Saguaro National Park Reviews

This place has tons of hiking trails in both the east and the west parks. The visitors center does a great job answering all of your questions and also have a variety of programs to keep all ages engaged. There is also a nice gift shop that would be expected at a national park. If you are interested in learning about the many native plants in the area, this is a must stop.

Unique place. Flora combination unlike any other in the world.

Not our favorite national park, beautiful desert, however Catalina State park was nearby and we were more impressed with that. We love to hike, and we felt like hiking was better at the state park. Better than Congree National Park tho!

Great scenery, imposing cactuses. Great for hiking. Definitely take water when you go hiking !!!!!!

Veey beautiful desert. There are houses near by the roads.

Thrilling scenes of spectacular desert beauty--fun pretty, educational visitor center too!

Plenty to do, rifle and pistol range is exceptional.

Drive through the Park was enjoyable but walking some of the trails was even better. The variety of wildlife and cacti was amazing.

A piece of heaven every time we visit there. Despite the govt shutdown, the scenic drive at Saguaro East was open. No apparent vandelism as other parks have experienced...the Sonoran desert continues to amaze....

What an incredible place. The rangers at the Visitors Center were very helpful. The Saguaro Cactus are beautiful. I can't believe how big some of them are!

Love the loop drive. It got a bit too hot for a hike, so we missed out on the trails.

Beautiful desert scenery, not much else that you can say. Coyotes howling in the evening. Roadrunners darting about during the day. The ranger said that RVs couldn't make the loop due to dips in the road. He did suggest an alternate drive along McCain loop that was beautiful.

Love love love, can't wait to return for longer visit.

Love the scenery and trails but would you slower drivers please use the parking pull outs!

Enjoyed a sunset visit - beautiful. Visitors station was excellent

Will definitely be back. There are lots of trails to hike.

Saguaro is certainly a nice park with solid facilities and access to some of the most interesting plants on the planet. It just doesn't compare with other national parks on scope, facilities, or service. I drove around a lot, hiked a bit, and chatted with the park rangers, who wouldn't tell me where the largest cacti were because they were afraid people would vandalize them. Perhaps I had high hopes, but this park just doesn't satisfy.

So flippen cool. Cactus everywhere! Big huggable cactus.... Just ran right out there and tried to squeezed... Ouch. Don't do that!

Great, just love the outdoors. Watch out for the rattlers.

Friendly and knowledgeable rangers. Amazing scenery.

Ron, at the visitors center, gave a wonderful presentation on the history of the park! I was blown away by his presentation! All of my out of state family thoroughly enjoyed their visit!! Thanks Ron!!!

Beautiful scenery! Don t forget to watch for animals.

Did the Hugh Norris trail. Great hike, hot day, bring more water than what you are thinking.

Great place to hike and see the beautiful desert landscape. Lots of wildlife too

Went to park after dark for a hike. Group of 4 young girls led us. They were professional, fun, smart, and went at my pace. We saw a cave with a rattlesnake in it, the most gorgeous rocks, plants, scat trail with that led us to a javelina. A desert tortoise. Leaned a lot about Saguaros and found a lot of their fruit. They provided headlamps and black lights. We found several scorpions that glowed! They did make sure we stayed safe. Gave us direction about a plant that you can squeeze by that is gentle and safe vs cactus. And kept us alert to watching for snakes and an area with bees. They also carried first aid kit. We were even caught as creatures on wildlife cameras. We saw the sunset and full moon. At one point we stoped and stayed silent. It was amazing to hear absolutely nothing. Please plan on going here. Even if you pay a fee it is reasonable. We need to support these programs and teach everyone the importance of everything in the world. Please go here!

Breathtaking Desert scenery. Wildflowers abound...everywhere. Stunning!

Excellent view every where you look Several trails to enjoy Bring lots of water

Super pretty and the cactus are just amaing to look at!

Loop around with Silverbell south to Gates Pass to cross over there Tucson Mts., then Kinney Rd. north to Sandario Rd. north to Picture Rocks east back over the Tucson Mts., then east on Ina back to Silverbell. Wonderful scenic ride! Especially at dawn or dusk.

Incredible scenery! It's amazing how much grows in the desert and how green it is. Go to the red hills visitor center to refill your water bottles, for restrooms, and a nice gift shop. Desert Museum is amazing!

Amazing views of unique biome of low desert. Would rate 5 stars if trails were better groomed and marked and visitor center was open 7 days a week. Defiantly worth the trip for the day!

