Located on the Southern end of Arizona near the border with Mexico, Saguaro National Park is a vast desert landscape full of giant cacti, vibrant flowers, and rolling hills.

Ahhh…Saguaro- The National Park so heavily derided that the Visitor’s Center is listed as the “top thing to do” on Trip Advisor.

Split into two sections (West and East) on either side of Tucson, the Park was established as a National Monument in 1933 by Herbert Hoover in order to protect the iconic Saguaro Cactus (pronounced “Suh-War-Oh”), a large species of cacti that can grow to a height of almost 60 feet. After an extremely cold winter nearly sent the Saguaro into extinction, Congress upgraded the area to a National Park in 1994- a status it maintains to this day.

I had the chance to visit both sides of the park and while I admit to my expectations being low, I found there to be a certain beauty in this classic desert landscape. Scattered along the paths in the park are beautifully vibrant desert flowers growing out of what the park calls “fishhook barrel cacti”:

Then there’s the Saguaros themselves, towering over every inch of the landscape:

There’s no question that this Park sports a hot and unforgiving terrain, but if I think if you’re able to slow down and appreciate what makes it unique, you will enjoy visiting here. As I mentioned, I visited both the West and East sides of the park- if you have to choose one, definitely do the West, as there are significantly more cacti there.

That’s all for now- next up is the Grand Canyon!

-MB

Bonus Images: