Picnic area · Saguaro National Park
A shaded picnic stop with an accessible desert stroll.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Saguaro Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Saguaro National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Saguaro audio tourRecorded for this place
Mica View: A Picnic and a Poem“You’re coming up on the access road for Mica View Picnic Area, a good place for a shaded meal break. The road is unpaved, and the picnic area has a large shelter with tables and grills.”
Plays as you drive up to Mica View Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Saguaro Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Mica View is a developed picnic area in Saguaro’s Rincon Mountain District, with a large accessible shelter, tables, grills, restrooms and parking. It works well for a picnic or an easy walk, rather than a long outing on its own. The final approach follows an unpaved access road.
Mica View Trail starts here and runs just under a mile one way to Broadway Road. It’s an easy stroll through low desert vegetation; go to Broadway Road and back for a walk of just under two miles. An ADA-accessible trail begins at the picnic area, and this is one of the district’s few dog-friendly trails.
One picnic table is also a Poetry in Parks installation. It features Ofelia Zepeda’s “Na:nko Ma:s Cewagĭ / Cloud Song,” selected by the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón. The poem comes from Zepeda’s 1995 collection Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert—an unexpected little arts stop in the middle of a picnic.
Wildlife
19 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
56 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
266 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
113 sightingsCollared PeccaryMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
53 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
127 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Saguaro. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyMica View Trail1.4 mi · 45 min · At the trailheadA broad cactus walk with Mica Mountain in view.
EasyMica View/Cactus Forest Loop2 mi · 1 hr · At the trailheadYoung saguaros, desert birds, and mountain views on a flat loop
EasyDesert Ecology Trail0.3 mi · 15 min · 0.6 mi awayA short paved loop with benches and signs about Sonoran Desert ecology.
ModeratePink Hill Trail3 mi · 2 hr · 0.6 mi awayA short desert climb to pink soil and wide mountain views.
EasyShantz, Cholla, and Cactus Forest Loop5.1 mi · 2 hr · 0.6 mi awayFive easy desert trails in one cactus-rich loop.
EasyLime Falls Trail2.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayLime kilns and a rain-fed falls chute beyond the cactus forest
ModerateCactus Forest Trail5 mi · 3 hr · 0.9 mi awayA five-mile desert out-and-back past saguaros and old lime kilns.EasyLoma Verde Loop3.8 mi · 2 hr · 1 mi awayAn easy desert loop with a wide view from Pink Hill.
Scenic pullout · 1.1 mi awayCactus Forest OverlookSaguaro views and a surprisingly long recovery story.
Scenic pullout · 1.5 mi awayRiparian OverlookA quick pullout for Saguaro East’s wide cactus-forest views.
Sight · 1.6 mi awaySonoran Desert OverlookA roadside cactus primer with a broad desert-floor view.
Sight · 1.7 mi awayCactus Forest Lime KilnsA signed spur to Saguaro's historic lime-kiln ruins.
Sight · 2 mi awayGarwood DamA homestead-era dam tucked into the cactus forest
Scenic pullout · 2.1 mi awayCactus Forest Sunset PulloutA small sunset stop between Rincon Mountain Overlook and Javelina Rocks.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayRincon Mountains OverlookA roadside panorama over the Cactus Forest toward the Rincon Mountains.
Scenic pullout · 2.2 mi awayFuture Generations OverlookA quick first pullout with an open view and a conservation story.Parkwolf’s Saguaro ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
