Don't Miss Javelina Rocks in Saguaro National Park East

As you may know, there are two sides to Saguaro National Park, separated by about thirty miles and the city of Tucson. While the west side is more popular, and definitely the one to choose if you only have one day, the east side is also absolutely worth a visit. They are actually surprisingly different in terms of terrain, since the west side is a bit higher in altitude, being up in the mountains. Because of this, the east side seemed to have a lot more brush and colorful little flowers, while the west was a bit more sparse with just cactuses. So I definitely recommend seeing both to get a full experience of the glory of Saguaro National Park!

Saguaro National Park East is really accessible with a mostly paved eight-mile loop through the park. (Part of it is gravel, so I do recommend a rental car with a bit of heft - I was glad to have a crossover SUV for this trip!) There are a few different trailheads around the loop, as well as a couple of scenic overlooks to stop and snap a quick photo. While there generally isn't much parking at any of the stops, the two times I've visited now, it has been much less crowded than the west side, so it isn't too hard to find a parking spot.

We made three stops along the way for short hikes. If you only have limited time, I recommend Javelina Rocks, the last on this list. But I will go in order since the loop drive is one way.

Desert Ecology National Recreation Trail

The Desert Ecology Trail is super short, just about a quarter of a mile. It is very accessible and paved for the beginning of it. I think it's meant to be very short just to give you a sample of the landscape. If it's all you end up doing in the park, you'll have gotten a great sense of the desert ecology and gotten to see some really cool Saguaro cactuses.

Loma Verde Trail

If you are looking for a longer hike, the Desert Ecology Trail will definitely leave you wanting. That's where the Loma Verde Trail comes in. Just a few minutes' drive further along the loop, the Loma Verde Trail is quite long - we only did a short section of it - and one of the more popular spots in Saguaro National Park East. This is a great place to stop because it faces east, which is to say, away from the city of Tucson. You can look out for miles and miles and see nothing but cactuses and brush. It's really pretty.

Javelina Rocks

The last stop we made along the drive was at Javelina Rocks, and this hike is definitely the best. If you only feel like stopping at one place, I recommend this one. I was so glad to have stopped here and gotten this view since I didn't do this hike on my first trip to Saguaro National Park a few years ago. I say this for a few reasons. First, you're pretty deep in the park, so it has great views of the sprawling cactus-ridden landscape without much of the city of Tucson in the background. Second, it has a short hike uphill, so you get a nice (mostly 360-degree) viewpoint of the park.

And third, the rocks here are super cool and definitely worth stopping for on their own. They are apparently called Catalina gneiss (pronounced 'nice'), which is a metamorphic rock made up of alternating bands of feldspar, quartz, and mica. (I'm not sure that means much to me, but I wanted to include it for the geologists among us.) In any case, they are really shiny and cool-looking and add some nice texture to the desert landscape. We really enjoyed seeing where some cactuses appeared to grow right out of the rock. The trail is really safe, and there are a lot of good places you can climb on the rocks for a nice photo.

In Conclusion

Saguaro National Park is a really great place to visit. I stand by my previous assessment of it as being Heaven on Earth. It's easily accessible from Tucson, so you can make a day trip out of it if you're nearby or enjoy a long weekend trip to Phoenix, as we did.