Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona is now Chiricahua National Park. President Donald Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act into law on October 20, 2026, redesignating the site after more than a century in the National Park System.

Officials unveiled the new park sign near Willcox on signing day, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum declared visitor Armand Santilli the first person to enter the new park, KGUN 9 reported.

It is also Arizona's fourth national park, joining Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and Saguaro.

The redesignation recognizes what the National Park Service calls the national significance of the area's natural and cultural resources, a shift that typically brings a park more funding, staffing and national visibility than monument status provides.

Towering rhyolite rock spires and balanced rocks formed from an ancient volcanic eruption roughly 27 million years ago, rising from the 'sky island' of the Chiricahua Mountains, where desert, grassland and forest ecosystems meet.

The area blends four distinct ecoregions — two deserts and two highland regions — supporting remarkable biodiversity, exceptional birding and dark skies prized for stargazing, according to the National Park Service.

First protected as a national monument in 1924 under President Calvin Coolidge, Chiricahua preserves thousands of years of human history, including its importance as the homeland of the Chiricahua Apache and its legacy of early homesteading families at Faraway Ranch.

Outside Magazine notes that Lillian Erickson and Edward Riggs, the last operators of Faraway Ranch, spent their own marriage advocating for park status — their 1923 campaign led to a monument designation, and a century later their wish was finally granted.

The designation is expected to boost tourism in rural Cochise County.

About 70,000 people visited the park in 2025, a number Burgum said is 'going to go way up' now that it is a flagship national park receiving more dollars for infrastructure, water systems, trail maintenance, visitor centers and staffing, according to KGUN 9.

KOLD reports that Arizona's national parks generated $2.4 billion in revenue last year, and Willcox Mayor Greg Hancock called the change 'a milestone' and 'an investment in rural America.'

The park will continue offering hiking, camping, scenic drives and wildlife viewing, with current information at nps.gov › chir.

Burgum said the first order of business is rebranding signage to reflect the new name, followed by installing new water systems and other maintenance projects, KOLD reported.

The National Parks Conservation Association, while welcoming the change, said the new park needs restored staffing and funding, and pledged to work with Congress to keep Chiricahua protected for generations to experience.