boulevard. It’s walking distance from downtown Tucson, which I was thrilled to discover on my most recent stay at the Hotel Congress. Tucson can be pretty toasty during the day to a Canadian visiting in the winter months, I cannot even fathom what summer must be like! The bridge was designed by artist Simon Donovan. Not only is it eye catching and really cool to walk through the belly, it even has an audio component. When you enter the bridge from the rear end of the snake, a motion sensor sets off an audio clip of a rattlesnake sound. This was admittedly very terrifying at first but so very clever.

As I mentioned before, the rattlesnake bridge is nearby downtown. If you walk east along Congress Street until you reach North Toole Ave, then take the North 4th Ave underpass to the Aviation Bikeway, it will lead you to the backside of the bridge. It’s an 11 minute walk (according to Google Maps) from the Hotel Congress without much elevation change. The Welcome Diner is another 7 minutes walk down the road, which was where we headed after admiring the bridge.

Two other places I would recommend checking out while in Tucson is the Pima Air Museum, a massive outdoor plane graveyard. They even have vintage flight attendant outfits from Pucci! The second one would be the Kon Tiki Lounge which is a blast from the past. It’s been open since 1963 and has retained much of its original decor and charm. 

It wouldn’t be a full blog post if I didn’t include a breakdown of my outfit. This trip to Arizona I leaned into a western flavoured wardrobe including this faux fur vintage vest. It’s not the most practical though it does have pockets. I still love it anyhow along with my dad’s vintage Ray Ban Cats sunglasses.

HAT – c/o ALDO 
SUNGLASSES – RAY BAN
LIPSTICK in Thrillseeker – c/o SMASHBOX
T SHIRT – c/o BURTON
VEST –  vintage faux fur vest  
DENIM – high waisted denim – c/o BENCH
BOOTS – c/o ALDO – sold out

Whether you are curious to see such a massive public art piece or just want some cool photos from your trip, the rattlesnake bridge is a great addition to any Tucson travel itinerary.