Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Few places demonstrate more dramatically how difficult life can be than the Sonoran Desert.  Within these 120,000 square miles in southern Arizona, southeastern California and northwestern Mexico, grows North America's largest cactus, the stately Saguaro (carnegiea gigantea).  Each of these impressive plants, which can rise up to 50 feet tall and weigh in at up to 16,000 pounds, has defied incredible odds simply to exist.  With the region's summer temperatures routinely exceeding 100 degrees F, and with the constant tug of drought straining daily existence, these "desert monarchs" perservere,, some  for as long as two centuries. Over their impressive lifespans, saguaros may produce as many as 40 million seeds, but only a tiny fraction sprout, and even less grow into plants (on average only 1).  Those that do survive however, exude a stately, regal presence.

Arizona's Saguaro National Park is a celebration of tenacity, a monument to nature's persistence.  Consisting of two sections-the Tucson Mountain District to the West of Tucson and the Rincon Mountain District to Tucson's East-Saguaro National Park showcases the features of both high and low desert environments.  The 24,000 acre Tucson Mountain District, the more accessible of the two sections, showcases the hotter, drier ecosystem that exists in this region at elevations of approximately 2,400 to 4,600 feet above sea level.  The higher 67,000 acre Rincon Mountain District features large areas of saguaros, as well as oak and pine forests.  This section of the park has more miles of hiking trails in the saguaros than the Tucson Mountain District, and persistent hikers will find ponderosa pines and fewer people at higher elevations.

Travelers who want to see the nightly blooms of the park's namesake plants should visit from late April through June, and RVers wanting to revel in the profusion of colors displayed by Mexican poppies, globe mallows, marigolds and lupines should enter the park in mid-March to late April.

In Saguaro West, the Red HIlls Visitor Center delivers a park overview.  After making this first stop, visitors should take the Bajada Scenic Loop Drive, making sure to explore the paved Desert discovery Nature Trail.

Although Saguaro National Park only has backcountry campsites, RVers can camp at nearby Tucson Mountain County Park.

Saguaro National Park, (520) 733-5158  www.nps.gov/sagu.

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