Gates Pass is located in Tucson Mountain Park, just west of the city of Tucson, Arizona. At an elevation of 3,172 ft above sea level, the mountain pass is a hidden gem for Tucson locals and tourists to enjoy a scenic drive and watch the sunset. The area is well known for being one of the best sunset watching locations in the country and is located just 15 minutes from the University of Arizona campus.
History :
Construction on Gates Pass Road began in 1883, by a local pioneer and ranch owner Thomas Gates. The road was to be used as a shortcut through the Tucson mountains, and Gates purchased all surrounding land in order to build it. It is estimated that 3,000+ cars drive through the road on a daily basis, as it has since become a popular scenic route for locals and visitors. Today, the road intersects with many other roads in the outskirts of Tucson and serves as a connection route between the city, the mountain park, and the historical ‘Old Tucson’ theme park.
Location : Saguaro National Park
Gates Pass road runs directly through Tucson’s Saguaro National Park. The park, ‘Saguaro National Monument,’ was originally founded by President Herbert Hoover in 1933 in the Rincon Mountains, directly east of the city. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy expanded the park, including the Tucson Mountain District in the new plan, which was then named an official U.S. national park by congress in 1994. Gates Pass road runs through the Tucson Mountain portion of the park, which has a total of 12 miles of paved roads and roughly 9 miles of unpaved dirt roads and off-road trails. Today, the park includes 92,000 acres of land and 165 miles of hiking trails, and is a popular destination for sightseeing and sunset watching.
Safety:
Gates Pass road is considerably one of the most dangerous roads in Tucson, as there were a total of 58 car accidents reported on a certain slope between the years 1996 and 2001. The road itself is very narrow and uneven, the most dangerous slope being a sharp bend alongside a large mountain with just a few feet between the road and a steep drop off on the other side; the cliff-side reveals Saguaro National Park, a valley of cacti, outdated desert roads, and the ‘Old Tucson’ attraction venue. The remainder of the road leads to the Tucson Desert Museum, hiking trails, and archery ranges. In 2006, an initiative to fix the road was launched which included widening and repaving it, to improve the overall safety. Because it is so rigid and skinny, the road does not permit vehicles over 40-50 feet long, large trucks, or commercial vehicles.
Old Tucson: 
Gates Pass road is one of main access points to the remote theme park, Old Tucson, located behind the mountain pass in the midst of Saguaro National Park. The theme park, built in 1939 by Columbia Pictures, was originally used as a movie set for western films and television programs from 1950 to the late 80s. In the 60's, in order to restore many of the aging buildings on the property, developer Robert Shelton expanded the location and reopened it as a set and theme park, adding attractions, new buildings, and offering paid tours. The old western feel of the park made it an ideal shooting location for many popular tv programs in the 70's and 80's. However, a large fire in 1995 destroyed nearly every building in Old Tucson Studios, resulting in the lost of all of memorabilia and revenue. It took nearly 2 years to rebuild the park, but the original set design was never rebuilt and instead the park was reestablished as solely a theme park. As detrimental as the fire was to the parks success, it operated for many years up until the 2020 pandemic, which caused the theme park to close its doors indefinitely. There has yet to be a decision made on what will happen to the park.
Today, Gate's Pass is a popular tourist destination for people who want a great place to watch the sunset. On any given evening, you can venture up to the pass and see groups of locals and tourists taking photos and watching the sunset from different peaks and rocks. The great photo opportunities, and the closeness to campus make Gate's Pass a local hangout that is known by many locals and students in Tucson Arizona.
Citations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tucson_Studios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gates_Pass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro_National_Park
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tucson_Studios
