Wild Dog Trail - Saguaro NP West, AZ

Overview
This trail is a short 0.9 miles and connects the Bajada Loop Road to the Hohokam Road and the lower desert to the lower hills of the Tucson Mountains. The trailhead along the Bajada Loop Road is at the Valley View Trailhead or from Hohokam Road at the Signal Hill Picnic Area Road junction. This trail can be combined with the Valley View Overlook Trail and can be done with younger children or combined with other trails to form a longer loop hike. The trailheads at either end are along roads that do not open until sunrise and close at sunset.


Hike
From the Hohokam Road trailhead, the trail heads south with a very gradual climb in elevation. The trail crosses four small washes in the first 0.3 miles before climbing up to a ridge about 180 feet up. The trail never gets steep and is very well maintained and easy to follow. If you have been hiking along the desert floor to the north, the scenery changes as you start to climb into the lower Tucson Mountain hills and is a welcome change to the desert floor hiking. This trail's views are limited because of the lack of any significant elevation gain, but there are some views to the north of Panther peak and Twin Hills.At 0.7 miles, the trail crosses a ridge and is the highest point on the trail. Once on the ridge, numerous social trails are heading up to the small peak just west of the trail, probably for a better view. From here, the trail heads downhill for 0.2 miles and ends in Bajada Wash, 0.1 miles from Bajada Loop Drive. Fifty yards before Bajada Wash is the junction with the Valley View Overlook Trail. The overlook is 0.3 miles from this trail junction, and the views from the overlook make this short side trip worth it. As is true with all the trails in Saguaro National Park, keep an eye on the trail for snakes, especially in the early morning and evening. If you are checking out the scenery as you walk, it is best to keep that third eye on the trail.

2017-09-20 markthurman53