Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop
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Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop
Difficulty Rating:
The Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop is a moderately trafficked hike in Tucson’s Sweetwater Preserve. This route is rated as easy and is very family-friendly. The scenery features wildflowers (in the right season) and saguaros and the route is even and offers nice footing for most of the route. The path is easy to follow and it makes for a pleasant early morning or evening walk.
Getting there
The trailhead for Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop is at the end of Saguaro Vista Trail.
About
| Backcountry Campground | No |
| When to do | October-May |
| Pets allowed | Yes - On Leash |
| Family friendly | Yes |
| Route Signage | Average |
| Crowd Levels | Moderate |
| Route Type | Loop |
Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop
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Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop Description
The Wildflower Ridge, Oxbow, and Desperado Loop is a wonderful easy nature walk in Tucson that’s very suitable for families, kids, and hikers of all ages. It’s an easy trip that’s very straightforward to follow, but keep in mind that you can use the park’s network of trails to lengthen or shorten your hike if you’d like to.
While this is an easy hike overall, we still recommend bringing lots of water with you and hiking outside of the heat of the day. This route doesn’t get too busy, so an early morning or later evening stroll can be nice and peaceful.
From the trailhead, hike a few steps south to the fork in the trail. Stay right onto Rollercoaster Trail. Stay left at the next junction to keep heading south. Admire the sky-high saguaros as you make your way to the Oxbow Trail, where you’ll take a left. Hop onto Night Hawk Trail for a moment and then keep left to stay on Night Hawk Trail. At the junction with Desperado Loop, go left and then stay right shortly thereafter. This will lead you back to the trailhead.
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