The best senior discounts in Tucson, from fitness to food
From fitness classes to entertainment and restaurants, these senior discounts in Tucson offer a little something for everyone to enjoy.
Living in Tucson presents you with the unique ability to access both urban and natural areas with relative ease. Whether you prefer to be in an air-conditioned art museum or you’d rather spend time exploring a nearby park, the options for what you can do every day are seemingly endless. And the best part about exploring the area as a senior citizen? All of the discounts!
Arizona’s Culture Passes permit you to see several engaging attractions for free on select days, like the Botanical Garden and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. If that’s not really your thing, there’s always the discounted annual (and lifetime!) passes offered by the National Parks, the reduced price tickets at Roadhouse Cinema, and many, many others.
Let’s take a look at some of the best senior discounts in Tucson to see what strikes your fancy.
Classes & Recreation
Gym memberships & Senior Activity Card
For those with a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) or Medicare Advantage plan, you may qualify for free classes or free memberships at certain gyms around the greater Tucson area. The Arizona Senior Guide notes that you’ll need to contact your Medicare Plan Provider for confirmation, but the following locations typically work to provide these services:
- Silver & Fit
- Renew Active
- Silver Sneakers
- LA Fitness
- YMCA
- Planet Fitness
- Chuze Fitness
- The Jewish Community Center
Additionally, Optum Arizona’s community centers offer free wellness classes, fitness centers, social activities, games, and clubs to individuals who are 55 years of age and older. Click here for more information and center locations.
Tucson Parks & Recreation offers a Senior Activity Card, which is available in an annual ($25 for residents, $30 for non-residents), quarterly ($7 for residents, $8 for non-residents), or daily ($1-$1.50 for residents, $1.25-$2 for non-residents) option. These provide individuals with year-round access to health programs, activities, field trips, educational opportunities, events, and more. Read about how to get your card and what it grants you access to here.
Recreation
Nowadays, pickleball is all the rage, and you can try this racket sport for yourself at the Kino Sports Complex and Udall Center. Free outdoor courts are available, and indoor courts can be accessed for about $2.
If you aren’t interested in recreational sports, but you do want to get some exercise, we’d recommend heading to Sabino Canyon, which you can visit for a small parking fee, or Mount Lemmon. There’s also Barnum Hill in Reid/Randolf Park, Agua Caliente Park, and Tumamoc Hill, all of which you can hike or walk through without paying an exorbitant fee.
Or, if you think you’re going to make a habit of exploring the great outdoors, you can invest in one of the National Park Service’s Interagency Senior Annual and Senior Lifetime Passes.
National Parks
Permanent residents and US citizens who are 62 years of age and older qualify for a Senior Pass, offered through the National Park Service. Lifetime passes cost a one-time fee of $80 and allow you to visit over 2,000 recreational sites. Click here for more information on Lifetime Senior Passes.
You also have the option of buying a $20 Senior Annual Pass if you want to see how much use you get out of the service before committing to the higher-priced pass. You still gain access to those 2,000 recreational sites with the less expensive option; you’ll just need to renew it every year. Learn more about the benefits of that here.
Food
With the cost of groceries on the rise, any discounts help. On the first Wednesday of the month, people who are 55 years of age and older can take an added 10% off most available items at Bashas, Safeway, and Fry’s. In terms of eating at restaurants, several chains throughout Tucson, like Denny’s, offer a Senior Discount, or an AARP Discount, for AARP members.
Tucson Foodie also compiled a list of 35+ restaurants that offer birthday freebies, which you can browse here. Most fast food chains, and grocery stores, now offer discounts through their respective apps as well. All you’ll need to do is download the app you want (for example, Whole Foods or McDonald’s), create an account, and look through the available discounts prior to purchase.
Entertainment & Shopping
Culture Passes
Culture Passes are available at all Pima County libraries. Essentially, each pass provides free admission for two people to certain cultural and art institutions in Arizona, including the Tucson Museum of Art and the Tucson Botanical Garden. To reserve a Culture Pass, you must be a Pima County resident and you must have a Pima County full-service library card. Click here to learn more.
Movies & Shows
Movie lovers, head to Roadhouse Cinema on Wise Wednesdays to take advantage of their discounted deal for people who are 55 years of age and older. Tickets cost just $5.95 per person before 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, and cost only $6.50 (all day!) on Discounted Tuesdays.
If live performance is more your speed, the Arizona Theatre Company at Temple of Music and Art offers a $10 discount on single tickets for seniors who are 65 years of age and older. You must purchase tickets in Sections 1-3, or Premium tickets, at the box office to receive this reduced price. Additionally, discounted tickets are available on Community Nights, and those typically cost between $15-$20.
Shopping
Several retailers offer senior discounts, like Kohls, Goodwill, Ross, Michaels, and Walgreens. Ross has 10% off on Tuesdays for people who are 55+, and Goodwill has 25% off for one day per week for those who are 55 years of age and older. The exact day that Goodwill offers its senior discount varies by location, so you’ll need to either call your local store in advance or visit in person to determine which day they offer it.
Oftentimes, senior discounts fluctuate in terms of how much they cover and what days they’re offered. Click here for an additional list, but remember, you just need to pick up the phone to get some more info.
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