TUCSON, Ariz. — As the USA celebrates its 250th birthday, Arizona is making it easy for you to celebrate what makes our state unique. The Arizona Office of Tourism has helped create Passport250, a free, online digital pass to help you explore. For each location you visit, you can check in on through the pass online. Once you check in at five places, you can redeem your check-ins for a sticker of the official logo for the Arizona America250. 25 check-ins can earn you a set of nine stickers.
Our state has no shortage of incredible things to do and places to see. The saguaros that are only in the Southwest, the beauty of the Grand Canyon, the Mexican food you can't find anywhere else. But there's much more at your fingertips you might never have noticed, and it's all available in one place.
Grab your phone, and go to AZPassport250.com. (It'll reroute you to the website through Visit Arizona.) Scroll down to where it says "America 250 AZ: Celebrate & Explore Pass" and click "sign up." On the next page, you'll click "check out" -- don't worry, it's free. Then you'll enter your name, what country you live in, your zip code, email address and phone number, and click "complete order." You'll then select "access my items" and then "view." From there, the list places you can go will pop up. To easily access this page again, click the export option on your browser menu (that's the little square with an upward arrow coming out of it) and select "add to bookmarks" or "add to home screen."
Through a different website for the same program, America250AZ.org/passport250, which launched in 2025, you'll find another resource where you can filter through the different sections. There's Dark Skies 250 for places to go stargazing, Dine 250 for restaurants, Indigenous Travel 250 for more cultural and historic experiences, even Fish 250 which offers a link to a fishing challenge you can take part in. The best part, is that many of these incredible spots are here in Tucson and Southern Arizona.
As we set out to explore our way through the Passport 250 list, we made our first stop at DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun in the Foothills. Tucked away north of Swan and Sunrise near the mountains, you'll find the art gallery and final resting place of the prolific artist Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia, showcasing a fraction of the late artist's work that has become synonymous with the Southwest.
There's a stunning cactus garden, and room after room of paintings, sculptures and works of art.
Lance Laber is the director of the DeGrazia Foundation, and grew up with members of the DeGrazia family. He'll tell you, there's always something to see.
"It's a beautiful place. Are you kidding? I mean, DeGrazia just made this spectacular gallery, and it's one of a kind. There's nothing else like it anywhere," he said. "We have a vault that has between 15 and 20,000 pieces, and that's only what we have. That's not what's in private hands. So, DeGrazia was a very, very prolific artist."
Moving through the Passport 250 list, you'll find the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, Mission Garden, the Pima Air and Space Museum, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, just to name a few nearby spots. If you're hungry, you'll find options too, like Barrio Brewing Company downtown.
They're the oldest brewery in Arizona, and in 2020, they became the first in the state to be 100% employee owned. There's a full menu, with beer brewed right on site.
As part of the America 250 celebrations, they're offering a special that's as American as they come. It's a cheeseburger, a pint of beer, and ice cream for $17.76 on July 3rd.
"We're gonna be closed on the 4th but we're asking everyone to come out and celebrate with us on the third and we're gonna be honoring that special also, so I think it'll be a cool time out," said their kitchen manager and head chef Jordan Chantharath.
They're also honoring the special on June 6th, as part of a statewide "250 Hour" with Cheers 250. Participating breweries, wineries and restaurants are holding specials and a celebratory toast at 2:50pm.
Created with the Arizona Office of Tourism, this digital pass is designed to help you celebrate Arizona's spirit and heritage as part of the country's 250th birthday. No matter your interests, you'll likely find something new and interesting. It's an easy way to support local businesses, people and culture, to appreciate where we live.
