Auto Tour: Cactus Forest Drive in Saguaro National Park - Arizona
Watch Chimani's Auto Tour of Cactus Forest Drive in Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain District:
Straddling the legendary Southwest community of Tucson, Arizona, lies a national park devoted to protecting arguably the most iconic symbols of this region, the saguaro cactus.
Saguaro National Park is divided into two regions, Saguaro West's Tucson Mountain District and Saguaro East's Rincon Mountain District. Both districts are home to their own scenic drive, with the popular Bajada Loop Drive in the west, and the Cactus Forest Drive in the east.
Beginning at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center, the one-way Cactus Forest Drive Loop leads visitors on a leisurely eight-mile journey through a saguaro forest. The drive provides a stunning view of Sonoran Desert life and varieties of cacti, plants, and wildlife that inhabit the area. Many of the 130 miles of trails that stretch across the Rincon District of Saguaro National Park begin and/or end along the loop road. Trailheads can be seen all along the route.
Being a relatively short loop, and in close proximity to downtown Tucson, the Cactus Forest Drive loop is a popular destination for bicyclists.
If you're planning to hike into the park, be sure to make yourself of the weather forecast for your visit. Temperatures in Southern Arizona can often reach into the 100's and there is little shade provided by the mighty saguaro cactus. In the mid-to-late summer, monsoon season can bring sudden rain that can create unexpected washes in desert environments that aren't accustomed to large amounts of precipitation.
Plan for your visit with the free Saguaro National Park app by Chimani, available for iOS and Android in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Biking through Cactus Forest and hiking Tanque Verde Trail at Saguaro National Park East (#10/419)
We spent two days at Rincon Mountain District in Saguaro National Park East. On the first day, we did an 8-mile bike ride on the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. This was the first time we took out the bikes since we hit the road and went for a bike ride together.
On the second day, we hiked Tanque Verde Ridge trail. It is a long in-and-out trail, but we did just a portion of it. Along the way, we saw some deer that made very weird sounds!
Here is the link to our blog post on how we carry the bikes on our RV.
Here is our other video about Saguaro National Park West:
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#️⃣ Saguaro National Park was unit #10 out of #419 on our journey to visit them all. See a detailed write up here:
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Filming dates: February 2019
Saguaro National Park East Cactus Forest Loop Drive
Driving the Saguaro National Park East Cactus Forest Loop by RV Travels. This 8-mile loop drive takes you through the beautiful Saguaro forest in the Sonoran Desert. It begins at the visitors center and is paved and one-way. There is no water and there are no restrooms along the way.
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Cactus, Cacti and Cactuses????Saguaro National Park - Tucson, Arizona
We visited both sides of Saguaro National Park on two very different days and it is beautiful in any weather. It is also quite pokey. There are cacti there, after all. The best part, it's right outside of Tucson with plenty of restaurants, shopping and places to park your RV. Woot!????
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A Drive Through the Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona
There is no missing the Saguaro cactus all along the Saguaro National Park road shown in the video. They're everywhere. Though plentiful around Tucson, Saguaros are actually a rare species of cactus that grows only in the Sonoran desert of Arizona, Mexico and Southern California. They're fascinating plants with arms shooting skyward and a symbol of the American West around the world. There is no better place than the Saguaro National Park to learn about them. I visited the Park on February 15, 2013.
Tucson, Arizona
Recorded April 22-24, 2017
The final video from my 2017 Desert Southwest vacation. In this video I visit Saguaro National Park, drive the spectacular Sky Island Scenic Byway and get a nice view of Tucson from Sentinel Peak. Index for this video...
