| Hiking Trails and Outdoor Recreation in the US National Parks, Forests and Monuments |  |
Saguaro National Park |
The saguaro begins life as a black seed that is the size of a pinhead. A saguaro can produce thousands of seeds a year and survive to 200 years. However, only a few of the seeds make it to adulthood. A saguaro that is shaded by Palo verdes and mesquite are safe from the sunlight, cold, rodents and other animals that eat them. It takes 30 years for the saguaro to flower and produce fruit and 50 years to grow to 7 feet tall. It takes at least 75 years to produce branches that start out as prickly balls. If a saguaro is lucky enough to survive 150 years, it can reach 50 feet and weigh 8 tons. At the Saguaro National Park you can see thousands of saguaros thriving with the Santa Catalina, Rincon and Tucson Mountains as a backdrop. The Saguaro National Park is divided into two parks, Saguaro West and Saguaro East with Tucson in between. The Saguaro East is much larger than Saguaro West and contains the saguaro forest at the foot of the Rincon Mountains. Saguaro West contains a variety of Sonoran Desert Life in the Tucson Mountains. How to Get There
The Rincon Mountain District of the Saguaro
National Park may be reached from the City of Tucson by
traveling east on Broadway or Speedway to Freeman Road;
Take Freeman Road south (right) to Old Spanish Trail
from Speedway. Turn left onto Old Spanish Trail heading
south. Look for signs to the Park entrance.
The Tucson Mountain District of the Saguaro National Park may be reached from Tucson by traveling west on Speedway Boulevard. At the junction with Camino de Oeste, Speedway Boulevard will change names to Gates Pass Road. From this junction, continue to drive west on Gates Pass Road until you reach the "T" intersection with Kinney Road. Turn right on Kinney Road and drive three miles north to the Park entrance. Links:
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