The southeastern Arizona park outside Tucson was established as the 64th park Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after President Donald Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act into law.
National Park Service
Chiricahua features towering rhyolite rock spires and balanced rocks formed by an ancient volcanic eruption roughly 27 million years ago.
The area has been part of the National Park System for more than a century. It was first protected as a national monument in 1924 to preserve the Chiricahua Apache homeland.
Chiricahua is Arizona’s fourth national park, joining the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and Saguaro.
Before the Arizona park, the last national park to be established was New River Gorge in West Virginia in December 2020.
