Saguaro
When you think of the Wild West, what do you think of? I think of old saloons, jagged western peaks and … cactus– the saguaro cactus to be specific. The saguaro cactus is an icon of the American West and the largest cactus in the entire United States. These cacti grow straight, up to almost 50 feet, with a varying number of arms protruding from the stalk. They are the real life version of a wild west movie!
The saguaro cactus is native to the Sonoran Desert, only growing in southern Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora. Visiting these symbolic species is as easy as visiting Saguaro National Park. Located just on the outskirts of Tucson Arizona, Saguaro National Park protects over 2 million cacti and 92,000 acres of Sonoran Desert landscape divided between the western Tucson Mountain District and eastern Rincon Mountain District. With both units of the national park only about 20 minutes from downtown Tucson, Saguaro National Park can be easily accessed and combined into a trip with one of the many desert resorts in the Tucson metro area.
As the first western national park that I visited after covid, Saguaro was a fun trip away from the cold and isolated northeast. With 5 days in the area, I spent a ton of time in the National Park and came away with great photos of the ‘wild west’. Here were my favorite things to do on my visit to Saguaro National Park!
Mountain Hiking
From 8 mile mountain treks to just half mile nature walks, Saguaro National Park has a ton of diverse trails to choose from. No matter which trail you choose, the views will be great regardless. While the Rincon Mountain District is more known for longer wilderness and backcountry hikes, the Tucson Mountain District has a variety of shorter hikes and nature walks. My favorite hike was the Hugh-Norris trail in the Tucson Mountain District. While the entire Hugh-Norris trail continues for 5 miles up Wasson Peak, the beginning section of the trail gives great views of the surrounding desert environment. I began the trail in the evening hoping to get to the first ridgeline of Wasson Peak by sunset time. The hike climbs from the trailhead up a mountain valley, with views getting better with every step forward. By sunset, I had reached the first main westward overlook and was able to take colorful photos of the desert landscape. While I turned back at dusk, the trail continued along the ridgeline and up to the mountain summit.
In addition to the Hugh-Norris trail, I also enjoyed the Hope Camp and Ridgeview trails in the Rincon Mountain District and the Valley View and Desert Discovery Trails in the Tucson Mountain District.
The sunset view about 1.5 miles up the Hugh-Norris Trail contains a sweeping cactus landscape.
Watch a Golden Sunset
Southern Arizona easily has some of the best sunsets in the country. The state’s dry and unpolluted atmosphere allows sunlight to scatter on dust particles and project vivid colors throughout the sky. Setting aside at least one day for a picture perfect sunset is an absolute must when in Tucson. With my time in Arizona, I hoped to capture a very specific sunset image– I envisioned a silhouette foreground of cacti backlit by a golden red sunset. As is true with much of my photography, google maps and a sun calculator (suncalc.org) are my favorite online tools to find the perfect shots. With google maps, I can scope out potential sunset locations before traveling and with my sun calculator I can figure out the exact time and angle of the sunset to coordinate exact locations on google maps. Between considering location, direction facing, altitude and topography I am often able to pinpoint exact locations that I think can produce excellent sunsets. My research this time led me to a specific viewpoint at Gates Pass (just outside the National Park boundary). With my data, I knew the sun would pass behind a very specific ridgeline lined with saguaro cacti. The very sunset I had envisioned was exactly as I had planned! With proper tools at your side, photography possibilities are endless.
Focusing on the sky and reducing camera exposure creates an artistic silhouette.
Cactus Gardens
Saguaro cacti have colorful budding flowers. Both the visitor center’s in the Rincon and Tucson Mountain District have short nature trails taking visitors through cacti fields and a variety of different flowers. These trails provide an excellent low-effort opportunity to see the biodiversity in the national park. A macro lens also makes these colorful flowers excellent photography subjects.
I also have to mention Crested Saguaros in this section. About 1 in 10,000 saguaro cacti grow with a fan shaped tip instead of the normal straight line top. These ultra rare cacti are a fun challenge to find, with only 75 known crested cacti in the entire national park. Luckily, the nps maintains a website with details on how to find the more accessible crested saguaro but even with directions, spotting these elusive cacti feels like finding a geocache!
The last image shows a rare crested saguaro!
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Most of the national park wildlife is elusive and difficult to spot just on traditional hikes. But, no one wants to leave Arizona without being able to witness classic desert wildlife in their natural environments. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a great way to spend a day and cross wildlife species off your travel bucket list. In addition to great cacti gardens, the indoor-outdoor museum is host to famed species such as mountain lions, grey wolves, black bears, snakes and so much more! The museum also has covered restaurants, letting you escape the brutal Arizona heat. Although I didn’t want to see snakes in the wild on my trip, seeing them from behind a barrier was a fascinating experience. Similarly, the mountain lion exhibit is fascinating and can easily take up a half hour on its own. Because middle of the day hikes are ill advised in this area of Arizona, the museum is easily one of the best ways to spend the day in nature and learning about the Sonoran landscape.