Where to see big cactus in AZ and/or NM?

Pick the right road and they are there by the thousands.

SR89 north of Phoenix for instance. And just outside Tucson on the back road from Florance. US93 has lots of cacti, also.

They are only in the Sonoran Desert which you can find on a map. Less than 30 miles north of Phoenix they are gone.
RichH

Tuscon has two National Parks called Saguaro ------ tells you something about them being in the area! I do not know how much further north to Phoenix area they go and certainly not at altitude. There are a bunch at Picacho Peak near Casa Grand and also west on I8.

You won't see any Saguaro cactus until you get into the lower desert regions of AZ. Pretty much from Phoenix south is where you'll see them.

I don't recall seeing any in New Mexico but from Phoenix to Tucson you'll see many. They are awesome, especially in bloom - usually April/May depending on the weather. To really appreciate them you need to walk amidst them. Saguaro Nat'l park east and west have nice trails. Catalina State Park at Tucson is a nice place to stay. In the Phoenix area, stay at one of the Maricopa County Park campgrounds (electric) which have huge sites landscaped by nature with the saguaro and other types of lovely cactus. Lost Dutchman State Park at Apache Junction is another excellent place to stay and some sites have full hookups.

Summer isn't the best place to tour these cities though. It's HOT!!! It starts getting hot and dry in May and quite often in March and April but Feb-April are prime wildflower/cactus blooming times.

They are only in AZ. You can start to see them on I17, past Sunset Point, as you descend into the Valley. there are a lot to see there. If you are coming from FL, consider coming on I10 and then go up to Utah via I17. You will see a lot and do not have to go to the National Park to see them. Then you can get to Southern Utah via the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, etc.

This place is worth the trip Organ Pipe

They seem to be in a narrow altitude band. There is a road from Tucson up to Mt. Bigelow/ Lemmon covered with them and the views are amazing. Even pix out the window are beautiful. Tucson area is the only place I've seen them thrive. There are a very few around Quartzsite, but they are very old with no youngsters anywhere.

We used to really love the Apache Trail North of Apache Junction for seeing the big cactus plants when we lived in the area back in the 60s-70s... X2 on the Lost Dutchman State Park for camp site.


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We would park along some of the off-road shoots up the Apache Trail and walk among the big cactus... You can get right up next them...

The cactus are generally on the south slopes near the large mountains...

The Apache Trail is a great outing where you can take your time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Apache Trail is paved up to the Tortilla Flats area then becomes a small two lane (barely) dirt-rock road winding up and down the mountain trails... We used to picnic at a park pullout along an area called Fish Creek which is at the bottom of a pretty big canyon winding trail just north of Tortilla Flats...

Using google maps Earth View you can use people view and move along seeing the whole trail at ground level to get an idea about it... Some areas of the trail is flash flood prone if the weather gets bad all of a sudden...

Also be aware you away from people population here and must pay attention to what is around you at all times - you are out in the wild here for sure for snakes and spiders and strange looking wildlife forms... Have even run across a pack of Wild Javelina (pigs) one time in this area... Will certainly get your attention haha...

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Lots of other interesting things to see up and down the Apache trail that runs from Roosevelt Lake to Apache Junction. Great pit stop with shops at Tortilla Flats... Be sure to check out the bars stools as they are horse saddles with all of the famous horse names on them...

The mountain range near Apache Junction is the Superstitions... The lakes along the Apache Trail are source of water for the Phoenix valley metroplex...

Roy Ken

Like other have said, Tucson and Phoenix are the areas with the most. The east end of I-8 has many too. Here in Lake Havasu there are a few but they pretty much stop north of here.