I was making a quick stop in Tucson while I was on a cross-country road trip with my dog, Kuma, in early June. Since I was in the area, I wondered if I could take Kuma with me to Saguaro National Park.

To my delight, they indeed had some pet-friendly places you could take your dog to within the park. This would be Kuma’s first national park visit, so I was very excited to take her with me.

Saguaro National Park is split into two sides - the east side in the Rincon Mountain District and the west side in the Tucson Mountain District. I was staying at the DoubleTree near the Tucson airport and since the hotel was located closer to the east side, I visited that area first in the evening, a couple of hours before sunset.

It was an easy 17-minute drive from the hotel and when I arrived, there was nobody there. The visitor center was not open at the time because of the pandemic, but they did leave some maps and brochures outside. I took some for reference and hopped back in the car. 

Since the visitor center and restrooms were closed, they did not charge an entrance fee and I just drove past the check-in booth. Normally, it would cost $25.

The main thing to do on the east side of Saguaro National Park with your pet is to drive the Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive. The Loop Drive features several trailheads, scenic vistas, and pullouts in a total of 8 miles

I left Kuma in the car (with the A/C running) whenever I pulled over and got out to read some information because I didn’t stay out for long and I was very close to the car.

When I got to the Desert Ecology Trail, I took Kuma out with me here. This trail is dog friendly since it’s paved. Kuma wasn’t feeling the walk for some reason, so it was a good thing it was only 1/4 mile long. 

We walked slowly along the loop and learned some facts about the park, plants, animals and of course, the saguaro cactuses. The saguaro cactus is the king of all cactuses. Tucson is the only place on earth where the saguaro grows. They are giant cactuses that can reach 50 feet in height and can live up to 150 years.

One fact I found interesting were the holes within some of the cactuses. They look like perfectly shaped circles and they are home to many wildlife animals like gila woodpeckers and owls.

For most of the drive, it was only me and Kuma. Towards the end, we started seeing more people around the park, but there weren’t that many visitors at all. 

I wanted to stay for the sunset, but I was getting tired and still had to get dinner, transfer some photos and head to bed at a decent time so that I could wake up early the next morning to see the west side of the park.

Sunset wasn’t until 7:30pm and I had to wake up around 5am the next day to start my day around sunrise at 5:20am. 

In the morning, I headed to the west side of the park as planned and right when I entered the Tucson Mountain District, I saw a whole bunch of saguaro cactuses. There are a lot more on this side than the east side for sure. 

As I drove towards the park, there were some pullouts where I could take some pictures, take in the views or go on a little trail. I wasn’t able to explore any of the trails, but I pulled off to a few spots to take some pictures.

Before I entered the park, I set up a tripod and took some pictures with Kuma in front of the national park sign. At some point, Kuma slightly wandered off into the dirt area and I noticed her limping a bit.

When I checked her paws, she had about FIVE cactus spines wedged into her tiny little paws!

I was able to get them all out but I was panicking for a bit because they were so deep in there and I really had to use some force to get those spines out. Luckily, there was no blood and she didn’t seem to be that bothered by it, but I felt bad for letting this happen to her.

So, if you bring your dog to this park, make sure they do not wander off into the dirt or anywhere off the paved areas. 

After that fiasco, I continued on to drive the Bajada Loop Drive. This was very similar to the loop I did on the east side except you’ll see a lot more saguaro cactuses in this area. 

I parked at the Desert Discovery Nature Trail to take Kuma with me for a walk on the paved trail, but she only went with me for a couple of minutes because I noticed her limping again. 

This time, she had one of those spiky balls in her foot. This was easy to get off of Kuma’s paw and wasn’t nearly as bad as the cactus spines, but Kuma was over it, so we went back into the car. 

After that incident, I was done with the park. I wanted to enjoy the park with Kuma, but since that wasn’t happening, it was time to go. 

I did enjoy seeing the beautiful succulents and plants and learning the significance of the saguaro cactus. It was a good thing that I was able to view most of the park by driving so that Kuma could be with me the entire time.

If you’re limited on time and wondering which side of the park you should check out, I would definitely go to the west side. There are far more saguaro cactuses here and the scenery is more gorgeous too.

As mentioned before, if you do take your pet here, make sure you keep a close eye on them at all times. I thought I was doing a good job watching Kuma, but apparently I wasn’t since she got spines stuck in her paw. Also remember to bring water and waste bags for you pet as well. 

Have you taken your dog with you to Saguaro National Park? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments below!