Expansive desert preserve featuring rare cacti, scenic drives, and rugged trails through the Sonoran Desert wilderness.

General Information

Hours:

Park: Open 24 hours daily, year-round
Kris Eggle Visitor Center: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily
Closed: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day

Fees:

Private vehicle: $25 (valid 7 days)
Motorcycle: $20
Individual (on foot or bicycle): $15
Annual Pass: $45
Camping: $20 per night (Twin Peaks Campground)

Pet Policy:

Leashed pets allowed in campgrounds and along roads
Not permitted on trails or in the backcountry
Must be leashed (max 6 ft) and cleaned up after

Closest cities with hotels:

Ajo, AZ (34 mi)

Seasons:

All year; best in spring (March–April) and fall (October–November)

Location:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ZzZzqZzZzqZzZz3

Website:

https://www.nps.gov/orpi/index.htm

How to Get There

From Tucson, AZ (130 mi): Take AZ-86 W to Why, then turn south on AZ-85 and follow signs to the Kris Eggle Visitor Center.

Overview

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S. national monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona that shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. The park is the only place in the United States where the senita and organ pipe cactus grow wild. Along with this species, many other types of cacti and other desert flora native to the Yuma Desert section of the Sonoran Desert region grow in the park. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is 517 sq mi (1,340 km2) in size. In 1976 the monument was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and in 1977 95% of Organ Pipe Cactus was declared a wilderness area.

organ-pipe-visitor-center — Kris Eggle Visitor Center

Cacti

The visitor center has been named in honor of Ranger Kris Eggle. On August 9, 2002, he was shot and killed by a drug smuggler during a United States Border Patrol operation.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

organ-pipe-full-cactus — Organ Pipe Cactus