This will wrap up my series of posts from our 2021 Memorial Day adventure with the fourth National Park of our trip and my 41st overall. We had not originally planned to visit Saguaro National Park on this trip, but we had some extra time due to cutting short our Guadalupe Mountains visit because of the wildfire. After realizing the saguaros were in bloom and “only” a four hour drive away, we adjusted our plans on the fly and expanded the trip into Arizona!

This park is like a desert wonderland. Nothing is more emblematic of the American Southwest than these cacti, so it is really incredible to see them in person. As is so often the case with National Parks, photos don’t do the scenery justice. The saguaros were blooming more than normal this year, which is believed to be a natural distress response to severe drought over the past couple years. Also, it is amazing when you realize saguaros don’t grow “arms” until they’re around 75 years old, so many of these cacti have been around for a very long time.

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Saguaro National Park is divided into two units, one on the east side of Tucson (Rincon Mountain District) and one on the west side (Tucson Mountain District). We made stops on both sides of the park. On the east side, we arrived in the heat of the afternoon, so our exploration was largely confined to the scenic Cactus Forest Loop Drive. You don’t want to try exploring this park on foot when it is 100 degrees outside! The loop drive was a great introduction to the park.

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We got up very early the next morning to avoid the worst of the heat and explore Saguaro West. The saguaros seem to be more abundant on this side of the park. It was around 6:30 am local time when we arrived to the park’s entrance. We drove the Bajada Loop Scenic Drive, which is an unpaved but well-maintained road. Our early arrival enabled us to explore the Valley View Overlook Trail and a small part of the Wild Dog Trail before it started really heating up. We also made a stop at Signal Hill to take the short climb up the hill to see fascinating Native American petroglyphs in addition to awesome views.

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Although it would be nice to spend more time exploring the park during a cooler time of year, I am so glad that we lucked into a visit during the time the saguaros were in bloom. This area is truly a special place, and one can only hope the current drought situation improves before it causes lasting harm to this amazing park (not to mention everything and everyone else impacted by water shortages).

A couple of other recommendations for anyone who plans a visit to this area:

• El Charro Restaurant in Tucson for amazing Mexican food. This place has been in business for 99 years, and a restaurant isn’t going to stay open that long unless the food is really as good as its reputation!
• Chiricahua National Monument is located a little out of the way between Tuscon, AZ and Las Cruces, NM. We only had time for a short visit, but I’d love to have a chance to explore that park more sometime in the future.

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We are only halfway into 2021, and it’s already been an awesome year of National Park questing! All the planning of trips that we didn’t get to take last year has been paying off. Up next: Isle Royale National Park!