We arrived at Picacho Peak State Park after an easy, short drive from our friend’s house in Maricopa, AZ. The first thing we noticed was how green the desert floor looks; almost like a forest but with all the Saguaro cacti on the mountainside. There was an enormous moon bow hovering over us that evening. This park is currently seeking status as an International Dark Sky Park.
The campground has three loops (A, B and C) with some spacious sites. It has 85 electric sites and is suitable for both tents and RVs. The campsites are nestled around the natural desert vegetation and Saguaro cacti. There are shower houses and bathrooms at each loop.
On our first full day, we hiked/climbed a 9.30-mile loop around Picacho Peak. We connected from our campground to Sunset to Hunter trails and back in 5-1/2 hours. The back side of Picacho Peak was covered with golden California poppies, saguaro cacti and red barrel cacti. And of course, we were challenged by the cable wires needed to navigate the rocks and steep ascent. We even met a round-tailed squirrel on the trail. However, we declined to do the peak route as it is even more challenging and literally hanging on the side of the rock wall. Once we reached the Saddle Viewpoint, we took a short break on a wooden bench overlooking eastward across I-10.
On our second day, we did a short hike on the Calloway Trail towards a butte. At the end of this trail, we saw the snow-capped peaks at Mt. Lemmon near Tucson. Afterwards, we learned about a little American Civil War history that can be found here at Picacho Peak SP. On April 15, 1862, the union calvary from California fought against confederate from Tucson, marking it the westernmost battle in the American Civil War. The confederate won the battle but was forced to flee to New Mexico by the Apache Indians. The battle occurred at the Picacho Pass, directly east of the park. Every March, there is a battle reenactment called Civil War in the Southwest. Unfortunately, we arrived a few weeks too early for this event.
And we saw our first snake this year on the park road, and it was a three-foot, young bull snake.
Our final sunset provided us with a stunning orange glow of the desert. The sky turned red and purple as the sun dropped below the horizon. This was a great way to end our stay here. We recommend stopping here for a day or two if you’re passing by on I-10.
Next, we are headed to Chiricahua National Monument.