Many of us have Thanksgiving visitors who would love an up-close look at the Sonoran Desert but aren’t capable of a rigorous hike. One good option: the Desert Ecology Trail at Saguaro National Park east of Tucson.
The short, easy, surfaced, loop trail — accessible to wheelchair users and suitable for young children — winds for about a quarter-mile through A-list desert scenery with far-horizon views of the pine-topped Rincon Mountains.
Information panels along the route give a detailed overview of plant and animal life, and benches here and there invite rest and reflection.
DESERT ECOLOGY 101
The information panels offer an “on location” short course on the desert environment — allowing visitors to observe firsthand the sights they’re reading about on the panels. Some examples of text on the panels:
- Apartment Living: This saguaro (sah-WAH-row) cactus in front of you is a high-rise home for many of our desert dwellers. Gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers carve apartments into saguaro cacti that can be 15 degrees cooler on a hot day. Once they move out, other tenants including owls, purple martins, and reptiles move in. Bats and doves pollinate flowers while feeding on the sweet nectar. The development of fruit marks the beginning of the summer rainy season.
- Family Heirlooms: Do you see the holes and the jumble of debris down by the base of this prickly pear cactus? Who would keep their front yard so messy? A packrat would. Packrats collect stuff, including seeds, cactus pieces, grass, car keys and bits of trash, and pile it into their homes. They have been known to maintain their houses for multiple generations, passing down their treasures to their offspring.
- Local Markets: The velvet mesquite plays an essential role in the life of this desert. In addition to serving as a “nurse plant” for young saguaros, mesquite seed pods are eaten by desert animals as diverse as javelina, coyote and packrats. Ground-up mesquite pods make a sweet flour that historically was an important staple of people’s diets. It is still enjoyed today in Tohono O’odham and Hispanic recipes.
SAFE HIKING
Even though the Desert Ecology Trail is short and paved, it’s a good idea to take some basic precautions:
- Carry water if you plan to linger along the trail.
- Wear a hat and use sunscreen.
- Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes that might stray across the trail on warm days.
