It isn’t often that America gets a new national park. Especially in recent years, as public lands have become a political football, it’s worth celebrating when they get greater protections. On October 20, 2026, the Chiricahua National Park Act became law, officially protecting the former national monument in Arizona as America’s 64th national park. The last time a new park was added to the list was in 2020, with New River Gorge in West Virginia.
Chiricahua National Park contains the remains of a violent prehistoric volcanic eruption that forever changed the landscape. Volcanic ash covered the land, lithified, and eventually eroded to create the strange and iconic hoodoos and balancing rocks that have made the area a popular destination for tourists and hikers alike.
There’s no backpacking in Chiricahua National Park (you’ll need to head next door to neighboring Coronado National Forest for that), but dayhikes are plentiful. They range in difficulty from easy to strenuous, and in length from less than a mile to over 9 miles. There’s something at Chiricahua for everyone, and it’s a starkly beautiful place to wander.
In light of its designation as America’s newest national park, we decided to highlight a few of the park’s best hikes.
Echo Canyon Loop
Distance: 3.4 miles
Elevation gain: 560 feet
The loop is comprised of three trails: Echo Canyon, Hailstone, and Ed Riggs Trails. Start at the Echo Canyon parking lot on the eastern side of the park. You can hike the loop in either direction, but it’s recommended to go clockwise for the best views. The trail descends 400 feet into a labyrinth of stone formations. Hikers must carefully navigate steep drop-offs on loose, uneven rocks as they make their way. On the Hailstone Trail, sweeping views of the Wonderland of Rocks reveal themselves before the trail eventually winds back up to the parking lot.
Natural Bridge Trail
Distance: 4.7 miles
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet
As the rhyolite tuff rock in Chiricahua has eroded over the last several thousand years, it’s created some spectacular sculpted formations. One of the most impressive and least visited is Natural Bridge. As the name suggests, this formation arches across a band of cliffs. The hike is considered moderately difficult, and very few visitors actually hike it. The out-and-back trail passes through burn areas before arriving at the view of Natural Bridge.
Echo Canyon to Visitor Center
Distance: 4.2 miles (one way)
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet
This moderate hike traverses a significant portion of Chiricahua and can be done in either direction (starting at either the visitor center or the Echo Canyon parking lot). Hiking from Echo Canyon is easiest as you’ll be moving downhill. Hikers will see tons of spires, hoodoos, and cliff bands as they pass through Echo Canyon and then into Rhyolite Canyon, moving west. Hiking in this direction, visitors will end at the visitor center, where they can pick up a seasonal shuttle back to the Echo Canyon trailhead.
Heart of the Rocks from Visitor Center
Distance: 7.4 miles
Elevation gain: 1,600 feet
This is one of the longer, more strenuous hikes in Chiricahua, but it accesses some of the coolest trails. Start at the visitor center, hiking east along the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail. There is a steep climb when you get to Sarah Deming Trail, gaining 880 feet over 1.6 miles. Then, hikers descend into the Heart of Rocks—the highlight of the hike—a garden of natural sculptures hidden deep in the park. You can also access the Heart of Rocks from the Echo Canyon Trailhead. While that approach will save you some vertical feet and provide more shade coverage, it is almost the same distance at 7.4 miles.
Big Loop
Distance: 9.5 miles
If you’re feeling heroic and have a lot of time, why not go big? The Chiricahua Big Loop Hike is the longest in the park. Starting at the Echo Canyon parking lot, you embark first on the Echo Canyon Trail to Upper Rhyolite Canyon, then Sarah Deming, Heart of Rocks, Big Balanced Rock, Inspiration Point, Mushroom Rock, and finally Ed Riggs Trail. You’ll finish in the same place you started, totally exhausted, but having seen just about everything on the east side of Chiricahua has to offer.
Must See: Massai Point
One of the park’s most iconic places is Massai Point, believed to named after a Chiricahua Apache man who was actually born elsewhere in Arizona. Despite the name confusion, there’s nothing unclear about the natural beauty here. Otherworldly rock formations, reminiscent of Utah’s Bryce Canyon or Goblin Valley, dominate the landscape. If you’ve only seen photos of Chiricahua National Park, you’ve probably seen this place. There is a short .5 mile trail that circles the parking lot called the Massai Point Nature Trail.
Must See: Chiricahua Night Sky
If you’re visiting Chiricahua National Park, it’s worth hanging out until nightfall. In 2021, when it was still a national monument, Chiricahua was designated as a Dark Sky Park. Stargazers should post up in the Faraway Ranch or Bonita Creek parking areas for a cosmic spectacle.
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