If I’m being honest, Saguaro National Park was not high on my list. But, when we took a family trip to Phoenix over the holidays, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to check it out. This happened to be our first trip with a baby and Riley was only 3.5 months old at the time. We also went with the whole extended family, so I knew right off the bat this was not going to be one of our more adventurous visits to a national park. It turned out Saguaro made for the perfect day trip on this vacation and was definitely a trip highlight for me.
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The saguaro is the nation’s largest cacti and can only be found in the Sonoran Desert (and not even all parts of the Sonoran Desert). They are very slow growing cacti and grow ‘arms’ as they age. They can live up to 200 years, growing 40-60 feet tall with over 25 arms and reach up to 3,200-4,800 pounds when fully hydrated!
Saguaro National Park lies in the Sonoran Desert. Late spring to early fall sees temperatures that range from the 90s to 110s, so not exactly great hiking weather. Late fall to early spring, however, provides the perfect weather for exploring, ranging from the 50s to 70s. The park is made up of two “districts”, one on either side of the city of Tucson, Arizona, making it easily accessible and great for a day (or even half-day) trip.
The West District seemed like the better choice for a family outing, so that’s where we decided to spend our time. While the East District is much more spread out and has more hiking trails, the West District has a higher density of Saguaros and more family friendly hikes. The West District of Saguaro National Park was about a 2.5 hour drive from Phoenix, so between driving there and back and the shorter days of winter, we really didn’t have a ton of time but were still able to enjoy a few short hikes and a scenic drive.
One Day in Saguaro National Park: The West District
The Cactus Garden Trail is a short, paved trail right outside the Red Hills Visitor Center. In just a short 100 yards, you can already marvel at the size and shapes of these enormous cacti. The kids loved posing with them.
The Bajada Drive is a scenic 3 mile loop that has several hiking trails. We took the 0.8 mile Valley View Overlook Trail, which brings you to an amazing view of the Avra Valley below. This was a great, short hike that the whole family enjoyed.
Signal Hill Petroglyphs Trail and Desert Discovery Trail are two other easy 0.5 mile hikes that we looked into doing. We ended up not stopping because with a large group, parking was difficult. All of these trails are within 5 miles of the Red Hill Visitor Center making for an easy day trip.
There are also a few other hikes in this area and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which was recommended to me, but with our limited time we chose to focus on being out in the park and we also had one other stop we wanted to make! Before heading back to Phoenix, we stopped at Old Tucson, a movie studio and theme park right outside of the national park. We ate, watched a gun show, played some games, and enjoyed some ice cream before the drive back. I was surprised at how much we were able to experience in the park in just a few hours and I’m so glad that we decided to go.