Bridal Wreath Falls Trail in Saguaro National Park is one of the most popular trails in the Tucson area for waterfall chasers. We did this hike during monsoon season so we did not get the peak snow runoff but we were still able to experience the falls on a small scale. Below is a review of the hike along with everything you need to know before you sit off to explore Bridal Wreath Falls.
Bridal Wreath Falls Trail Overview
Highlights include: Beautiful views of the desert, surrounding mountains, and a seasonal waterfall.
- Distance: 6.0 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,096 feet
- Route Type: Out and back
- Pets: No
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Time needed: 2.5 to 3 hours
Getting to the trailhead
The trail is located at the Douglas Spring trailhead. This is found at the far north part of Saguaro National Park. You just need to head east on E. Speedway Blvd. and you will see the trailhead at the end of the road. There was parking available for about 10 cars but there is also parking available on the adjacent street area and other nearby trailheads.
Related: Lower Tanque Verde Falls Trail Review
Trail conditions
We did the trail in the rain during monsoon season so the trail was a little bit slushy and wet. There are a few small rocky sections that were a little bit treacherous due to the rain and other sections had some fairly large steps, but overall this trail is very doable.
It’s also extremely easy to follow. One or two wash crossings may throw you off for a second but you quickly regain sight of the trail. Just be aware that there are a few different trail junctions along the way so make sure that you know which trails to turn on.
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Route description
The first half a mile of this trail is pretty flat. Because we were doing this during a downpour, the sand was very slushy in places and there were quite a few puddles to navigate around.
Also, due to the rain, the scent from the cactus forest was intense. I’m not sure which plants and trees were responsible for the potent smells but I had never experienced such a strong scent from the desert until this hike. It was honestly almost nauseating but eventually wore off.
At around .8 miles into the hike the incline begins and you will quickly be able to admire some nice views.
The incline is steep enough to give you a decent little work out but it is not to be feared if you are in decent shape. (I believe the steepest section has about 540 feet in elevation gain in one mile.)
In fact, if you are in decent shape this is the type of trail where you can just power through all the way to the end without really needing a break but there are some nice views so you probably do want to slow down to check them out.
At a little over 1.5 miles into the hike the terrain begins to level off a little bit so you get a short break from the incline. Then, at about 1.8 miles in you begin the next section of incline. At this point you have some really nice views especially whenever you cross the main creek bed.
You’ll be wrapping around the side of one of the foothills with the creek bed down below. When there is spring runoff I’m sure this is even more of a spectacular sight, since there should be a few mini waterfalls (we saw one).
After about half a mile of pretty mild incline the trail then begins to really flatten out. At this point a thunderstorm was starting to roll in directly in front of us so I was a little bit nervous about getting caught in it but it ended up staying at bay.
At about 2.5 miles in you will pass up a trail junction for the Three Tank Trail but you need to just keep going straight. Then about .2 miles later, you’ll come across another trail junction but this one will have three different routes. You need to make sure that you turn right at this point for the Bridal Wreath Falls Trail (the falls will only be about .4 miles away).
If you turned left you would jump on the Ernie Falls Trail, it’s about .6 miles down from that point. And if you keep going straight you’ll remain on the Douglas Spring Trail which will take you way up into the Rincon Mountains.
The last .4 miles to the falls is on a slightly more narrow trail but still pretty easy to follow although I did notice a side trail so try not to get mixed up.
When you are just 200 feet or so away from the falls you will need to go down a little bit and then enter a pretty rocky wash area. At this point, if the falls are running you should be able to hear them pretty clear.
You can choose to scramble right through the middle of this area or if you head to the left there is a faint trail that is a little bit easier to navigate. (You can see it in the image below.)
After climbing over a couple of boulders you will be right there at the falls and hopefully the falls will be running for you. For us, we went after a relatively small monsoon rain so there was just a small trickle. But it sounded a lot louder than you would imagine and it still felt amazing to have it run over my head after sweating in some pretty high humidity on the way there.
Final word
This is a what a true moderate trail is supposed to be, in my opinion. At 6 miles and around 1,100 feet in elevation game it’s a nice little workout but definitely not too challenging. There is virtually no shade on this trail so if attempting during hotter times of the year you would for sure want a very early start. We plan on coming back and checking out the falls next year, hopefully during the peak spring runoff.