Updated October 21, 2026, 2:53 p.m. ET
Chiricahua National Monument just became the country’s newest national park. After the bill was approved by the House of Representatives in March and the Senate on September 30, President Donald Trump signed the bill on October 20, creating the nation’s 64th national park.
This hidden gem is among the smaller national parks, although it offers a diverse landscape, wildlife, dark, starry nights and a glimpse of human history.
“It offers spectacular views,” said Emily Burns, program director at the Sky Island Alliance, which conducts conservation and restoration work in the area, including projects in Chiricahua. “There’s a beautiful canyon and then these rock formations that are a little mind-boggling to understand how they were formed over geological history.”
Nestled in the southeastern corner of Arizona, Chiricahua sits at the intersection of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre mountain range and the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts.
The closest airport is in Tucson, almost a two-hour drive from the park’s only entrance.
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Chiricahua was originally established as a national monument in 1924 to protect the “Wonderland of the Rocks.” The remarkably balanced rocks, spiers and pinnacles were formed by volcanic eruptions around 27 million years ago. The park offers hiking, camping at Bonita Canyon Campground, horseback riding, and scenic drives to soak up its geology.
Arizona Trail Association Executive Director Matthew Nelson described Chiricahua as a hot spot.
“I think being able to immerse yourself in a place that seems relatively unchanged over millennia is a real departure from modern technology and the pace of our lives,” Nelson said. “Being in the Chiricahua Rocks encourages people to slow down and listen to the wind, study the rock features, and remember the beauty that exists in nature.”
Its varying altitudes and habitat types are home to everything from black bears, gray foxes and javelinas, to bats, hummingbirds and toads. Chiricahua is also a certified International Dark Sky Park, with its isolated geography protecting its pristine skies.
The area was inhabited by the Chiricahua Apaches for centuries through various conflicts with European settlers until they were relocated to Florida and then moved to other states by the U.S. government. The Chiricahua National Park Act protects cultural and religious sites and preserves access to indigenous tribes for customary uses, including temporary closure of the park.
Chiricahua is now the fourth smallest national park, at 12,000 acres, slightly smaller than Manhattan. For comparison, the Grand Canyon, Arizona’s largest park, is about 1.2 million acres, or 100 times larger. The largest national park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, located in Alaska, is 8.3 million acres, nearly 700 times larger than Chiricahua, according to a USA TODAY analysis of National Park Service boundary data.
Its small size also attracts small crowds. In 2025, Chiricahua recorded 70,000 visits, which would have ranked it 57 out of 64 among other national parks. The Great Smoky Mountains were the most popular national park in 2025, with 11.5 million visits. The Grand Canyon, in fourth place, recorded 4.4 million visits.
However, achieving national park status will likely attract more people. When the Arizona Trail, an 800-mile hike taking people from the Mexican border to the Utah border, was designated by Congress as one of 11 National Scenic Trails in the country, Nelson saw interest and visits increase — something he also expected for Chiricahua.
“Chiricahua has all the natural wonders that make it a national park. There’s no doubt about that,” Nelson said. “It has all the natural and cultural resources needed to be a national park, but it doesn’t have the infrastructure.”
As examples, Nelson cited the self-service welcome center, limited campsites and no staff to collect fees. The park generates millions of dollars in spending in gateway cities. The new designation could further boost the regional economy, although some community members were skeptical of the proposal when discussions began years ago.
“Certainly as visitation increases, the National Park Service will need resources not only to ensure that it can provide the amenities, like trails, restrooms and campsites, that visitors need, but it will also need to invest in natural resources to ensure that we care for the natural landscape and cultural history,” Burns said.
Since Trump took office for the second time, the National Park Service has lost about a quarter of its workforce, according to the National Park Conservation Association, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting parks.
Earlier this year, the administration relegated planned maintenance projects at many park units to low priority as the White House focused on repairing the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, among other projects, the Associated Press reported in August.
The affected projects included some in Chiricahua, such as replacing security cameras and electrical components on historic buildings that have not been altered since the 1980s, according to the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation and advocacy organization.
“Whether named a monument, park or memorial, these places need restored funding and staff who can protect resources and provide visitors with the experience they deserve,” Christina Hazard, legislative director of the National Park Conservation Association, said in an emailed statement. “The effort to rename Chiricahua shows how much people care about these places and that it is our national parks that unite us.”
Days before Trump signed the bill, the National Park Service declined to provide information on whether the Interior Department would provide additional funds or personnel to Chiricahua if it were granted national park status, saying the agency “does not comment on legislation until it becomes law.” On October 21, the DOI referred USA TODAY to a press release that did not mention funding.
The last time a park was granted national park status was in 2021, when New River Gorge in West Virginia was reclassified from a national river to a national park and preserve. Here is the timeline of how each of the other parks entered the list:
Chiricahua has limited cell service and gas stations, but with a little planning, visitors can make the most of their experience.
Burns’ advice to someone wanting to visit: Walk slowly. “It may be a small park, but there’s so much inside. So walk slowly, sit and look at the view and get to know it,” Burns said.
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