If you asked me before our December visit to Saguaro National Park if the word lush was an adjective ever used to describe the desert, I would have adamantly said, “No way!” I admit that I was wrong. The park was lush, green, and some things were beginning to bloom.

With only one afternoon to spend in the park and a desire to maximize our visit, here’s how we made the most of our time and what we will remember for the next time.

Saguaro National Park is split into two districts with the city of Tucson nestled between them. We somewhat randomly decided to start our visit on the east side of the park. When we arrived around 1:00 p.m. at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center, we found the parking lot full. Not a problem! All we wanted was a copy of the park guide that we picked up at the guard station when presenting our national park pass.

I had researched scenic drives for this park and knew that we would start at the Cactus Forest Loop Drive — the only car-friendly route on this side of the park. This drive is an eight-mile paved scenic loop drive with many pullouts for picture taking.

Seeing the desert with the fresh snow-covered mountains from recent storms in the background was spectacular!

The park was busy with a lot of traffic which made parking at some of the turnouts difficult or impossible. We did enjoy a few stops along the way to appreciate the beauty surrounding us and to admire the Saguaro cacti for which the park is named.

Mature Saguaro cacti stand majestically above the rest of the terrain in the park. Growing only an inch or so per year in the first six to eight years of their life, these cacti don’t reach full maturity until they are about 150 years old and 40-50 feet tall.

They can be 70 years old before they sprout arms. In their lifetime of up to about 250 years old, they can grow as tall as about 70 feet. Saguaro soak up water like a sponge. When fully hydrated, a single Saguaro cactus can weigh between 3200 and 4800 pounds.

All told, we took about an hour to complete the eight-mile drive, making about half of the available stops to read signs or take pictures.

With parking available, we made a quick stop at the Rincon Mountain Visitor’s Center to review travel to and plans in the western side of the park with a ranger before heading out.

It is recommended to plan for an hour to drive the 33-miles between east and west districts. We made our way to the Red Hills Visitor Center from the south via Gates Pass and Kinney Roads. This was the recommended scenic route to arrive at the park. (See my note below about the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.)

We knew we were short on time and wanted to make sure that we completed the five-mile scenic drive on this side of the park before sunset. We had been told to allow an hour’s time to drive Bajada Loop Drive, as it is unpaved.

We finished the drive a little before sunset and pulled off the main loop drive towards Signal Hill to watch the sunset.

The setting sun put on an amazing light show for us. Not only was the show in front of us, but on the desert plants behind us too!

What started as a cloudy, rainy day was ending on a much different note.

We returned to the Bajada Loop Drive and slowly made our way out of the park admiring the great beauty of a desert sunset and repeating over and over, “Wow!”

Of note:

• The park is open to vehicles on both sides, from sunrise to sunset.  Information centers on both sides are open from 9-5 daily, except on Christmas Day.
• The Cactus Forest Loop Drive is limited to vehicles under 35 feet and less than 8 feet wide and there is no parking for RVs or larger vehicles.
• Bajada Loop Trail can be traveled by most cars but is not suitable for large vehicles, RVs, or trailers.
• Gates Pass Road is not for vehicles over 25 feet or 12,000 pounds.
• The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum off of Kinney Road as you head into the park. Reviews for this museum are fantastic. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for it on this trip to Tucson but will hope to stop there on our next time in the area.