Over the years, we’ve been to Mathews Arm Campground many times. It’s the closest campground in Shenandoah National Park to our home in the DC suburbs. It had been about a year since we had camped there, so we wanted to stay there at least once before the weather cooled off. We considered the campground to be our home-away-from-home since we found it to be well-organized, quiet, and close to hiking trails.
I had been wanting to check out Overall Run Falls in Shenandoah National Park for some time. At 93 feet, Overall Run Falls is the highest waterfall in the park, but you don’t hear as much about it as other waterfalls like Dark Hollow Falls or White Oak Canyon. So on a warm spring day, we went to see for ourselves. We planned for a one-night backpacking trip to see the falls and make a lollipop loop with Overall Run and Heiskell Hollow Trail. Our plans changed slightly during the hike, and we returned on Beecher Ridge Trail instead of Heiskell Hollow Trail, creating an 11.6 mi lollipop…
The desert was kind of a new experience for us. It had been a long time since either of us had hiked in it. Kristin went in with a bit of trepidation, and she ended up loving the park. So you never know what you’ll find. And Saguaro National Park definitely surprised us as we explored. Not really knowing what to expect, and going in with no expectations. Here were our favorite spots in the park, as well as some tips for visiting. We hope they help you plan your trip…
We have 2 main interests in life: the outdoors and great food. Saguaro National Park is conveniently located just outside of Tucson, so we got to check out a sampling of its restaurants on our trip. Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine is seriously lacking in DC, so we were excited to try some in the southwest. Tucson Tamale is a local institution that I had read about before our trip. We visited during the week and at an off-time, so we had the…
Our intention was to visit as much of Saguaro National Park as we could. Crisscrossing desert trails in the northwest corner of the Rincon Mountain (east) District are known as the Cactus Forest. We wanted to hike somewhere up there, so we reserved a full day for it. Our initial plan was to do a longer loop, but we were exhausted after backpacking to Manning Camp, so we decided on a shorter hike. A ranger at the Rincon Visitor Center recommended a 4.0 mile out-and-back on Garwood Trail…
On our second to last day in Saguaro, we went to a “Star Party” at the Rincon Visitor Center. We like astronomy, planets, and stars, so we made sure to go. Before going outside to stargaze, the ranger at the visitor center gave us a rundown on the history of the park. He explained how the park was created by President Herbert Hoover as a National Monument. The ranger then said, “The park has a lot of diversity, not just the desert environment, but also the Rincon Mountains at 8,000 feet. Up there is Manning Camp, but nobody really goes there.” We sat there feeling slightly miffed, but also smug, because we had been at Manning Camp just two days before…
Choice is a good thing. But with so many trails to choose from, researching ahead of time doesn’t always paint a clear picture of which trails are worth our time. On our last day in the Tucson Mountain (west) district, we only had a half-day, since we planned to drive to Benson, AZ to begin a backpacking trip the following day. With a limited amount of time, and only an inkling of which trail we wanted to do, we went…
On our first full day in the Tuscon Mountain (west) District of Saguaro National Park, we decided to do a day hike to Wasson Peak, the highest point in that district, at 4,687 feet. When we left for the hike at 8:30 a.m., it was already HOT. We wished we had left earlier. But there was no turning back, since we were only there for a week. Multiple trails go to Wasson Peak, but we chose to go via King Canyon…
There are no car campgrounds in Saguaro National Park. It’s unfortunate, but thankfully there is one close by. Gilbert Ray Campground is inside Tucson Mountain Park, which is run by Pima County. It’s adjacent to the southern border of the similarly named Tucson Mountain District (that’s the west district) of Saguaro National Park. The campground is only 3 miles away from Saguaro NP, so it’s practically part of the park. We used it as our basecamp for the time we…
As a teacher, I’m always ready for a vacation by the time spring break rolls around. Since it’s only a week, we usually plan on a park that we can really explore in that time frame. In 2017, we ditched a chilly, windy April in DC for a week in Tucson. It felt pretty good as we left the airport and felt the arid climate for the first time. We headed to Gilbert Ray Campground to check in for our…