00:01 Saguaro National Park (East Unit)
00:51 Cactus Forest Drive
07:02 Riparian Overlook
10:36 Sky Island Scenic Byway
17:57 Scenic Overlook
22:26 Malino Canyon Vista
27:35 Thimble Peak Vista
30:29 Seven Cataracts Vista Point
36:55 Windy Point Vista
40:21 Hoodoos Vista Point
43:17 San Pedro Point Vista Point
43:34 Return trip down Mount Lemmon
50:26 Sentinel Peak (Downtown Tucson)
53:08 Saguaro National Park (West Unit)
54:35 Trip wrap-up
From:
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST. TUCSON, AZ
Saguaro National Park
In this episode of Cheap Family Travel ( Nick, Regan, Maggie and Kate visited the Arizona Sonora Desert outside of Tucson, Arizona to see the massive saguaro cactus. Saguaro National Park is home to over 25 species of cacti, but none compare to the mighty saguaro. Saguaro grow to over 50ft. tall and can live between 150 and 200 years. They serve as homes and food for many desert animals. Saguaro National Park is divided into East and West. Both parks have their own visitor centers and drives through the cacti forests. You can hike trails into the desert and see the cacti up close. Watch out for prickly thorns and slithering reptiles. We enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, the flowering cacti and the peacefulness of the desert. We were amazed by the unique and odd shapes of the human looking cacti.
You can access Saguaro National Park from Tucson or you can camp at Gilbert Ray Campground just outside the park. If you have time, we totally recommend the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It was unlike any museum that we'd ever seen.
So plan to spend some time among the supreme symbol of the American Southwest, the saguaro cactus. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the beauty and variety that awaits you in the Sonoran Desert.
Saguaro National Park East - Cactus Forest Drive
Cactus ATTACK at Saguaro National Park in Tucson Arizona
We visited Saguaro National Park West and East. Kalyra was attacked by a jumping cholla cactus (scary) but then we enjoyed a sunset tequila toast to this amazing park!
Read more tips on Saguaro National Park here --
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Saguaro National Park, Tucson
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Cactus Forest Trail, Saguaro National Park
This is in Saguaro National Park (East District) in Tucson, Arizona.
Saguaro National Park East Tucson, AZ
A drive through the scenic loop at the saguaro cactus forest in Tucson, AZ. This loop is about 9 miles long and features several overlooks to enjoy the vast scenery. Being someone who is afraid of heights (working on getting over it), I was worried about any hills or ledges. I didn't have any issues with this park, just one smallish hill which you can see in this video. Go do it. You will not regret it. Now...on to Mount Lemmon! Maybe. This is also the first time I used my Polaroid Cube camera. This video shows the differences between holding in my hand vs. mounting it with the magnet on my car.
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Wasson via Sweetwater - Hiking in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona
Hiking the Sweetwater Trail to Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona.
Music Hillbilly Anarchy by Jeris ( is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0).
Tucson: Broadway - Cactus forest loop
Saguaro National Park - Tucson, Arizona
Cactus Forest Drive is a paved eight mile drive with beautiful views of the desert. There are many pull overs and hiking trails on the route.
Check out my blog for more information and photos.
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TUCSON'S NEON DESERT - SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK
For HI-RESOL PIX (no music) visit:
In May '08 Steve & buddy Stu did our Tucson get-a-way. Photos begin with Saguaro National Park East and its 6 mile Bajada Loop Drive. We take the Valley View hike with panoramic view of Avra Valley. Next we headed to Saguaro Park East. Then, we beat the heat with a one hour 9,000 ft. drive up Mt. Lemmon plus a 'Sky Ride' to the summit. All but one photo are 'NEON' versions of the original pix. All pix (c)2008 Tanenbaum
Saguaro National Park East, Tucson, Arizona. January 2016
Join Bill and Rita Breeden at Saguaro National Park East, in Tucson, Arizona. We visited in January 2016, and this is a terrific time of year to visit the desert. Very pleasant weather, 60 degrees!
Saguaro National Park, East District (Cactus Forest Loop Drive)
Carole Thody films at Saguaro National Park - - on the Cactus Forest Loop Drive through the East District (also known as Rincon Mountain District. Still photos from this 2010 road trip at
Saguaro National Park and Hiking to Seven Falls in Sabino Canyon
We start off the day hiking in Saguaro National Park on the cactus forest trail. From here we head off to Sabino Canyon and hike through bear canyon. Towards the end of the canyon you come to seven falls. The waterfall was not really running at this time but the pools were still fresh. We jumped off the cliff into the falls and it was a great time.
Shot on a Sony RX100 M4
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