The 2 Best Hikes in Saguaro National Park (& Scenic Drives)

The best way to get to know Saguaro National Park quickly is to do the 2 best hikes in Saguaro National Park – one in Saguaro East and one in Saguaro West.

I got to know the park well when I spent a week in Tucson during my drive from Texas to California. I spent two beautiful, sunny days in the national park’s saguaro forests. The 2 short hikes we did were perfect for getting to see Saguaro National Park in the little bit of time I had.

This guide to exploring Saguaro National Park covers the 2 hikes, how to do them and the scenic drives to get to the park! I’ll also talk a bit about where to camp for free at the end.

With further ado, these are the 2 best hikes in Saguaro National Park!

Saguaro National Park: An Overview

The first order of business is… what is a saguaro? It’s the giant cactus Saguaro National Park is know for… and it’s everywhere!

Now that we got that out of the way, Saguaro National Park is weird in that it has a city in the middle of it. Saguaro East is on the east side of Tucson, while Saguaro West is west of the city. And the two areas are quite different.

Saguaro East is larger, and you can feel that all around you. The saguaros are a lot more spread out and you get more sweeping vistas than in Saguaro West. The highest point of Saguaro East is also twice as high as the highest point of Saguaro West, at 8,666 feet.

But Saguaro West feels more compressed, like everything is close by. It has denser saguaro forests and the views are amazing, but not as expansive. I honestly liked Saguaro West more because you feel like you can see more with less effort.

I wouldn’t consider Saguaro National Park one of the best American national parks, but it’s definitely worth getting to know both areas. They’re each SO different. And, fortunately, we chose the 2 best hikes in Saguaro National Park to see everything we needed to see.

The 2 Best Hikes in Saguaro National Park

For reference, here’s all the trail maps for the park, for you to get your bearings!

The Best Hike in Saguaro East

As big as Saguaro East is, most of the park has been designated as wilderness, so there aren’t any roads and just a few backcountry trails. The best way to hike in Saguaro East is to do one of the hikes on the scenic drive, which starts right at the Visitor Center.

We were looking for a short hike (less than 5 miles) through saguaro forests. Ideally, it would have a high point from where we’d be able to see the forest around us.

That’s why we did the Loma Verde Trail to Pink Hill loop.

The hike starts at the Loma Verde trailhead, close to the beginning of the scenic drive. The trail is mostly flat and it has lots of signs, so it’s hard to get lost. You’ll stay on the Loma Verde Trail for 1.4 miles until you pass an old mine.

Then, you’ll turn to the right onto the Pink Hill Trail and right again soon after for the short uphill hike to Pink Hill. FYI, the park ranger at the Visitor Center called it the “Pink Bump.” It’s not difficult to hike, but it offers an amazing 360° view of the saguaro forest around you.

Then, walk back to the Pink Hill Trail until it joins with the Squeeze Pen Trail (turn right). It loops back 1.4 miles to the Loma Verde Trail, where you turn left to get back to the parking lot. It’s a wonderful, quick hike with so much beauty.

Then, you get to finish the scenic drive, which is a loop and finishes back at the Visitor Center. I seriously recommend finishing the scenic drive during the sunset. We timed it just right to be doing it at sunset and it was gorgeous with the saguaros silhouetted against the Arizona sun.

The Best Hike in Saguaro West

This half-day was great because we spent it hiking through a spectacular saguaro forest and eating at a beautiful picnic area.

During our day in Saguaro West, we were looking for a short hike that would take us to some elevation to see everything from above. But we didn’t want it to be too hard.

What we ended up doing was perfect – we hiked Sendero Esperanza. It’s mostly flat, leading you through the dense forest, until you get to a ridge. It’s the same ridge you’d hike to get to Wasson Peak, the highest point in Saguaro West. But we just hiked up to the top of the ridge and then hiked back down.

Yes, the view was amazing, but walking through the landscape really was the best part. And the hike wasn’t hard at all. The switchbacks at the end weren’t too steep. Plus, if you do feel strong, you can turn left at the ridge to finish climbing up to Wasson Peak!

But I’ll be honest, my favorite part of the entire day was chilling at the picnic area, across the street from the Sendero Esperanza trailhead. It’s just beautiful, with a gorgeous lookout point made of rock. Lala and I spent the morning reading in the perfectly warm March sun.

The road to Sendero Esperanza is a dirt road, but it’s fine for any type of car. And, while it’s not a scenic drive, it is scenic and beautiful. You’ll enjoy it!

Free Camping Near Saguaro National Park

There’s more free camping closer to Saguaro West than Saguaro East, and some sites are surprisingly close to Tucson.

The closest to Tucson are generally in the Tucson Mountain Park area and in Coronado National Forest. For more isolated free camping near Saguaro National Park, you’d have to drive towards Catalina State Park or Mt. Lemmon.

The place we stayed near Tucson was BLM land right off of Ajo Way.

It’s close to the highway, but far enough not to be loud. We had good signal. However, it was full of RV’s. And that’s the thing with the free camping closest to Tucson – it’s more accessible, so people will overstay a lot more!

If you’re planning any sort of trip in the Southwest, I actually made a free map with 70+ free car camping spots I found and vetted during my 2 years on the road. It’s my go-to resource whenever I’m planning where to sleep for the night.

👉 Grab the map for free below – I’ll email it to you right away!

Camping in Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park actually doesn’t have camping sites you can drive to. All of the camping in Saguaro National Park is in the backcountry and requires a permit.

Thankfully, there are lots of other places to camp near Saguaro National Park. The best are Catalina State Park, Tucson Mountain Park, Picacho Peak State Park, Colossal Cave Mountain Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

If you’d rather just find a hotel in Tucson, which I also recommend because Tucson is an awesome city, you have a bunch of hotel options too!

These two hikes are great if you’re spending one day in Saguaro National Park. You’d get to know both areas and get to see the best of the best.

If you have any questions about your trip to Saguaro National Park, comment below and I’ll be sure to answer!