Saguaro National Park Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1

  The Gates Pass Scenic Lookout is coming up next, offering great views of Tucson’s ancient rock formations. There’s a trail as well, which I’ll talk more about when we’re closer to it.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 2

  On this trail, there’s a ton of cholla and prickly pear cacti. You’ll recognize a prickly pear by its flat circular pads. Think Mickey Mouse ears! On the other hand, chollas have more cylindrical segments and tree-like growths. Just like the creosote bush, these cacti have a tremendous ability to store moisture. They store it in their stems, so that even in years with low rainfall, they can bloom all they want.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Saguaro National Park (Pass by)

  Welcome to your tour of West Saguaro National Park! From mountain formations to colorful historical characters, Hollywood history to prickly cacti, there’s plenty to marvel at on this tour. Note: The tour is over 15+ miles long, with more than 40+ audio stories, and takes about 2-3 hours to complete. Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The park has since been rebuilt and remains open to the public today. To visit the park, take the turn that’s just ahead. Otherwise, continue driving straight.

  Admission ticket free
• 3

  Coming up soon is the Brown Mountain Trail. It’s a 5-mile loop trail that’s moderately challenging and should take under two hours to complete. Some hikers have reported coyote sightings on this trail. It’s not uncommon to hear coyote sounds echoing across Saguaro National Park.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  Coming up are the King Canyon Trail and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The trail is a moderately challenging 7-mile trail that should take about four hours to complete. It’s a lot of work, but it features fabulous desert views along the way!

  Admission ticket free
• 4

  Coming up are the King Canyon Trail. The trail is a moderately challenging 7-mile trail that should take about four hours to complete. It’s a lot of work, but features fabulous desert views along the way!

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 5

  The Desert Discovery Nature Trail is coming up soon, a straightforward half-mile hike boasting tons of the famous saguaro cacti! Speaking of cacti, did you know a bunch of species are edible? This doesn’t mean you should go plucking them to taste on your walks.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 6

  The Hugh Norris Trail is coming up soon. It’s a challenging 9-mile trail often traveled by horseback riders! It gets its name from 20th-century tribal police officer Hugh Norris. He was often out scouring for truant children for the Fort Yuma Indian School.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 7

  The Valley View Overlook Trail is coming up soon. It’s an easy 1-mile trail that takes about 20 minutes to complete. The Civilian Conservation Corps built this trail in the 1930s!

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 8

  Signal Hill has about 200 prehistoric petroglyphs made by the Hohokam, who lived in this area from about 450 to 1450 C.E. Indigenous people say that each petroglyph placement isn’t random!

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 9

  Welcome to East Saguaro National Park! Ancient cultures, ancient rocks, and trails await you on this tour. Our tour begins at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center at 3693 S Old Spanish Trail, Tucson. If you’re not there already, you should head there now. To begin your tour, simply continue straight along Cactus Forest Drive.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 10

  The Sonoran Desert Overlook is coming up. It’ll be on our left, offering gorgeous views of the landscape and cacti. The Hohokam, ancestors of the O’odham people, were some of the first to call this desert home. This resourceful group slowly gave up their nomadic hunting-gathering lifestyle for a more settled farming life, developing a distinct desert culture.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 11

  The Cactus Forest Overlook is coming up soon. It will be on our left. Here, you’ll enjoy overlooking an oasis of cacti. Sure, the saguaro cacti are the most famous since they’re exclusive to the Sonoran, but the park actually hosts about 25 species of cacti! These include prickly pears and chollas, as well as some lesser known cacti.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 12

  Coming up is the Mica View trailhead. It leads to a 4-mile loop trail that’s considered easy and should take less than ninety minutes to complete. There’s a sweet picnic spot, too! From there, you’ll get great views of the Rincon and Santa Catalina Mountains. Keep an eye out for birds like the Gila Woodpeckers and Gilded Flickers.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  Up ahead is the Cactus Forest Trail. It’s a moderately challenging 10-mile route that should take about three and a half hours to complete. On this trail, you can see lime kilns that date back to 1880.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The Loma Verde Trail is coming up next. This easy 3.7-mile loop should take about an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. The trail crosses a seasonal stream and leads to a gradual downhill walk through the cactus forest.

  Admission ticket free
• 13

  There’s also the opportunity to explore the Garwood Dam. In 1945, Tucson residents Jospehine and Nelson Garwood bought 450 acres of land from two homesteaders. Three years later, while constructing a bigger house, they noticed that the Wildhorse Canyon behind their property always held water.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 14

  Up ahead is the Riparian Overlook. Some claim this is the best view of the cactus forest! From here, you can see clear across the sprawling saguaro wilderness. One thing you can’t see from up there? Rattlesnakes.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 15

  Off to our left are the Rincon Mountains. They’re pretty, but they’ve also got some wild history. On August 29, 1984, a Cessna 310 flew above these mountains. Four people sat inside the twin-engine aircraft. Outside, a thunderstorm raged and raged.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 16

  We’re approaching the Javelina Rocks. These rocks are named after javelina, a dog-sized animal found in this region that resembles a wild boar. They have short coarse salt and pepper hair, with short legs and pig-like noses.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 17

  The Tanque Verde Ridge Trail is coming up soon, at the end of our tour. I’ll tell you when we get there. The trail is a moderately challenging 3-mile route that should take under two hours to complete.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• How To Access: After booking, you’ll get an email and text with setup instructions and password (search “audio tour” in emails and texts). • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password sent by email and text. • MUST download the tour while in strong wifi/cellular. • Works offline after download.
• How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
• Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
• Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you

Show 5 more

Tags

Rating