Cactus Forest Trail

The Cactus Forest Trail is 5.2 miles long, but it is just less than a mile from it’s northern intersection with the loop drive in Saguaro National Park to the lime kilns to the south.  This is an easy trail across the flat, sandy desert floor meandering among creosote and palo verde with a mix of saguaro and cholla cacti.  Many of the creosote were sprinkled with small yellow blossoms  The lime kilns were built around 1880.  They required significant amounts of wood (12 cords for each batch of lime), and ranchers eventually forced the kilns to close because the wood harvesting was destroying cattle forage.  A .4-mile spur trail leads to the dry Lime Falls.

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