Shantz Trail

Shantz Trail is a 4.8-mile, one-way traverse along the northwest edge of Saguaro's Rincon Mountain District, from the Speedway Boulevard access near Wildhorse to the Mica View/Cactus Forest access road. It is a long walk through open cactus groves beneath the Rincon foothills, crossing Broadway and connecting with Mica View, Cactus Forest, Loma Verde, and Kennedy. The appeal is seeing the desert at walking pace, with views toward Tanque Verde Peak and the Santa Catalina Mountains along the way. If you don't have a pickup arranged, walking back makes this about a 9.5-mile round trip.

The route rolls gently rather than climbing to a summit. A terrain profile rises about 145 feet southbound, so distance and sun matter more than steepness. Allow around two and a half hours one way, with extra time for stops. The landscape is mostly open, and the heat can make the mild grade feel harder than it looks on a map.

For a shorter taste, the 2-mile Mica View Loop starts at Mica View Picnic Area, follows Mica View north to Shantz, then turns onto Cactus Forest and Mica View to return. It uses only a short part of Shantz, so it is a separate loop rather than the full point-to-point trail. The loop passes young saguaros growing under palo verde nurse trees and has views toward Tanque Verde Peak and Mica Mountain.

Shantz honors Homer Shantz, a botanist and former University of Arizona president who helped lead the effort to protect this cactus country. He renewed that preservation campaign in 1928; Saguaro was proclaimed a national monument in 1933. The trail name points back to one of the people who helped make the park possible.