Spring Training Online

If You Go ...

You're square in the middle of the desert while in Tucson, and if you come from a less exotic clime -- as I do -- you should check out the desert's unique ecosystem. A good place to do so is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, located 14 miles west of Tucson on Speedway. This museum houses 1,300 different kinds of plants and 300 species of animals. If looking at how humans have exploited the land is more to your liking, check out the Asarco Mineral Discovery Center, located 15 miles south of downtown Tucson at I-19 and Pima Mine Road, built around a open-pit copper mine. If you're into kitsch, Biosphere 2 is 30 miles north of Tucson on Hwy. 77.

In addition to the Diamondbacks, Tucson is the spring-training home of the Colorado Rockies, who train at Hi Corbett Field.

And you could always head into Phoenix for some additional spring-training action. There are 12 teams training in Phoenix:  Chicago Cubs (Mesa), Chicago White Sox (Glendale) Seattle Mariners (Peoria), San Diego Padres (Peoria), Milwaukee Brewers (Maryvale), Oakland A's (Phoenix), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Tempe), San Francisco Giants (Scottsdale), Los Angeles Dodgers (Glendale), Cleveland Indians (Goodyear), Texas Rangers (Surprise) and Kansas City Royals (Surprise).

Where to Stay: TEP is within four miles of both the airport and downtown Tucson, which means that you can easily stay at one of the many chains represented in both locales and then have a short commute to the ballpark.

Be warned that there's nothing in walking distance of the ballpark, so a car rental will be necessary for a visit.

Flying In: Tucson International Airport is obviously the closest airport. Most of the major airlines fly into Tucson -- including Alaska, American, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, and United -- and you can fly directly to Tucson from over 120 cities across the United States and North America. It's also a rather fetching airport: it was built in 1963 and the main terminal still has a classic Southwest facade.

You may also want to consider flying into Phoenix and then driving to Tucson if the fare to Phoenix is significantly cheaper. The drive is 117 miles and takes a couple of hours on I-10, but it's a pretty drive if you like the desert scenery.