Rincon Creek | Saguaro National Park

This rare Sonoran Desert creek is the only water body within popular Saguaro National Park. Residents of nearby Tucson and visitors from across the world come to hike the park’s scenic trails and enjoy thick stands of its attractive namesake cactus, a universal symbol of the desert Southwest. Thanks to a generous donation from internationally renowned conservationist Hansjörg Wyss, The Trust for Public Land was able to add nearly 300 acres of prime saguaro habitat to the park, including a mile and a half of the creek, nearly doubling its protected length. Edged with cottonwood, willow, and mesquite, the creek provides some of the most important bird habitat in the park while serving as an essential corridor for peccary, bobcats, mountain lion, mule deer, and other native species. Now people also will be able to explore this unique corner of the desert—including hikers on the Arizona National Scenic Trail, which passes nearly.