Beautiful desert park!…read more Despite the shutdown (2025) and the rain, we dropped by this park on the way back home from 'Em's soccer tourney in Mesa. This park is filled with the famous saguaro cactus that fills scenes of the southwest, but really is only located in the Sonoran desert of Southern Arizona. It was not summer hot, and overcast. We were able to hideout from the passing showers at the Red Hill Visitor Center. Inside they have a glass encased wildlife model. You can learn a lot about the Sonoran desert flora and fauna. There are a couple of hand phones that go into specific themes. Also available every 30min is a 15min video about the Sonoran Desert and the images of the culture and sustainment themes. The cool thing about the video was the end when the screen rises and reveals the back side of the visitor center and this vm beautiful scene of the park. Really beautiful. I can only imagine what it would look like on a clear sunset. The kids were able to do their Junior Rangers and we took some short hikes and drove through the scenic loop before heading out. The park is huge, we entered through the Western side in Picture Rock, and drove along the southern edge on the way home. It was nice to see this park, and I was glad we stopped to check it out. Recommended.

5/5 TOP RECOMMENDATION! Saguaro is now one of my favorite national parks in the country! If you're…read morea fan of cacti and the intricacies of plant life this is the spot for you. There's so many shapes and sizes you'll run into. The massive amount of cacti and plant life is astounding in such a vast desert environment. The park is super popular with Tucson locals and visitors alike. It's a perfect place for an adventure and introverts! I saw people relaxing as they marveled at the landscape around them. Saguaro is about 20 mins from Tucson. The roads are smooth inside the park and signage is pretty clear. Just don't go off the beaten trail and watch for rattle snakes! I felt safe, but it's always good to be cautious. The visitor center is sizable, it's got a cool gift shop, mini-museum, and information booth. I bought a National Park Passport so I can start stamping and inserting cancellations to my book. It's a perfect way to track your adventures across the US. The staff are slightly wet blankets, but hey I didn't come to see them. Guess they must be jealous!

A home away from home. We have now had two children attend UofA and our favorite part of this…read morechoice is having the Armory Park as our destination stay. Every single aspect of the experience is 5* . Once you stay you will be spoiled and not able to vacation and stay in a hotel again without a new level of disappointment. The bar is set high and we are thinking about just moving in.. SURPRISE! Armory Park breakfast and Happy Hour have us sold (among too many other things to mention)

I'm so happy to have such a nice little park in our neighborhood…read more It's pretty consistently clean despite the homeless people. And honestly tI would not say that it's overflowing with homeless people. A transient here or there, but not enough to deter visiting. I love the well manicured grass and I love that they have horseshoe pits and bocci ball courts for use. My favorite use is as a destination for walking my dog. It's nice to have a place he can romp around in grass and have some fun.

This park has everything for the recreationist. I like to park here when walking the Loop. The…read moreparking lot is big. You have a playground, waterfountains, restrooms, soccer field and roofed basketball courts that are lighted at night. The park closes at 10pm and opens at dawn.

Tucson has lots of nice little parks along its bike trails. This is a safe one for families with…read morelots of amenities. Good parking, and lots of things for families to do. They have playgrounds, splash area. It has a entrance to the loop that goes along a wash so you can see some birds and have some good views of the mountains. As always, in Arizona, you have to be aware of your surroundings. I imagine when it gets warmer, maybe snakes..... If you stay in the park proper, there's not as much risk for kids wander around.....also Some interesting sculptures are nearby The restrooms were clean and there were some nice picnic areas. Plus basketball courts. The parking area was clean and well appointed. I've seen the police and city park personnel on.golf carts every time i've been there.

Came here on a night walk early June. The park is well maintained and the guides were amazing. We…read moredid ice breakers to start and really enjoyed that each guide has their own expertise. We learned about the unique wildlife, rock formations, insects and constellations! I highly recommend.

I went here for a night walk in June and had an amazing time with friends! The Rangers were so…read moreknowledgeable and friendly. I thought it was pretty cool the way they reflected pictures onto the ground of the animals they discussed. They taught us not just about the animals of the desert, but also about the rock formations, and constellations as well . They did an introduction before we set out on the trail and an icebreaker, which I also thought was a cool little activity to help us all feel more comfortable. I would definitely do this again, and recommend it for anyone who's never done it. This would be a great activity to bring an out-of-town friend on. FYI- the hell when you first start, the trail is pretty steep.. I was huffing and puffing a bit lol. If you have any knee injuries or struggle with steep land, you might want to sit this one out. The rest of the trail is flat after however the hill is needed to start and end the trail (it probably took like 1-2 minutes to scale it). Also to find the area where the hike starts, you'll want to drive all the way through the park until you get to the parking lot on the left. For some reason, I thought it would be pretty close to when you enter the park, however, it is a little drive.

