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.
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| One of several picnic tables at the end of the road |
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| Mica View trail |
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| Saguaro flowers |
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| The trail is wide, relatively flat and easy to follow |
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| Rough Menodora |
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| Prickly Pear, Barrel and Saguaro cacti |
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| Prickly Pear beneath a Chain Fruit Cholla |
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| Desert plant life abounds |
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| A lizard blends into its surroundings |
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| Barrel Cactus fruit |
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| Prickly Pear flower |
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| Balancing Act |
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| Chain Fruit Cholla |
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| A couple of Teddy Bear Cholla |
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| Cactus Forest Trail on the left and Mica View Trail on the right from the Broadway trailhead |
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| Cactus Forest Trail |
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| Three Amigos |
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| Getting our Saguaros in a row below Mica Mountain |
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| Flowering arms |
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| Saguaros swell as they absorb water |
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| More blooming Prickly Pear Cacti |
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| Another view of the trail and the encroaching cacti |
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| Mica Mountain in the distance |
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| Staghorn Cholla |
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| Walking through the green Sonoran Desert |
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| Steps to climb out of a wash |
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| This Foothill Palo Verde is a nurse tree to Prickly Pear and Barrel cacti |
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| Javelina Wash can also be used as a trail |
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| A hard freeze can break the fibers that hold Saguaro arms upright |
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| Chain Fruit Cholla |
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| Foothill Palo Verde trees and the Santa Catalina Mountains |
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| Lone Saguaro silhouetted against the sky |
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| The trail follows a small wash for a short distance |
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| Crossing Javelina Wash again |
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| Connecting trail |
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| 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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