Saguaro National Park East — Rincon Mountain Trails

A full day in Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain District — the eastern unit of the park, 15 miles from downtown Tucson, containing the densest stand of saguaro cactus accessible by trail in the Sonoran Desert. The Cactus Forest Trail follows the base of the Rincon Mountains through saguaros that can reach 50 feet and weigh 6 tons (taking 75 years to grow their first arm); the Freeman Homestead Trail leads to the ruins of an 1800s homestead in the saguaro forest; and the Douglas Spring Trail ascends the first 3 miles of the Rincon Mountain backcountry for the best elevation-gain views of the saguaro canopy below. The park was established in 1933 around Tucson specifically to protect the saguaro, which grows only in the Sonoran Desert and is the defining visual of the American Southwest. The east unit is 10 miles across and contains 128 miles of trail; the trail system reaches 8,666-foot Mica Mountain in the backcountry.