I love Gates Pass. There is such a nice energy here. I didn't get to hike too much, but the views…read morefor sunset are amazing. I have great memories visiting with my dad and coworkers. I will definitely be back to visit. The desert has such a special place in my heart and gates pass is definitely a great place to stop and take it all in.

Visited Gates Pass in Tucson, AZ and specifically the Gates Pass Scenic Lookout for sunset and it…read morewas breathtaking! As you look around, there are 360 views of different colors and hues illuminating the sky, and making for a spectacular sunset! There is plenty of parking and if you hike up maybe .2 miles you can get to the top of the mountain where the views are even better! Coming up here on a weekday, it wasn't too busy and you can get wonderful, Instagram worthy, unobstructed photos! There are lots of hiking trails and walking paths all around which is also a huge plus! I am obsessed with this spot and can't wait to visit again! Highly recommend to visitors and locals near and far!

I recently found that this is s great place to pick up the bike/walking trail. The trail is very…read morewell maintained and appears to have memorials along the path (I'm guessing from donors?). I've been several times and have had mostly good experiences. There are the occasional homeless folks who walk/live in park or in wash along path but they've not bothered me. It still seems relatively safe because you're very close to major roads but not so close you're getting exhaust from cars. The only other thing I don't love is the religious folks who sit near parking lot. I don't want to be solicited for anything in a public park but maybe it's a good place for recruitment. Otherwise I'll be back every week to get me and my pup some mileage!

Nice park with a sizable parking lot....It has a nice playscape and covered picnic area. I came to…read morebike the Rialto River Trail, which is nice and wide. Many bikers do not follow proper passing etiquette though, so be careful! I rode six miles and it was a good workout. There were some hills that had me a bit red in the face, sad but true. Along the river trail you will see hummingbirds, lizards and quail, which made it even more fantastic. You will not see water though...the river is dry, dry-like the desert. Speaking of which, bring water. You will pass bathrooms along the 12 mile (24 mile round trip) trail. I had a hard time following the trail, it must take a jog or something...what can I say, clearly, I am new to this.

Another amazing drive through National Park. With the…read moreshutdown we were surprised to be able to drive thru. Just the drive was open. Desert beauty... huge cactuses and the variety of plants. Worth every minute that we were able to walk around the open areas. Saw no wildlife but plenty of footprints and scat. Will be back to be able to access more areas in the future.

In any season but winter, I'd advise visiting early in the day to avoid the heat…read more We drove about 3o minutes from our hotel in Tucson to visit Saguaro NP. We stopped first at the visitors' center. We had a park pass, but otherwise here was where we'd have paid our fee. We checked in with the help desk to ask about short hikes. I admire the rangers for probably answering the same question a hundred times a day, 5 days a week. There is a loop road within a mile or two of the VC. It is unpaved, but it has 2 nice short hikes along the way. However, you should note: while 80% of the loop is 2-way traffic, the other 20% is NOT! Hence, unless you want to do more than a single pass around the loop, you should enter at the end nearest the VC and proceed CCW around the loop to the other end. We did 2 hikes here. The Signal Hill trail is on the side of the loop furthest from the VC. The Valley View trail is on the leg closer to the VC (but after the point where the road becomes 1-way). The Signal Hill trail is short. It descends from the parking lot down to a wash and then up around a hill. At the base you can see some rocks displaying petroglyphs. When you get to the top, you are quite close to several rocks with large carvings (spiral circles, etc.). There was adequate parking divided into a lower and upper lot. It may get crowded at other times, but when we visited (early) there were spots available. The Valley View trail is a bit longer but is mostly level. It winds through cactuses for a while until it ends at a point which overlooks the land to the west. You get a huge vista from this point, though on the day we went there was a lot of dust in the air which cut down on the view. Parking here was limited, but people just parked along the (1-way) road after the lot filled up. That could add a bit of extra hiking. Neither of these hikes is that strenuous. We spent a bit over 2 hours here, but it would have been a bit shorter if we'd started the loop at the correct end.

Nice park for a stroll with a paved path. Lots of green space as well. Ample sports related fields…read morethat can get quite busy. They also have a children's splash pad (closed for the season) as well as kids play equipment. Appears newly updated and well maintained.

The upgrade on the park is fabulous! The entrance is so cute and inviting I love the little…read morejavelina! Now let's all help to keep it clean!! I helped today pick up trash and I hope others keep it nice as well. This is a big investment into our community. There are several nice baseball fields, new walkways, trees, and very nice kids playing center. There are multiple grass areas all the way out to Silverbell road and picnic tables to relax at. A wonderful community park!