Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southwest Arizona preserves over 330,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert. A research mecca of the Sonoran, it is also a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve.  These sites are socio-culturally and ecologically diverse and provide learning opportunities for sustainable management.  A “green” desert, the Sonoran is lush with adaptive plants like the organ pipe and saguaro cactus, and has a long cultural history including early indigenous settlers, the Tohono O’odham, the Coronado Expedition of the Southwest, European colonists, and mining operations.

It was a special experience to visit the monument in late April.  This is the start of the off-season as hot desert weather moves in, but it’s still mild enough to enjoy everything without crowds. We headed through the town of Ajo, Arizona, on the way, and enjoyed time in the plaza and seeing the Spanish Revival architecture.   The plaza is beautiful, with a park, train station, coffee shop, churches, and restaurants.  It lends a relaxed feel with welcomed walks in the sunshine and respites in the shade.  A small group was doing tai chi in the park – a wonderful little oasis.

Spanish Revival architecture around the plaza, Ajo, Arizona

After free camping for over a month, we made a reservation at the Twin Peaks campground in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in advance to ensure we had a convenient spot.  The campground was pristine (the whole park was), and in this off-season, there were only a few other travelers.  One group was from Switzerland and Germany, touring the southwest in a caravan.  The campground gave us a great base from which to explore nearby trails and take the park’s scenic drives.

The organ pipe cactus, whose common name reflects its resemblance to the musical instrument

Ajo Mountains Scenic Drive

A 21-mile drive along a gravel road, this self-guided auto tour takes the traveler through a series of interpretive stops and trailheads.  We learned about the organ pipe cactus and other flora and fauna, about bajadas—the blocky peaks throughout the park —and about survival and adaptation in the desert environment.  The driving tour was an interactive way to learn about the landscape and cover more ground than we could have on foot.

 Puerto Blanco Drive

This route took us through a series of trails constructed on historic roads that connected the mines in the Puerto Blanco Mountains.  There are foot trails, opportunities to immerse in the desert landscape, and views of the U.S./Mexico border.

Hiking

Old mine roads, interpretive trails, and long desert walks abound in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  We enjoyed solo hikes along the Victoria Mine trail to historic mine sites, which are now habitat for the endangered lesser long-nose bat, and among the saguaro, organ pipe, cholla, and ocotillo.

Saguaro in bloom, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

 Borderlands

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument borders 30 miles of the U.S./Mexico border.  Just beyond the monument is a border patrol station, and beyond that is the town of Sonoyta.  A sister park lies in the southwest, and the popular beach resort community of Puerto Penasco is nearby.  

Border areas are always interesting, sharing the same physical and maybe even cultural characteristics, but with administratively distinct boundaries.  I did not anticipate seeing the U.S. border wall on our visit to the park.  The 30-foot-high barricade runs from the border station along the natural ridges on the park's southwest boundary.  Some roads in the park are closed for public safety.  Others along the boundary are open and accessible and lead to significant heritage sites and trails.

U.S./Mexico boundary, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

While the park's dominant features are its rich ecological and cultural diversity, there is an important undercurrent of past and present border issues. Visitors are made aware that illegal border crossings and smuggling activities occur in the park.  This increases awareness but remains an unlikely interaction.  Of higher risk is the harsh Sonoran Desert environment, which, without adequate preparedness, becomes impassable.  You feel this just from spending a little time hiking here recreationally.

Trail sign

People crossing the border illegally face immense challenges in making the passage.  We saw a family group, already on the U.S. side, retreating to the border wall so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection would see them; their reasons and needs, of course, unknown to us.  A few minutes later, border patrol arrived.  It becomes a real humanitarian issue in the area.  There are bright blue water cisterns in the monument marked with visible blue flags that provide life-saving assistance to those crossing the desert.  There are numerous border patrol agents along the perimeter.  It was significant to see a glimpse of what people face in the issues we hear about daily on the news.  It is complex and out of my depth, but it is necessary to learn and to feel uncomfortable about the variables, realities, and humanitarian issues in the monument and beyond. Organ Pipe Cactus National Park Monument is a treasure worth visiting, layered culturally and ecologically. We’d return in a heartbeat.

A saguaro sunset, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument