Tucson AccessTrails

Saguaro National Park East
Mica View Loop Trail

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Trail Facts at a Glance

Name: Saguaro National Park East,

Mica View Loop

Park agency: National Park Service, Saguaro National Park East

Contact: Visitor Center (520) 733-5153

Location: Visitor Center: 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail,

Tucson, AZ 85730

Trailhead: Dirt road off scenic loop to picnic area

Entrance fee: $15-$25

Trail hours:

Driving in Park, 5am-sunset daily;

Walking/Biking in Park, 24h, daily

Nature & Interpretive Center hours: Visitor Center,

9am-5pm (Oct 1 – May 31), 8am-4pm

(June 1—September 30), daily

Transit: None

Trail length plus more: Four routes are recommended:

South-to-North-to-South Loop: 4.4 miles (least difficult), Gain

North-to-South Route: 4.4 miles,

End-to-End One-Way Route: 5.4 miles, Gain 510’, Loss 1120’, Elevation 3200’

End-to-End Round-Trip Route: 10.8 miles (most difficult)

Trail surface: Rugged natural surface with rocks, sand, stairs and grades > 10% with steep drop-offs, narrow sections, switchbacks and stream crossings

Dogs: Allowed on roads, picnic areas, and

only on the Mica View Trail and the Desert Ecology Trail

Date of last visit: 1/1/2024

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Overview

Location and Arrival

Disclaimer: The information provided is for general guidance only and may not reflect current conditions. Users must assess trails for themselves, consider their own abilities, and assume all risks associated with trail use. Tucson AccessTrails, a nonprofit corporation, is not responsible for any injuries or incidents that may occur. Always use caution and prepare appropriately when visiting trails.

Amenities and Features

Description:

Saguaro National Park is full of … saguaros. The Mica View Loop is a great way to see them up close, but not too close. Start at the park Visitor Center to get oriented. In the Visitor Center, there are exhibits, a gift shop, and even a 10-minute movie describing the desert ecosystem and the history of the park. Then, it’s a short drive along the scenic paved park road to the dirt road that leads to the trailhead. There you will find good parking, an accessible gender-neutral restroom, picnic tables, and a shady ramada.

The Mica View Loop is actually a combination of two trails that combine for a two-mile loop hike. The first 0.8 miles is along the Mica View Trail which has been hard-surfaced to make it suitable for wheelchairs. This intersects the Cactus Forest Trail which is a rugged natural surface with narrow stretches and some rock stairs. The hike finishes by looping across the sandy Javalina Wash back to the picnic area. This route offers opportunities to double back on the accessible Mica View Trail if confronted with an insurmountable obstacle, or to continue hiking to complete the two-mile loop.

No matter what your route, you will experience everything the park has to offer – grand mountain vistas, a landscape of cacti, shrubs and trees, and wildlife including lizards, quail and occasionally bobcats. This is a popular birding route, and the trills of the cactus wren are a familiar sound.

Dogs are allowed on the hard-packed Mica View Trail but not on the natural surfaces of the Cactus Forest Trail. And horses are allowed on natural surfaces but not on the packed trail. That trade-off works well for the diverse users of this popular loop.

When you arrive back at the Mica View parking lot, you can enjoy a picnic at a table under one of the many ramadas.

After the hike, continue driving on the park’s scenic road, stopping at pullouts to read more interpretive signs and view mountains in every direction surrounding the park. You might consider stopping further down the road to stroll the short 0.3-mile Desert Ecology Trail to learn more about the desert with a series of signs along that paved trail. The park scenic road will guide you along a pleasant drive, eventually arriving back to the Visitor Center where you began your adventure.