While we stayed at Ironwood Monument Access outside of Tucson, Arizona, we were ideally poised to visit Saguaro National Park. Saguaro National Park is another unique National Park as there are two distinct parts to one park. The park is split between the west side and the east side with Tucson, AZ sitting in between. A bit like Hot Springs in reverse.
The Visitors Center at Saguaro National Park
The visitor center at Saguaro National Park East had a great 15-minute video titled “Voices of the Desert.” It served as a great introduction to the park and spoke about how the park works together with the native tribes of the area to manage the park and respect their traditions. Of the fun facts the video taught us, we learned that most people pronounce saguaro wrong. For years, I pronounced it Sug-ware-oh, but the proper pronunciation is Sah-war-oh.
The other thing that surprised us was the wealth of life all around us. I used to watch Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a kid and developed this view of deserts being vast expanses of wasteland—stone and sand for miles in every direction interrupted by the rare cactus. Not only is the Sonoran desert alive but it also blew our prior perceptions out of the water!
Hiking Saguaro National Park
In addition to the wealth of information in the visitors center, Saguaro National Park has miles upon miles of hiking trails. Considering we were still working on getting into hiking shape, we took an easy 4.5-mile loop hike along the Signal Hill, Cactus Wren, and Manville trails, again on the east section of the park. We started at Signal Hill to see a collection of petroglyphs left thousands of years ago by an unknown native culture for unknown reasons upon the rocks.
After viewing the relics, we started our hike along the Cactus Wren loop. The whole trail winds through untouched expanses of the Sonoran desert, showcasing the density and variety of life in this rain-starved region.
The last half-mile or so of the Manville leg of the hike was the hardest, following a sandy wash that made for some tougher walking. If we were to do it again, we’d go the other way first and walk the sandy wash when we’re fresh.
At the end of the day, this was an amazing park with great information for those interested in the deserts. It has something to offer for everyone!
