Welcome to Travel Tuesday! This is my last Arizona post for a while(!). I do hope to be back there someday, so hopefully there’ll be more to come, but for now, we’re headed to the Desert Ecology Trail in Saguaro National Park for the day!
Desert Ecology Trail in Saguaro National Park
Distance: 0.3 miles (loop)
Elevation: 9 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Duration: <15 minutes
Trailhead Address: 32.20326,-110.7253
Parking: Can park on the side of the road ($15 for admission into the park, or free with interagency pass!)
Given the distance, this honestly isn’t much of a hike, but it’s a fun short semi-educational stroll. There are informative signs along the trail where you can learn about the vegetation and animals in the Sonoran Desert.
Some shaded stops are scattered along the paved trail, but if you go in the summer (late August) like I did, please pack a ton of water, a ton of SPF, and a hat.
If you’re traveling with small children (not small enough to go running wild into the cacti though) or anyone elderly that can’t walk too far, this would be a good way to experience Saguaro National Park! Pets are allowed too, but they must be leashed!
I didn’t stay as long at this national park as I’d planned/wanted to, partly because of the heat. (It was ~109-113 degrees when I was there, and while I do love warm temperatures, that’s for-sure pushing it.
The other part was because my friend has recently had a class in residency about “all the things in Arizona that can kill you,” which happened to include African bees.
Have you heard of em’? They’re also known as killer bees and are a hybrid of East African lowland honey bees and European honey bees. The hope was to produce a hardier + more honey-prolific bee but this was unfortunately a total fail. What came out of this = much more easily angered + more defensive bees that are quicker to attack in greater numbers and can chase humans for a quarter of a mile.
Long story short, I saw a sign in the park that stated there’d been a swarm spotted nearby, so I decided to peace out. :] There’s little to no reception in the park and I was alone, so it was for the best.
- Have you ever been to Saguaro National Park?
- Have you ever come across killer bees?
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It is very short, but I guess that works well for a place that is so flipping hot! Once you’ve been out in the heat to look at those flowers, you must be ready for the air-conditioning in the car!!
I absolutely love seeing the cacti flowering! They are so beautiful! I have to admit, I thought they might flower more early in the morning or late in the evening when it’s not too hot for the bugs – I guess not!
haha, definitely! I was melting both in and out of my car. (My AC was broken, but I survived the desert! :P)
I was surprised to see em’ flowering too! It was super pretty! :]
I love Arizona. I know a bunch of people vacationing there right now. It’s such a popular (and awesome) place!
There’s so much to explore there! I’d love to go back sometime to do more hiking! :]
Farrah recently posted…Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park
THE CACTUSES! OMG LOVE THIS!
They were so cool to see! :D