A small marker stands at the trailhead of the Freeman Ruins Nature Trail/Kurt Repanshek

A short walk, some homesteader history, and a little solitude all can be found within minutes of entering the Rincon District of Saguaro National Park in Arizona.

Safford Freeman appreciated this quiet corner of today's national park. Back in 1933 he obtained 640 cactus-covered acres under the Homestead Act. There he built a three-room adobe home with several outbuildings, dug a well, and constructed a corral out of octillo branches.

While the structures are gone today, you can appreciate the setting by taking a short walk down the Freeman Homestead Nature Trail. The loop is less than a mile in length, and relatively level, with only a few short mild dips and rises. 

The desert wraps around you as you hike the Freeman Nature Trail/Kurt Repanshek

I had come upon the trail in early November. Don Swann, a wildlife biologist and saguaro expert on the park staff, had directed me to it after I asked where I might catch some bird calls. The area is cut by a wash, and perhaps that convinced Freeman he wouldn't have to dig too deeply to strike water for his well.

Walking the trail under the late morning sun, it was easy to admire the setting and appreciate why Freeman chose this area for his ranch. Saguaros give some height to the landscape, while various other cacti species and other vegetation provide groundcover.

The saguaros attracted a few gila woodpeckers that flitted about the area as I walked through. Their unusual drumming -- something we don't hear from birds in Utah -- caught me by surprise and left me puzzled as to whether it was some sort of bird call or some human doing construction nearby. It wasn't until I got back home and searched the listings of native birds at Saguaro that I figured it out.

According to the park website, you also might be lucky to catch sight of a great horned owl, as they've been known to perch in the cliff that the trail passes.

Two benches and a spreading tree welcome you to the landscape and invite you to sit awhile/Kurt Repanshek

As you approach the site of the Freeman home, there are two benches under a spreading tree -- (a desert willow, perhaps?) -- where you can sit a while a bit out of the sun and listen to the birds about you. 

Freeman's home rose nearby. Today there's just a small mound where it once stood.

A low mound, on the left side of the photo, is all that remains of the Freeman home/Kurt Repanshek

To reach the trailhead with its small parking area, after entering the Rincon District take your first right and head down the road a bit more than a mile. The parking area is on the right.

After you explore the trail, you can either head a bit farther down the road to the trailhead for the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail for a serious hike, or backtrack to the Cactus Forest Loop Drive and enjoy the views and a couple more short hikes.

For those with time, tackle the Cactus Forest Trail that runs about 2.5 miles across the landscape, with a half-mile side trail to Lime Falls, a seasonal trickle of water. The downside of the Cactus Forest Trail is you'll need either a shuttle, two cars, or have to reverse the hike to get back to your rig.