• Illustrated cover in a vintage poster style: a giant three-armed saguaro and two tall, slender saguaro columns rise above sage-green desert shrubs, a branching cholla, prickly pear pads, and a yellow-green palo verde, with more saguaros receding across the bajada to the sunlit, violet-shadowed Rincon Mountains under a clear teal sky. Title: Saguaro National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures, by Brian D. Russ.
  • Sample page from the Saguaro National Park guide, wildlife chapter. Entry: Western diamond-backed rattlesnake, with how to recognize it, where and when to see it, and a photograph.
  • Sample page from the Saguaro National Park guide, a day itinerary with times, distances, and a photograph: On the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail.
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Brian Russ Guides

Saguaro National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

Saguaro National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

$2.99 USD
$2.99 USD
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Saguaro National Park comes in two pieces, with Tucson in between, and this guide shows you how to see both. It turns the park's two districts, its desert heat, and its short cool hours into simple one-, two-, and three-day plans, from the Cactus Forest Loop Drive to the top of Wasson Peak.

What's inside

  • Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, from the Cactus Forest Loop Drive, Javelina Rocks, and the Freeman Homestead to Tanque Verde Ridge, Garwood Dam, the Rincon Valley, King Canyon, Wasson Peak, and Gates Pass, each timed around the heat and with a weather backup
  • The park's history, from the Hohokam and the Tohono O'odham saguaro harvest to the homesteaders, miners, and the 1933 monument
  • Sightseeing highlights district by district, with notes on hours, closures, water, and seasons
  • A wildlife chapter profiling 14 commonly seen animals, from Gila woodpeckers, cactus wrens, and roadrunners to javelinas, coyotes, and mule deer, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
  • Trip planning for heat, the monsoon, fees, ranger programs, backcountry camping, spines, snakes, pets, and accessibility
  • 32 photographs and 3 orientation maps

What you'll receive

  • EPUB ebook (Saguaro_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 10 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
  • PDF (Saguaro_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 96 pages including the cover, about 23 MB) for any device, and for printing pages. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026, with research completed October 2026. Road closures, hours, and programs change, so check the park's current alerts before you travel.

Start at sunrise, rest at noon, and stay for the sunset.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
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