Is Saguaro National Park Worth Visiting?
Are you planning a trip to Arizona or the Southwestern United States and wondering if you should add Saguaro National Park to your road trip itinerary? Maybe you live in the Phoenix area and are wondering if you should take a trip down to do Tucson to see Saguaro National Park? Whatever the case may be, I’ve visited Saguaro several times and I’ll give you my first-hand knowledge of this park to help you determine if Saguaro National Park is worth visiting. Let’s begin!
Is Saguaro National Park Worth Visiting?
Ok, let’s get right into it. Is Saguaro National Park worth visiting? Let’s be honest, this is not the most impressive National Park — it doesn’t compare if you stack it up against Yosemite or Yellowstone. Unlike other blogs, I’m not going to blow smoke up your ass and tell you how the scenery in this park made me cry or utterly amazing this place is. Because that’s not true. Saguaro National Park is nice, but it’s not very impressive. Plus, this park is centered around the saguaro cactus, and while it’s neat to see, you’ll see most of the same type of scenery throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.
Remember, National Parks weren’t created with the sole intention of making your jaw drop from the stunning scenery (but many of them do!). According to the National Park Service, “The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” And Saguaro National Park definitely fits this description. Just because it’s a National Park doesn’t mean it’s worth a week’s vacation.
If you’re a National Parks chaser and working on visiting all of the National Parks, then, yeah, you’ll have to hit Saguaro up to check it off. But for the casual visitor, this is essentially the same sonoran desert scenery you see all around you, except that it has a park boundary and costs money to enter. You’ll see saguaro cactus everywhere in the Sonoran desert — and in fact, Saguaro National Park doesn’t even have the densest population of saguaro — if you go just outside the park boundary to Tucson Mountain Park (which is free), Gates Pass has a huge population of Saguaro — and it’s an amazing sunset location too.
Of course, there are some hikes to do here, and while I, personally, haven’t done any of them (I have done hikes in Tucson Mountain Park though, which I loved), I’m sure they’re pretty decent, especially if you like wandering around in the desert.
Where to stay when visiting Saguaro National Park?
Saguaro National Park has two sections — East (Rincon) and West (Red Hills) and there is no lodging except camping in the park. So you’re going to have to stay somewhere in Tucson. And because the park is split up into two districts across town from each other, it doesn’t really matter where in Tucson you stay. I’ve spent quite a lot of time in Tucson and I’ve stayed at numerous hotels in the area. Probably an unpopular opinion but I like to stay near the Tucson International Airport, as I feel the area is safe, it’s easy to access either side of the park, and it’s easy enough to get to other Tucson attractions such as the Pima Air and Space Museum, Mt. Lemmon/Catalina Highway, etc.
Here are some of the places I’ve stayed, along with links to my reviews:
Woodspring Suites Review – Tucson Arizona
Hotel Review: My Place – South Tucson Arizona
Which area of Saguaro National Park is better – East or West?
If you have only time for one section of the park, honestly you can’t go wrong with either one, as you’ll see plenty of Saguaro cactus no matter which you chose. So I’ll lay out some bulletpoints of things to consider for each — and if you’re still undecided, I’d just go with whichever section is most convenient for you to drive to when passing through. These sections are separated by the city of Tucson and will take you about an hour to drive the 33 miles between them.
East District – Rincon
- Located a bit further away from the interstate, in a more remote area
- Has fewer saguaro cactus than the West District
- You will need to show a park pass/pay your fee to get in.
- 8 mile Cactus Forest Loop road through the park is fully paved and fun to drive with lots of ups/downs in the gullies.
- Nice visitor center just outside of the park gates
- Closer to Tucson attractions like Mt. Lemmon/Catalina Highway, Agua Caliente Park, Pima Air and Space Museum
West District – Red Hills / Tucson Mountain
- Closer to reach if you’re traveling on the interstate through Tucson
- You’ll drive through Gates Pass, where you’ll see a much higher concentration of Saguaro cactus than you will in the park.
- No entrance station, no where to show your pass
- Larger concentration of saguaro cactus compared to the East side.
- Nice visitor center
- 6 mile scenic loop road (Bajada Loop) in the park is unpaved but accessible for any vehicle.
- Close to Tucson Mountain Park and Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum
As you can see, not a huge difference between the two, so if you can only visit one, either area works. Trust me, you’re not missing out on visiting one area and not the other.
How much time do I need at Saguaro National Park?
This isn’t one of those national parks like Yellowstone where you need a week. One day is sufficient — even an afternoon is fine, unless you’re planning on some serious hiking. I do suggest staying for a sunset if you can swing it – sunsets here are truly amazing. The best spot is just outside of the park at Gates Pass.
When is the best time to visit Saguaro National Park?
Springtime — usually Feb – April — when temps will be pleasant and you stand a good chance to see wildflowers blooming. I’ve visited Saguaro National Park in March, May and July — March was the best time out of those three, but unfortunately, there were no blooms on the cacti — but there were a ton of golden poppies around!
What to do in Saguaro National Park?
Do a scenic drive
You have two choices — or you could do both if you have time. Each of the park’s districts offer their own scenic loop drive.
Bajada Loop – Tucson Mountain District (West)
This is a 6 mile unpaved scenic drive that takes you through desert scenery littered with saguaro cactus. There are a few pullouts and access to some hiking trails from this road. Be careful during monsoon season (summer), as this road can become impassable when flooded.
Cactus Forest Loop – Rincon Mountain District (East)
This is an 8 mile one-way road that takes you around part of the eastern area of the park. There are several trails and pullouts here. I’ve stopped and hiked the Desert Ecology trail and the Javelina Rocks area – both were super easy. The nice part about this area is that it overlooks the Rincon Mountains, making a nice backdrop for photography.
Hiking in Saguaro National Park
There are several hiking trails in Saguaro, but I personally have not done any of them. Some of the more popular trails include:
Wasson Peak: This is an 8 mile round trip hike located at the Kings Canyon trailhead in Saguaro West. This takes you to the highest peak in the Tucson Mountains and is considrered a strenous hike that will take you 4 to 5 hours to complete.
Cactus Forest Trail: This is an easy 2.5 mile round trip hike located in Saguaro East. It is mostly flat and will take you not only through a saguaro forest, but you’ll go to two lime kilns.
Freeman Homestead: Another easy trail located in Saguaro East. This is a 1 mile round trip hike that takes you to an old homestead ruins.
See some petroglyphs
The Signal Hill Petroglyph Site is located in the West district and you can see these petroglyphs from a short hiking trail at the Signal Hill Picnic area. I haven’t had the chance to do this yet, but they look pretty cool.
Final Thoughts – Is Saguaro National Park Worth Visiting?
There you have it! I’ve laid out some of the things to do and see at Saguaro National Park so hopefully you can take that information and decide if you want to add this National Park to a road trip itinerary. Don’t get me wrong — the park is beautiful in its own desert-y way, but I think that there are other areas in Arizona that are much more awe-inspiring than Saguaro National Park. But if you’re looking for an afternoon to kill or just want to check it off your National Parks bucket list, it’s not a bad stop!
