Saguaro National Park guide · 2 min read
From Desert Floor to Oak-Juniper Woodland
Saguaro National Park rises from the Tucson valley desert floor into forested mountains above 8,000 feet, and the plant life changes along the way.
A single visit can pass through several distinct landscapes.
The Tucson Mountain District, about 10 miles west of the city, has desert scrub such as fourwing saltbush and brittlebrush at the lowest elevations, with desert grassland a little higher. The Rincon Mountain District, about 10 miles east of Tucson, includes those two communities plus four more at higher elevations, among them oak woodland, pine-oak woodland and pine forest. Creosote bush scrub and Oak/Juniper Woodland are two of the four vegetation types recognized across the park, and fairy duster, a low shrub with threadlike pink blooms, is a native flowering plant here.
The Saguaro Wilderness Area in the Rincon Mountains protects the last roadless sky island range in the region. Together with the adjacent Rincon Mountain Wilderness on Coronado National Forest, it covers nearly 100,000 acres. The Juniper Basin hike is a demanding day hike up Tanque Verde Ridge, covering 6.9 miles with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Views open up along the way, and the plants shift from desert scrub to oak savanna and then pine and juniper woodland.
For shorter walks, the Cactus Forest North Trail runs 1.7 miles one way past saguaros, barrel cacti, palo verde trees and creosote bushes. Hikers can start at the Cactus Forest North Trailhead on the loop road or at the Broadway Trailhead. The quarter-mile Desert Ecology Trail starts from a pullout on Cactus Forest Loop Drive, with signs on the common plants of the Sonoran Desert. The path is paved and wide, with rest benches at intervals.
Wildflowers and cactus blooms begin in late February and March, peaking in March. Saguaros start to flower in late April, and their white, waxy blossoms appear from late May through July. Pincushion cactus blooms from April through August.
