Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in this desert wilderness of plants and animals and dramatic mountains and plains scenery three unique desert habitats converge within 500 square miles. The Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the Saguaro and Organ Pipe Cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the United States.
There are also many creatures that have been able
to adapt themselves to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight and little rainfall.
Sonoran desert plants and animals, found nowhere else in the United States, are
protected throughout the Monument and elsewhere in Arizona.
Wildflower Reports
Organ Pipe Cactus NM Package - Book and Map to help explore the park.
General Information
Seasons / Hours
The Kris Eggle Visitor Center is open daily from
8am to 5pm Mountain Standard time. The Center is closed all federal holidays
between April 1 and December 31. However, even if the Kris Eggle Visitor Center
is closed, the remainder of the park is open 24 hours a day, including all holidays.
The campgrounds, roads and trails are subject to periodic closures. Please check
with the Kris Eggle Vistor Center for more information.
Visitation is highest in
February, March and April; lowest in June, July, August and September. 338,603
people visited the monument in 2007.
Rates & Fees
- $8.00 entrance fee per private vehicle or motorcycle.
- $4.00 for each pedestrian or bicyclist.
- No fee upon presentation of Senior/Golden Age/Access/Eagle
passes, National Park Pass, America the Beautiful pass or Organ Pipe Cactus Annual
Pass and identification. Fee is valid for seven (7)
consecutive days.
- Twin Peaks (Main) Campground. Open daily, with self-registration available
when entrance station is
unoccupied. Fee $12.00 per night; $6 per night upon presentation of Golden Age/Senior/Access
passes and identification. Tents, campers, vans, motorhomes and trailers up to
40 feet maximum length. No hook-ups. Drinking water and RV dump station available.
Generator use permited 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m.
only. Sites are first-come, first-served; no reservations.
- Alamo Primitive Campground. Fee $8.00 per night. Obtain required permit
at visitor center. Tent, pickup camper, and vans only. Water not available. No
generators. No vehicle to exceed 15 ft. in length. Limited to four tent sites
which may fill early especially in winter. No advance reservations.
- Backcountry Camping. Fee $5.00 each permit. Obtain required permit at visitor
center. Campsite must be at least 1/2 mile away from roads, structures. No advance
reservations.
- Commercial bus: NOTE: these vehicles are too long to travel
monument roads. No entry fee is charged for use of Kris Eggle
Visitor Center, picnic area or nature trail.
- Other commercial vehicles: “These
parks …. charge each
individual in a commercial group the per-person fee. The driver
and guide will not be charged an entrance fee. Passes are
accepted for entry as stated on the back of the pass.”
Kris Eggle Visitor Center
Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily, year round,
except on major holidays.
Features: Information, exhibit area, video
or slide presentation, bookstore. Programs/Events: Ranger
programs, including guided hikes, are given January through March, and
occasionally in December and April.
-
Food/Supplies
Motels, gasoline, groceries, trailer parks, laundries and other services are available in Lukeville, Why, Ajo and Sonoyta, Mexico.
Accessibility
The Kris Eggle Visitor Center lobby, auditorium,
exhibits, and bookstore area are fully accessible. For the visually impaired
there is a relief map of the monument and a touch table with a variety of items.
Drinking fountains outside the building are fully accessible. Restrooms in a
nearby building are accessible with assistance.
Behind the Kris Eggle Visitor Center is an accessible
100-yard, hard-surfaced nature trail suitable for scooters and wheelchairs. This
level, gently winding trail offers close views of many plants and birds native
to the Sonoran Desert.
The Twin Peaks Campground's restrooms and drinking water facilities are fully
accessible, with some sites equipped with picnic tables designed for wheelchair
and scooter users.
For more information on accessibility at Organ Pipe NM, please click
here.
Precautions
- Beware of the cactus and some dangerous wildlife. There are six varieties of rattlesnakes as well as gila monsters and scorpions. These animals play an important part in the ecology of the desert and should not be harmed.
- Visitors should be prepared for desert walking.
A hat, sunscreen, comfortable and sturdy clothing and shoes, and a flashlight
are necessary. Avoid hiking mid-day in summer.
