Explore the Kartchner Caverns State Park Trails.

When my children were younger they enjoyed going out to explore nature with us, but they were still in the stage where they'd get tired easily, and all parents know that can result in a rather cranky child, so we didn't get out as much as we would have liked. Now that they are older and are able to walk/hike for longer periods of time without getting tired, they have become even more interested in exploring nature, seeing the world, and going on adventures. My husband and I also love being outdoors, so we've been visiting more hiking trails in our area that are kid friendly, going fishing, and camping as often as we can. Along the way we are going to share some of these adventures with you and hopefully inspire you to get out and see what your state has to offer you. We recently took a trip out of the city to visit Kartchner Caverns State Park, to explore the trails and take a tour of the cave and just enjoy some fresh air in our beautiful mountain/desert state. Kartchner Caverns is located near Benson,Arizona it is a rather easy park to reach, in total it took us about three hours to reach from Phoenix.

I am lucky enough to have the chance to work with the Arizona State Parks Department on a few social media posts, the opportunity will allow us to check out some of the parks we've never visited before. We were already planning a trip to visit the Kartcher Caverns to see the caves, so the state parks department gave us a one night cabin rental so we could enjoy a longer amount of time in the park itself. If tent or RV camping are more your style, they have spots to reserve for that as well or there is a hotel near the interstate. If you check out the rest of my blog or type "Kartchner Caverns" into the search bar located at the top of my blog, you'll find my review of the cabin we were in along with a review of the caverns.

On the day that we left Phoenix it was stormy and rained on and off all day, which made the mountains look gorgeous once we arrived at our destination. You could see the stormy clouds rolling over the mountain tops as the wind carried them away, that combined with the atmosphere of the park it created a picturesque view that made you feel like you were in a adventure movie. I actually thought it was funny because when we were in the park for some reason my brain kept thinking of the Lion King, once I got home I went to upload a photo of the park to my photography Instagram page the "add location" thought it was a photo of Australia. Waking up and stepping out onto the porch of the park cabin is quite the experience, you could hear a few birds chirping and hear a few campers packing up their gear, otherwise it was very peaceful and quiet. 

The trail heads were easy to find & access; there is a large parking lot, picnic areas and a bathroom (currently closed due to covid) along with the camp sites mentioned above. If you do need to use the bathroom before exploring the trails, there are bathrooms located near the Discovery Center when you first come into the park that are open and cleaned daily. The trails at Kartcher range from beginner to advanced and range in length from a short hike up to a almost five mile hike. Their signs and trails are easy to follow which helps make it to where you won't get lost, however if you do get a little lost need a little guidance cell service still works in the area so you'll be able to get ahold of a park ranger.

It was still raining off and on during our first day there so we didn't fully explore the trails, however we still went out to check the trails out a little to get a feel for where we wanted to hike the next day. We found that all the trails were clearly marked, and most were lined with a path made from large rocks  to help you stay on the trail. I thought it looked nice, and it is a great way to help keep the plants along the trail from getting trampled, it must have taken a decent amount of time to do. I also notice how well the park has been taken care of it was quite clean, typically when we go hiking we see some trash along the trails because people aren't always considerate when bringing trash into a park/onto a hiking trail. Thinking back I honestly can't recall seeing any trash on the trails while we were out, and we hiked back quite a way onto the trail so that in itself is very impressive and shows how much the park rangers care about the park.

On the second day we left our cabin about nine in the morning to explore the trails and the weather was perfect. It was cool without being overly chilly, there were still clouds in the sky however the rain had stopped. While the weather was lovely and the trails were beautiful, I was a little sad that the storm the day prior had seemed to scare off most of the birds and animals usually seen in the park. The park is home to sixty-three species of birds along with reptiles, deer, coatimundi and more. I was very excited to get a chance to see some of them and snap some photographs, however on this trip we only spotted a handful of birds, no other animals in sight not even a lizard. I was a little disappointed, but that just means we need to plan another trip back to check out the wild life which is exciting and something we are looking forward to. 

Can you spot the bird in the photo above? As we were getting into our car to head back to the city after our hike this little guy decided to land in the tree in front of us so I could snap so last minute photos.

The park is quite large so you won't be able to explore it as a whole in a single day, I'd recommend camping out a night or two in the park so that you can really enjoy everything it has to offer. The park offers regular tent camping, RV campsites and four cabins available for rent so there are multiple options inside of the park along with a hotel not far from the park. 

I'll be sharing some other photos over on my photography Instagram page if you want to check it out! Want to know where the park is so you can visit it? This park is located at 2980 S Hwy 90 Benson,AZ 85602 it is very easy to reach from the highway and is only a short drive away from Benson itself if you want to do some shopping or stop at a restaurant. If you would like more information on the park you can check out their website.

Disclaimer- The one night cabin rental mentioned above were provided by The Arizona State Parks Department for a review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase