Saguaro Cactus?

[mtnbbud]

My wife was talking to my son and asked him what do you want to see this summer. He said the Seguaro cactus. She's been asking me to consider heading down to the Pheonix area in late June.

I've never seen the Seguaro catus myself. From the comfort of our living room it sounds great, but I'm afraid of the heat. One way we could avoid the heat would be to bag taking the trailer all that way and stay in a nice hotel. (There's a couple of hotels in the Pheonix area that look like they have an awesome system of pools.) We don't have airconditioning in our little trailer and I'd be pulling it all the way from Oregon with my 6cyl Tacoma.

Any advice from those that have seen the Saguaro's? Not just in terms of camping or staying in a hotel, but also for places to visit and things to see? Is it going to be too hot, even if we fly down and stay in a hotel?

I learn so much from all of your experience.

Thanks for your help,

Jeff

[mileshuff]

Might stay around Tombstone area. There are some nice hotels in Sierra Vista which isn't far. Lots of cactus around but also numerous things to do. Kartchner Caverns, Tombstone, Fairbanks and other ghost towns. It's also at a higher elevation than Phoenix or Tucson and thus cooler.

[Lauren]

You definitely want to be in the Tucson area.

[mtnbbud]

Thanks for the great info. I didn't realize Tucsan AZ was a better location to see the Seguros. I found a couple a hotels in the Pheonix area with amazing pool complexes. One of them has a trio of 8 story high water slides.

I'll see what hotels are available in Tuscan. It looks like it's a 2 or 3 hr drive from Pheonix to the NP.

Keep the sight seeing info coming.

The wife and I have been to Sedona and the Grand Canyon before in March - beautiful country. I'm sure we'll get my son up there one of these years :).

[pawatt]

I believe the Tucson area would be best.

[darsben1]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
Actually you might be better off staying in the Flagstaff/ Grand Canyon area and go down through Sedona. On the back roads you will see tons of Saguaro. June should be tolerable in the Grand Canyon area even in your trailer. The temps will dip at night.

Not going to find Saguaro Cactus around Sedona....elevation 4300' plus
They do not grow above 3500'

Southern Arizona, Southeast California and Northwest Mexico

Start seeing them around Black Canyon City off I-17 ---roughly 50 miles north of Phoenix

Best around Tucson

I did not mean to infer there were Saguaro in Sedona.
We do not know what "seeing a Saguaro means to this child or the child's age. I cannot imagine going on an interstate to site see.
If they take back roads toward Phoenix they will eventually see Saguaro.
I would not subject any one I know to a journey to just see Saguaro. My way "down through" Sedona is scenic with places to stop and a more peaceful drive.

[mileshuff]

Sandia Man wrote:
add monsoons that usually roll in about then which significantly increases the humidity making it the worse time of year to visit.

Us locals can't wait for the monsoons to begin! Its very common for an afternoon monsoon to drop temperatures from 105 to 75 in under 30 minutes. Prior to the monsoon season its extremely hot and dry without a cloud in the sky.

[oldmattb]

Tucson has TWO National Parks that are named for and feature saguaros, or maybe two locations of the one park - Tucson Mountain District and Rincon Mountain District. Rincon MD in the far East is a little more beauty, Tucson MD in the West is ten miles from I-10.

Old Tucson is a surprising amount of fun and education.

The Desert Museum is great, but go in the morning for the best wildlife viewing. Don't confuse it with the International Wildlife Museum a few miles away. The latter is worth visiting, but features stuffed animals.

BTW, you don't have to visit the parks to see saguaros - they are all over Tucson. We have 40-something in our yard.

Matt B

[harley-dave]

You don't have to come in the summer to see them. They are here year around. A little earlier in the year might get you into their blooming season (Mid May to Mid June) besides avoiding some of the heat. June is the hottest month of the year to be in Arizona. We were here when it was 122 in June. Need I say more. Definitely hotel it. When ever you decide to come drink LOTS of water all the time, wear sun screen all the time and be aware you can burn in under 7 minutes even with sunscreen. Otherwise it's beautiful during that time of year. The desert is amazing after a rain!!

Dave

[pbitschura]

agesilaus wrote:
There's a national park outside Tucson that's named after the Saguaro and is full of them. As for hot yes both Phoenix and Tucson will be hotter than hades in the summer. I think Phoenix is a bit hotter tho.

In Tucson go to the Desert Museum which is really a desert zoo with lots of critters. Your son will enjoy it. I don't know if Old Tucson (it is I just checked) is still in operation but they used to stage gunfights and such there. Of course Tombstone does that for certain. I lived in Tucson

for a few years when I was in elementary school.

Been there, done that. Loved it.

[RoyB]

If you stay in Flagstaff be sure not to stay in the camp areas along the main railroad strip. This is a major East-West railroad and there will be a loud train with loud whistle about every 5-minutes (all night long)... There are several campground going North out of Flagstaff on 89...

Lots of things to see around the Flagstaff area - love the Indian ruins on 89...

Roy Ken

[pjsky]

Pulling any travel trailer with a six cylinder engine is pushing the limit.

[crcr]

The monsoon season with its higher humidity doesn't start until during the first week in July. You can almost set your calendar by it it's so consistent. Late June will be extremely hot, but still low humidity.

I would agree with whoever said to leave your TT behind and stay in a motel. It will be too hot for an RV in S. AZ in June.

[md_procouple]

We agree with darsben, Flagstaff is a far better choice going at that time of year. The wife does Travel Nursing, and we spent the better part of the summer in the Phoenix area, BIG BIG BIG mistake with the temps; both day and night our A/C unit NEVER shut off. However took a week and went to Flagstaff, and things were pretty normal temp wise. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!!!

[2gypsies1]

Earl E wrote:
To really see the Saguaros go to Tucson and stay in a hotel or motel. It will be hot so forget the camper. Saguaro National Park is hard to beat.

This is my recommendation if you don't have AC in your trailer. You'll enjoy the trip much more. Tucson will be a 'little' cooler than Phoenix but if you're in a hotel and have a pool either will be tolerable. I hope you can do the trip. A forest of Saguaros is something to see and they are thick in Saguaro Nat'l Park. There are two areas of the national park - east and west. The east area has the nicest easy trails winding through the Saguaros. Early morning (like 6-7am) is the best time for hiking. By 10am you'll want the pool and then find something inside like a move from 12-4. The Desert Museum is wonderful in Tucson but again - early morning.

Another thought is to spend the Christmas holiday or spring break south then you can do everything outdoors all day long. 🙂