I went in January, but it was unseasonably warm. In three days I did a 47 mile loop and got to see most of the park. My journey started at the Alta Loma Trail Head. From there we started up the ridge towards Manning Camp. Before hitting Manning Camp we turned right and crossed Happy Valley. Happy Valley and the entire first day really is desert, only providing shade trees next to creeks, all of which were bone dry. After crossing Happy Valley we turned up the mountain to Happy Valley Saddle. At the Saddle there is a really nice campground with bear boxes and water nearby. We camped hear. At 5 am we started out for Rincon Peak with the intention of topping out for sunrise but 2400 feet in 3 miles is tough. We fell just a bit short but the view is so stunning nobody seemed to notice. There we found the biggest cairn in the area. A stack of rocks 6 ft tall. We got our epic pictures and "Ooo"s and "Awe"s then headed back down. About a quarter mile down on the right we found water in a Sring that seems to flow year round. After that we looped back through the Happy Valley Saddle and headed up heartbreak ridge. Heartbreak Ridge is as the name implies but not for the reasons one might expect. The ridge line consists of several peaks and saddles so you gain massive elevation followed immediately by loosing elevation, then gaining again. All at just below 8000 feet. The views here are epic to say the least. After Heartbreak Ridge we continued up to Manning Camp. At Manning Camp we found more much-need water and another nice campground. At this campground I even had cell service at times. After another well-earned night of sleep I set off for the Douglas Springs Trail Head. There is a short distance of uphill right after you leave camp then you hit Cowhead Saddle Trail. From Manning Camp this trail is all downhill. The whole time you're on this trail it looks like it goes right up Tanque Verde Peak tho. A rough thing to wrap your mind around after such a grueling hike. Lucky, right at the base of Tanque Verde Peak is the turn for Douglas Springs. Douglas Srings Trail was beautiful too. You get to overlook the whole northwest of the park at times. Half way down was the Douglas Springs Campground. Again water and Bear Boxes but this campground is desert where as the other two were in the mountains and forest. Don't let that fool you tho. There are certainly shade trees around. After leaving the campground it's a gradual uphill to the top of the ridge then all downhill to the Trailhead. In the end I'd say that this is one of the most beautiful and untouched areas around. No roads, few people, well maintained, epic views and noteworthy trail lengths make this one of my favorite places to backpack in all of AZ. This Park is not for the inexperienced or the faint of heart, but for those with true grit, the rewards far outweigh the consequences.

It's a National Park. Why would it not get a five rating??

Used to come here with my grandparents. Very beautiful and had a few good hiking trails.

This place is beautiful. Watch out for snakes though. The soulless creatures are mean and don't have legs. Gross.

Very interesting National Park as compared to our National Forests, but well worth the time to take a drive and walk some trails through the desert and see the many varieties of cactus and other plants. If you can do the trails 2 or 3 hours before sunset and then finish the day by watching the sunset from one of the many lookout points along the latter half of the one way drive through the park, you'll find some of the scenery to be absolutely spectacular.

We loved the Saguaro's which were in bloom, although their small flowers are insignificant compared to the stately grace of the Saguaro itself.

An amazing place to hike. The designated trails are rugged but well maintained. One of the best things about moving to Tucson

Really neat to see such a huge expanse of these amazing saguaro cactus as well as so many other plants and animals.

Saquaros are ama,ing. Beautiful park. Best time to go is at dawn so you can see the dew on the cacti, not to mention temperatures are more comfortable.

Absolutely breathe taking! I know of no where else you can see such a site!

A great place to appreciate the desert. Please be courteous to cyclists. Move over if you see one coming behind.

Nice park with plenty of natural beauty. Just a short drive from downtown Tucson.

The most wonderful national park. Lots of great trails, programming and staff. Very worth the visit and time to see the displays and film. Really wonderful education dept.

I enjoyed the deserted cacti paradise!
So many cacti around - it felt like I got to cacti heaven

Great place for a flat tire. AAA was there lickety split! Besides the fact that I get the pleasure of driving through the monument daily, every one should see Saguaro National Monument, no kidding!

It's an interesting place, however not much in regards to hikes.

Interesting park with all varieties of cacti to learn and admire.

Fantastic views
message to the readers: KEEP THE PLACE CLEAN.

I've lived here most of my life and I to be it here! So beautiful!

Very beautiful cacti up to 50 feet tall and many varieties. Great views from the Hugh Norris trail.

A great way to experience the Sonoran desert with endless miles of trails for hiking, running or biking.

Must see. Learn about the cacti and the views are amazing.

Absolutely stunning sites! A beautiful place to visit and drive through.

Absolutely stunning. Saguaros for as far as the eye can see.

A beautiful place! We visit every time we visit AZ.

Absolutely amazing! Quite the trek we went on to finally reach the parking area but was well worth it. We went on a long walk and dying so we could hear a pack of coyotes howling, they did this for quite some time. Unnerving but so cool! The trails were marked clearly and they even had a restroom.

Absolutely beautiful, peaceful, and amazing all at once

Beautiful National Park with several hikes or drives to see the saguaros