Location: Arizona Map
Area: 91,440 acres
Activities: hiking, camping, horse riding
What to see: Sendero Esperanza Trail
Saguaro National Park is located in Southern Arizona, USA. Saguaro National Park covers an area of 91,440 acres. In addition to picturesque desert landscape you can find many sites from the presence of the ancient people that once lived here. Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona is named after giant saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) that is abundant here. Saguaro National Park protects large stretched of these plants that are found all over Sonoran Desert. Protected reserve is divided into two districts around Tucson, Arizona. One district (Rincon Mountain District) of Saguaro National Park is 20 miles (32 km) east of Tucson and another district (Tucson Mountain District) 15 miles (24 km) west.
One of the most interesting sites in Tucson Mountain District is a Signal Hill Picnic Area that is famous for hundreds of ancient petroglyphs left by ancient people. Additionally this part of Saguaro National Park has 5 designated areas for picnic and recreation.
This part of Saguaro National Park is famous for its homesteads and early farming settlements that were built in the late 19th and early 20th century. The best way to get here is by taking Freeman Homestead Trail. Additionally you can make your way to Rincon Mountain Saguaro Wilderness Area that is most famous for Manning Cabin that was constructed in 1905 by Levi Manning. He was one of the first mayors of Tucson in its early days. This part of Saguaro National Park is popular for its picturesque views of the Rincon Mountains. The best way to get here is by taking Cactus Forest Loop Drive that is accessible by both car and a bike.
All private vehicles entering Saguaro National
Park must pay a $10 entrance fee that is valid for seven days.
Individuals on foot or bicycle must pay a $5 entrance fee, also
valid for seven days.
There are several passes for groups
traveling together in a private vehicle or individuals on foot or on
bike. These passes provide free entry at national parks and national
wildlife refuges, and also cover standard amenity fees at national
forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land
Management and Bureau of Reclamation. These passes are valid at all
national parks including Saguaro National Park:
The $80
Annual Pass (valid for twelve months from date of issue) can be
purchased by anyone. Military personnel can obtain a free annual
pass in person at a federal recreation site by showing a Common
Access Card (CAC) or Military ID.
U.S. citizens or permanent
residents age 62 or over can obtain a Senior Pass (valid for the
life of the holder) in person at a federal recreation site for $80,
or through the mail for $90; applicants must provide documentation
of citizenship and age. This pass also provides a fifty percent
discount on some park amenities. Seniors can also obtain a $20
annual pass.
U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent
disabilities can obtain an Access Pass (valid for the life of the
holder) in person at a federal recreation site at no charge, or
through the mail for $10; applicants must provide documentation of
citizenship and permanent disability. This pass also provides a
fifty percent discount on some park amenities.
Individuals who
have volunteered 250 or more hours with federal agencies that
participate in the Interagency Pass Program can receive a free
Volunteer Pass.
4th graders can receive an Annual 4th Grade Pass
that allows free entry for the duration of the 4th grade school year
(September-August) to the bearer and any accompanying passengers in
a private non-commercial vehicle. Registration at the Every Kid in a
Park website is required.
In 2018 the National Park Service will
offer four days on which entry is free for all national parks:
January 15 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), April 21 (1st Day of NPS
Week), September 22 (National Public Lands Day), and November 11
(Veterans Day weekend).
Saguaro National Park consists of two sub-areas located on the
western and eastern edges of the city of Tucson in southeastern Arizona.
The smaller western part contains extensive stands of candelabra cactus.
The hilly plain is about 800 meters above sea level. In the Tucson
Mountains a height of 1418 m is reached. The eastern district rises from
the plains to Mica Mountain (2641 m), the highest peak in the Rincon
Mountains, about 40 kilometers east of Tucson.
Saguaro National
Park is located in the eastern part of the Sonoran Desert and is part of
the Arizona Upland. Summer temperatures often exceed 40°C in the shade
during the day, while evenings cool down to an average of 22°C. The mean
temperatures in winter are 19 °C during the day and 4 °C at night. The
average annual precipitation is less than 300 mm.
There is an unusually large variety of habitats in the park. Plants
and animals are adapted to survive in the hot and dry desert. The desert
region is not as lifeless as it might appear at first glance.
More than 1000 plant species are native to Saguaro National Park. In
addition to the huge saguaros, Cylindropuntia species and Ferocactus
wislizeni are common here, as well as colorful flowers such as lupins
and golden poppies. Other typical inhabitants of the desert plain are
the tall, green mesquite shrubs and the fouquieria splendens, whose
long, thin stems often appear dead but bear red flowers most of the
time. Pines and junipers are at home in the mountains.
The animal
world is correspondingly diverse. Coyotes and the pig-like collared
peccaries are among the more common large animals in the park. Large
carnivores are represented by cougars and black bears, the latter
primarily inhabiting the higher elevations. The same applies to the
white-tailed deer. Smaller predator species include bobcat, kit fox,
gray fox, cat ferret, raccoon, white-nosed coati, silver badger and
various skunks. In addition, antelope rabbits, jackrabbits, Audubon
cottontail rabbits and various squirrels are found. Birds are
particularly numerous at around 200 species, including Arizona's
heraldic bird, the cactus wren, and the Gila woodpecker, which hammers
its nests into the trunk of the saguaro. There are tiny hummingbirds and
roadrunners that are actually better at walking than they are at flying.
Some of the area's more exotic residents include the California gopher
tortoise, desert iguana, the venomous Gila beaded lizard, several
species of rattlesnake and the Arizona coral snake, as well as
tarantulas and scorpions.