Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Mica View Loop Trail - Saguaro National Park


Due to some swarming bees at another trailhead, a volunteer at the visitor center recommended we hike the two mile Mica View Loop in the Cactus Forest area of the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park. The route is clearly marked on the park brochure Hiking in the Cactus Forest Drive. The trailhead we used for the hike is a picnic area known as Mica View. About two miles from the beginning of the one-way Cactus Forest Drive is a dirt road on the left side that heads north to Mica View. The dirt road is 0.6 miles long and ends at a turn-around. There are picnic tables and vault toilets at the site. We hiked north for 0.7 miles on Mica View Trail to the Broadway trailhead. From Broadway, we walked south one mile on the Cactus Forest Trail before utilizing a short connector back to the Mica View picnic area. The Shantz Trail also intersects the Broadway trailhead, but there is a map at the trailhead and the routes are clearly marked  The route is fairly flat except when crossing washes and the trail is very wide in most places.

There is no shade on this trail, so use lots of sunscreen and drink plenty of water.

One of several picnic tables at the end of the road

Mica View trail

Saguaro flowers

The trail is wide, relatively flat and easy to follow

Rough Menodora

Prickly Pear, Barrel and Saguaro cacti

Prickly Pear beneath a Chain Fruit Cholla

Desert plant life abounds

A lizard blends into its surroundings

Barrel Cactus fruit

Prickly Pear flower

Balancing Act

Chain Fruit Cholla

A couple of Teddy Bear Cholla

Cactus Forest Trail on the left and Mica View Trail on the right from the Broadway trailhead

Cactus Forest Trail

Three Amigos

Getting our Saguaros in a row below Mica Mountain

Flowering arms

Saguaros swell as they absorb water

More blooming Prickly Pear Cacti

Another view of the trail and the encroaching cacti

Mica Mountain in the distance

Staghorn Cholla

Walking through the green Sonoran Desert

Steps to climb out of a wash

This Foothill Palo Verde is a nurse tree to Prickly Pear and Barrel cacti

Javelina Wash can also be used as a trail

A hard freeze can break the fibers that hold Saguaro arms upright

Chain Fruit Cholla

Foothill Palo Verde trees and the Santa Catalina Mountains

Lone Saguaro silhouetted against the sky

The trail follows a small wash for a short distance

Crossing Javelina Wash again

Connecting trail

Returning to Mica View

An entrance fee of $5 per person or $10 per private vehicle is required to enter Saguaro National Park. The fee is valid for seven days and allows entrance to both the Tucson Mountain District (West) and the Rincon Mountain District (East). Other options include a Saguaro National Park Annual Pass for $25, an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm.

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