Parking
Start at Sus Picnic Area on the Bajada Loop Drive. The access is an unpaved, graded six-mile loop from Hohokam Road; high clearance or four-wheel drive is not required. Parking capacity and facilities were not verified.
Overview
About Bajada Wash Trail
Why go
- Saguaros and desert plants grow right along the wash
Heads up
- Loose sand slows the walk, and the mountains limit distant views
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Saguaro map
Full mapElevation2,477–2,799 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Saguaro alerts
- ClosureTucson Mountain District road closuresSeveral Tucson Mountain District roads are closed; follow posted closures and use McCain Loop to bypass the Kinney Road closure.Official details
- CautionVehicle break-ins reported at trailheadsVehicle break-ins have occurred at King Canyon Trailhead and other park trailheads; secure your vehicle and valuables.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Saguaro Tour Guide
Your drive to Bajada Wash Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Sus Picnic Area0:00 / 0:15
“Sus Picnic Area is coming up, the closest picnic stop to Red Hills Visitor Center. If you're ready for a sit-down meal, its roofed ramada shelters three tables, with more tables nearby.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Saguaro Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hugh Norris: A Long Ridge Hike
- Desert Discovery Trail
- How Javelinas Recognize Family
- Where the Tortoises Go
- 43 audio storiesacross Saguaro’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 74 trails, 40 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bajada Wash Trail
What this walk isBajada Wash Trail follows a shallow wash from Sus Picnic Area to a junction with the Valley…
Bajada Wash Trail follows a shallow wash from Sus Picnic Area to a junction with the Valley View Overlook Trail near Hohokam Road. It is a point-to-point path; walk it back the way you came for about 4 miles round trip. The full connected mapped line is about 2 miles one way, though published one-way figures range from 1.6 to 1.9 miles. Allow about two hours for the sandy out-and-back.
Along the washThe wash is usually dry and shallow, with loose sand and gravel underfoot.
The wash is usually dry and shallow, with loose sand and gravel underfoot. Mountains hem it in, so this is more of a close-up walk among saguaros and other Sonoran Desert plants than a big-panorama hike. A bajada is the sloping gravel plain at the base of a mountain; the wash runs through that foothill setting.
Access and safetyStart at Sus Picnic Area, reached from Hohokam Road by the unpaved, graded Bajada Loop Drive.
Start at Sus Picnic Area, reached from Hohokam Road by the unpaved, graded Bajada Loop Drive. The full loop drive is six miles, and ordinary vehicles do not need high clearance or four-wheel drive. There is little shade, so avoid the summer heat of late morning and afternoon. This is a wash: do not hike it when thunderstorms are nearby, since flash floods can arrive from rain uphill. Carry your own water; no water source along the route was confirmed. Pets are prohibited on the trail; service animals are allowed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Saguaro
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.
