Panoramic of cacti in Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Sunset in Saguaro National Monument, Arizona. (Cornstock Images)

What to do in Saguaro National Park

Ask a child to draw a picture of a cactus and chances are you'll get a reasonable facsimile of a saguaro cactus. These giants of the cactus world are the quintessential image of America's southwestern deserts and as such are familiar to one and all, young and old. However, what many people don't know is that saguaros, which can grow up to 50 feet tall and weigh more than eight tons, are native only to the hot lowland regions of the Sonoran Desert, a finger of which reaches from Mexico into southern Arizona.

It wouldn't do to let this Old West icon disappear from the landscape, and since 1933 the eerie, leafless forests of saguaros around Tucson, Arizona, have enjoyed federal protection, first as Saguaro National Monument, and then from 1994 as Saguaro National Park.

Although the park's namesake cacti are its...

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