Plants & People of the Sonoran Desert Loop Trail

The Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail, established in 1989 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is one of the largest exhibits of its kind dedicated to helping people understand the complex cultural relationships between people and plants in our region.

The trail winds through five habitats that have provided people with useful plants for food, fiber, medicine and cultural purposes for 2,000 years: Desert, Desert Oasis, Mesquite Bosque, Semi-desert Grassland, and Chaparral. The story of these relationships is brought to life through cultural examples of the Tonoho O’odham, Western Apache and Hispanic households which you can explore. This trail closes at sunset and is approximately 1/3 of a mile.