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On a quest to see saguaro cacti, icons of the American southwest, I headed for Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona for two days of desert hiking. Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections – East and West – divided in the middle by the city to Tucson. Which is better – how should you divide your time? This is my two day itinerary for Saguaro National Park.
Is Saguaro National Park worth it?
Let’s get this out of the way first — a lot of people ask this question and for me the answer is a definite yes! For you, it depends on what you’re looking for. Really, it’s worth just to drive through and look at the cacti, but it’s even better if you get out on a trail — even the shorter paved ones — and walk among them.
Saguaro cactus – icon of the American southwest
While the saguaro cactus is an icon of the southwest, it only grows in the Sonoran Desert of the U.S. and Mexico. They are the tallest cactus in the U.S. and grow very slowly. Branches don’t normally appear until they are 50-75 years old and they are considered ‘adult’ at 125 years old.
I’d spent a lot of time with my 100 year old great aunt who had lived much of her life in Arizona, starting in the 1940s. She told me stories of the mountains, the people, and the saguaro, and I knew I had to go there. As a hiker, I decided I wanted to hike somewhere with saguaro cactus and have a real desert hiking experience, so I headed to Saguaro National Park in Tucson.
This was part of a larger trip that also included hiking Camelback Mountain in Phoenix along with a few days backpacking in the Superstition Mountains.
Which side should I choose – Saguaro East or Saguaro West?
I went to both. If you can only do one, Saguaro West is nice for driving through and stopping to see a few things. There’s a short, paved, walking trail (Desert Discovery Trail) and the Signal Hill Picnic Area has some great petroglyphs. Since I chose to see both sides of the park, my two-day itinerary for Saguaro National Park goes to both Saguaro East and Saguaro West.
Becuase it takes about an hour to drive between Saguaro East and Saguaro West, be sure to plan for that when building your own itinerary.
Planning a trip to Saguaro National Park
I was headed to Saguaro to hike the trails so I needed a good map. I went with the Saguaro National Park map from National Geographic Trails. It covered the east and west sides of the park and was clear and easy to read – a must-have for planning a hiking trip to Saguaro National Park!
Select a home base
The first thing to do is figure out where you want to stay. It’s about a 45 minute drive between the two parks so if you plan to see both you have to choose a side, knowing you will be close to one side and farther away from the other. You could move locations, but that feels like too much effort!
I chose to stay by Saguaro East in the Gilbert Ray campground. I got a tent site for $10 a night. Conveniently, there was a water spigot near my site, and a short walk to restroom with flush toilets and sinks, but no showers. I spent three nights at the campground, giving me two full days to explore Saguaro National Park.
Itinerary for two days at Saguaro National Park
This is my two day itinerary:
Day 0: Outside the park
- Fly to Phoenix, Arizona
- Pick up rental car
- Pick up supplies (stove fuel, water jugs, etc.)
- Drive 2 hours to Gilbert Ray campground
Day 1: Saguaro National Park East
- Drive 1 hour to Saguaro East
- Hike Cactus Forest Trail
- Side trail to Lime Falls
- Side Trail to Lime Kilns
- Side trail to Desert Ecology Trail
- Drive Cactus Forest Loop
- Short hike on Tanque Verde Ridge Trail
- Watch the sunset (outside the park)
- Return to Gilbert Ray Campground
Day 2: Saguaro National Park West & Sonoran Desert Museum
- Drive 10 minutes to Saguaro West
- Walk Desert Discovery Trail
- Drive Bajada Loop
- Hike Signal HIll Picnic Area
- Hike King Canyon Wash/Gould Mine Trail (2.4 miles)
- Have picnic lunch along the trail at Mam-A-Gah picnic area
- Leave the park to visit Sonoran Desert Museum
- Return to Saguaro West to watch desert sunset
- Return to Gilbert Ray Campground
Prepping for desert hiking
I am not an experienced desert hiker. Living in Michigan, you can find water almost anywhere. To prepare for hiking in desert heat and the lack of water, I put two 1-gallon jugs of water in my trunk. I loaded up my dayback with 2 to 3 liters of water (depending on the length of the hike) and re-filled from the gallon jugs after every hike. Because I had the car as a base, I didn’t have to carry a ridiculous amount of water. And two gallons was plenty for the day so I didn’t have to worry about rationing my water supply. Of course, this was for one person – adjust accordingly if you are hiking with others.
One day at Saguaro East
I spent my first day on the east side of Saguaro in the Rincon Mountain District. See photos of the east side of the park and read about the hikes in Saguaro National Park east:
One day at Saguaro National Park East
One day at Saguaro West
My second day at Saguaro was on the west side of the park in the Tucson Mountain District. There were more great hikes, I had lunch at a remote picnic site on top of a mountain, visited the Arizona SonoraDesert Museum, and watched a great sunset inside the park: