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Ahh, Saguaro National Park. One of the newest parks I visited and one of my new favorites! This is such an underrated national park, I’m surprised at how little I hear about it.

The big question when visiting though, is which side of Saguaro National Park is better and I’m here to help you pick a side.

We finally visited for two days in march on our way back out to Lake Powell and I’m so glad we made it happen. We spent three nights in Tucson so we had two full days in the park which was perfect for a quickish visit.

It still let us see more of the park though, which was great. We stayed at The Tuxon and it was so cute! The rooms are small but it’s perfect for visiting both sides of the park, especially the west.

The original plan was one day in each side of the park, but then I wanted to try and go to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, too. Well, the forecast said lots of wind and it was a long drive so we ended up doing two days in Saguaro.

On the first day we drove through the West Is Best: How To Make The Most Of One Day In Saguaro WestWest side of the park and did the Valley View Overlook Trail and just kind of enjoyed the area. We even saw a coyote on the Golden Gate Road towards the Sendero Esperanza trail.

Then, that afternoon, we made the trek over to the east side of the park to check it out. I won’t share exactly what I thought of it right here because you’ll find out below.

National Park Goodies

• If you’re planning to visit three or more national parks within a year from your trip, definitely get the America the Beautiful pass. It will save you money in the long run if you’re going to more than three parks in a year. Buy the pass here.
• If you’re planning on doing a lot of hiking on your trip, or even at home, check out AllTrails! This is my favorite app to find, keep track of, and track my hiking activity. And it’s FREE! Sign up here.
• This Ultimate National Park Planning Bundle is a must-have. You get two ebooks and a planner, saving 50% by getting them as a bundle! If you want all the details, this is the bundle for you. Buy the Ultimate bundle here.
• This National Park Planner (one of the ebooks from the bundle above) is perfect if you just want some guidance in your planning. Buy the planner here.
• Get yourself a little National Park notebook to write all about your adventures while you’re on the road. These from Field Notes are all very cute! If you want one for all of the NPS sites (400+!) then this one is for you!
• Before your trip, get some national park apparel for your trip!
• Consider reading some of these books set in national parks before your big trip, on your adventure, or once you get home to take you back to the parks until next time.

Which side of Saguaro is which?

There are two sides of Saguaro National Park, the east and the west. The west side is the Tucson Mountain District and the east side is the Rincon District.

On the west side, you’ll find the Red Hills Visitor Center and on the east side you’ll find the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center.

Definitely put in the visitor centers on Google maps when you look it up, not just Saguaro west or Saguaro east because that takes you to a random spot.

Which side of Saguaro has more cactus?

The west side of Saguaro has more cactus, for sure! It’s so impressive the number of them over here and even just on the drive in you’ll see tons and some incredibly large saguaros. I wanted to stop and admire all of them but there were too many to choose from.

The east side still has saguaro, of course, but nowhere near as many.

So I will definitely have to say, the west side is better if you want to see lots of saguaros, which is probably what you’re here for, after all.

Which side of Saguaro is more remote?

The east side, for sure. The west feels more remote because it’s a little more out of the city, but the east is easier to get away from people.

You can also only do backcountry camping and hiking on the east side and that’s how you get to the really remote parts. If you’re just driving through, it’s not that much more remote than the west. And it’s paved, but the west is dirt.

So here the winner is definitely going to be the east side as far as remoteness goes.

Which side of Saguaro has more hiking?

While the west side has some hiking options that I enjoyed, there is going to be more of it on the east side. As far as short hikes go though, the east really only has one or two more. On the west side, two great short hikes are the Desert Discovery Trail and the Signal Hill Petroglyph Trail.

If you want to go backpacking and really put in the miles, the east is where you’ll want to (and have to) be for that. On the west side there are still plenty of hikes to choose from like the Hugh Norris Trail, Gould Mine Trail, or the Sendero Esperanza Trail.

Again, the east side is going to win because it has all of the backcountry hiking and camping.

Which side of Saguaro National Park is better?

Definitely the west. Sure, the east side wins for hiking and remoteness, but the west side wins overall for awesomeness.

I was actually really let down by the east side and we literally just drove through it. After seeing the west side it didn’t seem all that impressive on the east, but maybe that would change with seeing the backcountry.

The cactus on the west side are soooo much more dense and impressive. I was blown away with the drive even though it’s short. I just kept saying “Look at them! They’re amazing!”

So, if you only have one day in Saguaro, you can see both sides, but if you only want to see one and spend a lot of time there, I would absolutely recommend the west side. It was so much better, I still can’t get over it. I love it!

Is Saguaro National Park worth visiting?

Yes! A thousand times, yes! This was such an amazing park and I feel like I never hear anything about it. But I love it! This is seriously one of my favorite national parks now and I can’t wait to go back, especially to see the Saguaros bloom.

Definitely put this on your national park bucket list or your southwest bucket list, or both. All the bucket lists because it’s amazing.

How long does it take to drive through Saguaro National Park?

If you’re just driving through and not hiking at all, you could do each side in an hour or less. Plus an hour drive between the two sides, so you could technically see the whole thing in three hours, but if you want to do anything, you’ll need more time.

The Cactus Loop Road on the east side is paved and eight miles with little parking for RVs and larger vehicles. The Bajada Loop Drive in the west is dirt and six miles. It’s an easy dirt road though and any car can do it.

What is the best time to visit Saguaro National Park?

Definitely winter because it’s like, a thousand degrees in the summer. But, if you want to see the cactus bloom (which I would LOVE) you’ll have to go most likely in May.

Saguaros start to bloom in the last two weeks of April and peak is the last week of May and first week of June. It will be hot then, too, not peak summer hot, but hot enough.

If you’re not concerned about seeing them bloom, then anytime in the winter is good. Early March was perfect for us, but it was a little windy one of the days we were there. Other than that it was great!

What to bring hiking in Saguaro National Park

Hiking poles – These will be helpful on longer hikes that are on the steeper side.  They’ll be good if you have bad knees for when you’re going downhill and will give you something to lean on going up the hills.

Water bottle – It’ll be hot and you’ll need to stay hydrated.  Even if it’s not hot you need to stay hydrated.  A Hydro Flask will keep your water ice cold all day long.

Sunscreen – If you plan on being outside, you’ll want sunscreen.  I like the Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch a lot AND it’s reef safe! If you’re sensitive to fragrance though, it’s not a good choice. I also like the same one but specifically for your face.

Hat – You’ll want some kind of hat to keep the sun out of your eyes, or a visor.  A baseball hat should be fine but I like my giant sun hat, too.

Sunglasses – This is a must no matter where you are.

Light Jacket – Because you just never know.  Weather can change quickly depending on where you are, time of day, and season.  I usually use my rain jacket for this.

Headlamp – I tend to carry my headlamp around all the time when we’re hiking, just in case. 

Have you been to Saguaro National Park? Which side of Saguaro did you think was better? Do you want to go? Is there a better place to see saguaros?