My friend and I like to find places to go take pictures and we decided on Picacho Peak State Park near Tucson, Arizona. We have both driven by it for years, but we never stopped to explore!
My buddy stopped to pick me up on January 9, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. and after I loaded up myself and my camera bag we were on the road for our adventure. We are hoping to make it to the State Park today, as we do have a tendency to get sidetracked when traveling to a pre-determined destination when we see something that looks like a good photo and exploring opportunity!! An hour and a half later we had success and landed at the State Park.
The hiking trails are open from sunrise to sunset and the visitor center is open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. except Christmas Day the visitor center is closed. It only costs $7.00/car (for up to 4 people) to enter. The park ranger is very informative upon entrance and was more than happy to explain the various trails available to hike. She suggested we go to the Sunset Vista Trail for the best photography opportunities and the least amount of visitors. We were given a paper brochure with general information and a full map of the park. They have bathrooms, Ramadas, and picnic tables throughout the park. There are 3 campgrounds with bathrooms, showers, and a dump station.
“The Battle of Picacho Peak” was a battle during the Civil War that was the furthest west in the United States! We didn’t see any markers on the trail that we were on, but there may be on some of the others. The views were spectacular along the trail with rock formations, various types of cactus, tress, and foliage with a great expanse of open land.
The Sunset Vista Trailhead is at the end of the park and there is not a lot of parking spots (probably about 15-20). There are no restrooms at the trailhead parking area, you can stop at the Sunset Day use area before the trailhead parking to use the restroom or park when the trailhead parking is full and you can then walk the trail from the day use area to the trailhead to start your adventure.
The trail is mostly dirt and rock. Some areas have railroad ties as steps to help prevent you from slipping. It is breathtaking when you are looking out over the vast expanse of desert. It goes on forever! There are some cool looking rock formations, and so many different kinds of cacti, trees and foliage that you will never tire of the views.
We only went 1.5 miles but didn’t have any trouble carrying our cameras and camera bags. The trail continues on further and there are areas where you should have some gloves to hang onto the cables that will assist you on the trail (from what some of the people that we saw coming back), but we will save that for another day when we don’t have our cameras and gear with us!
You can see the rest of my pictures on my Facebook page (also ALifeofFun) (this sites server isn’t playing nice tonight) from our Picacho Peak State Park adventure.
Thank you for reading my blog. If you have any questions just let me know!
Watch for the next blog on the Pima Air and Space Museum that we visited after we finished this hike!