- If you get hurt or lost, stay in one place to conserve water and energy.
Signal for help; three blasts on a whistle is a well-recognized distress call.
In remote areas, a large "X" marked on the ground by any means visible
from the air will signify that help is needed. Carry a signal mirror.
- Carry enough drinking water, one gallon (four liters) per person per day.
- Most visitor injuries in Organ Pipe result from
car accidents. Drive within the speed limit and watch for animals grazing along
the shoulders of the road, especially at night.
- Pack out all litter.
- International Border Vehicle
Barrier: In 2004,
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument undertook the work of constructing a vehicle
barrier along the south boundary, which also happens to be the international
border with Mexico. It stretches 23 miles of the southern boundary. It was designed
to stop vehicles from driving around the US customs offices in Lukeville on Hwy
85, or up through the desert wilderness instead of Hwy 85. Respect the boundary.
Visitors should be aware that drug smuggling routes pass through the park. If
you see any activity which looks illegal, suspicious, or out of place, please
do not intervene. Note your location. Call 911 or report it to a ranger as quickly
as possible.
Rules and Regulations
- Accidents
Accidents must be reported to park rangers if property damage or personal injury
are involved.
- Alcohol Use/Possession
The following areas are closed to the consumption of alcoholic beverages,
and/or to the possession of a bottle, can, or other receptacle containing an
alcoholic beverage that is open, or has been opened, or whose seal has been broken
or the contents of which have been partially removed: All public buildings and
facilities.
- Parking lots and pull-outs
It is illegal to be in the park when under the influence of alcohol or controlled
substances. The possession of alcoholic beverages by a minor (less than 21 years
old) is prohibited.
- ATVs/Motorbikes
All motorized vehicles are prohibited on park trails. However, street legal all-terrain
vehicles are permitted on park roads.
- Camping
Camping is permitted only in designated campsites at the Twin Peaks and Alamo
Canyon Campgrounds.
- Feeding Wildlife
Feeding wildlife is prohibited. All stored foods must be in a hard-sided locker
or vehicle, or kept in such a manner as to be inaccessible to foraging animals.
- Fires/Firewood
Contained charcoal fires are only allowed in above ground grills in
the campgrounds and in designated picnic areas. Collecting firewood is not permitted
anywhere in the park.
- Firearms
Must be unloaded and cased or otherwise packed in such a way as to prevent use.
- Fireworks
The possession or use of fireworks or firecrackers is prohibited.
- Horses
The use of horses and other pack animals is permitted on the certain trails,
routes, and roads in the park. For more information, please contact the visitor
center by calling (520) 387-6849.
- Hours of Operation
Park roads and trails are open 24 hours a day. The Kris Eggle visitor center
is only open from 8am to 5pm seven days a week, excluding major holidays.
- Hunting
Hunting and trapping are prohibited.
- Pets
Pets must be leashed (six feet or less) or otherwise physically restrained at
all times. For details about where you can and can't go with your pet, please
contact the visitor center by calling (520) 387-6849.
- Permits
Permits are required for activities such as scientific research and collecting,
commercial photography/filming, commercial tours and activities, etc. Please
see the Superintendent's Compendium for a complete list of activities and events
that require a permit.
- Public Property/Natural and Cultural Features
The possession, injury, destruction, removal, or disturbance of park property
or natural resources, including animals, plants, minerals, cultural, and archaeological
objects is prohibited. This includes collecting rocks, plants, other natural
materials, and historic objects and artifacts.
- RVs/Load, Weight, and Size Limits
RVs are permitted in the park, but some areas are not accessible due to vehicle
length restrictions. The maximum length of motor homes permitted on the Ajo Mountain
Drive is 25 feet
- Seat Belts
Federal law requires that seat belts are worn when driving or riding as a passenger
in a national park.
10 Organ Pipe Drive, Ajo, AZ 85321
(520) 387-6849 ext 7302 (Kris Eggle Visitor Center)
FAX (520) 387-7475 (Kris Eggle Visitor Center)
(520) 387-7144 (Administration)
E-mail the Park
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