A journey through the very interesting Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona usually brings to mind giant cacti and lots of dirt with sparse vegetation. In fact, Arizona is full of different climates and vegetation zones. Northern Arizona has high elevation with Ponderosa Pine. Southern Arizona is closer to what people imagine.
The area around Tuscon, Arizona near the Mexican border, is, however, full of life. The Sonoran Desert is not a wasteland, devoid of life (even Death Valley isn’t devoid of life either). Saguaro National Park preserves large tracks of the desert on both sides of Tuscon. Here you can find the most stereotypical cactus ever, the saguaro cactus.
A majestic saguaro cactus, which get very, very tall.
The Saguaro Cacti grow very slowly. Those arms don’t appear until the cactus is between 50 and 70 years old. The saguaros may live up to 200 some years and grow upwards of 60 ft (18 m) tall.
This is a very old cactus.
The bare wooden ribs of a dead saguaro.
The Saguaros aren’t the only plant life that grows here. A multitude of cacti, trees, shrubs and grasses also can be found.
I think this may be some sort of cholla. I’m not sure what kind. (*Author note 2023: According to Google image search, it’s a jumping cholla.) This is the largest one I saw in the park. Usually, they are a small fraction of this size instead of being the size of a small tree, which is insane.
Saguaro National Park is divided into two units, East and West. I checked out the eastern side first. The east is more developed, with a paved loop and some paved trails.
A field of saguaro in the suburbs of Tucson. This used to be used for cattle grazing back in the day until someone realized that the cacti aren’t growing because the little ones were being killed by the hooves of the cattle. Once they stopped grazing, they “surprisingly” started growing again. Who would have thought?
The saguaros were thicker on this side of the park. No grazing here.
The western side of Saguaro is also right next to the suburbs, but it is less obvious here. Not all the roads are paved, but they were easy to drive even in a small sub-compact car with low clearance. I thought this area was much more scenic than the east side.
Dirt roads and insane desert plants.
You can drive through a forest of cacti.
Also on the west side of the park is Signal Hill, where you can find petroglyphs. The Hohokam people made this art about 800 years ago.
Close up on a symbol that was important to the Hohokam.
Saguaro National Park is a pretty neat place.
If you find yourself in Tucson, Saguaro National Park is a must-see. It’s a great place to go between October and April. It may be too hot in the summer to go hiking. There aren’t many places where you can experience the Sonoran Desert like this one.
Check out my next update where I will be visiting some really impressive ancient dwellings.
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Check out all my other posts on the great state of Arizona!
