Saguaro National Park

Arizona’s smallest national park is situated in the midst of the Sonoran Desert and is the only place in the world where you can find wild-growing saguaros. These tree-like cacti can grow up to 40 feet tall, live for anywhere between 150 and 200 years, and were the main reason why the park’s 92,000 acres of steppeland were designated a protected natural area in 1994. The presence of the saguaro creates a one-of-a-kind habitat, housing a complex ecosystem of cougars, bobcats, javelinas, gray foxes, jackrabbits, desert cottontails, ring-tailed cats, and white-nosed coatis. Saguaro National Park is uniquely separated into two distinct sections: the Rincon Mountain District, which lies about 10 miles east of Tucson, and the Tucson Mountain District, 10 miles to the west. Each portion of the park features a different selection of flora and fauna, though from any viewpoint, visitors can marvel at the picture-perfect scenes of saguaros at the forefront of endless mountainsapes. Hikers and campers trekking through any of the 165 miles of trail systems can admire 800-year-old Hohokam petroglyphs, while drivers cruising Cactus Forest Loop Drive can stop to see quintessential southwestern panoramas.

Not a Clint Eastwood western goes by without a saguaro cactus popping up somewhere or other. A veritable symbol of the frontier lands of the Southwest, the great long-armed desert dwellers make a fantastic show at the Saguaro National Park in Arizona. Encapsulating over 90,000 acres in the midst of the Sonoran Desert, the reserve pulls in visitors with the promise of dramatic sunsets and sightings of the Tucson Mountains with the spiny cacti all around. Visit in April to catch the saguaro in full bloom.

Witness the Sonoran Desert light up in a blaze of cloud-white flowers, all courtesy of the brief, but wonderful, bloom of the saguaro cactus. Muted temperatures also mean spring is perfect for hiking the mesas and bluffs in Saguaro National Park.