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Saguaro National Park looks to add infrastructure as visitor count tops one million

Saguaro National park is looking to add parking at trail heads and redesign the entrance to the visitor center.

By: Greg Bradbury

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Prior to the pandemic, the Saguaro National Park had one million people pass through the gates. Now they are back to those levels and working on the infrastructure to support them.

"There are certainly things we can do operationally to handle the increase in visitation," Leah McGinnis, the Saguaro National Park Superintendent, said. "When it comes to our infrastructure and the facilities, we need to accommodate it. It definitely takes a little bit more planning and time to do."

Right now, they are working on adding parking to their trail heads around the park. One other project on the east side of the park includes changing the entrance to allow for larger vehicles and also create a larger parking lot for the visitor center.

The majority of their funding the park gets comes from congress and entrance park fees. Most of that money goes toward maintaining trails.

"We do have extensive trails on the east side and the west side," McGinnis said. "Our trails are actually our greatest asset, and they are the asset that we spend most of our money on."

One of the many visitors at the park this year is Stacy Holden who was traveling across the country on a road trip. She has been to a number of national parks.

"There is definitely construction going on but that's to be expected," Holden said. "I am assuming that's for our benefit."

Across the country, the National Park Service has $21.8 billion worth of backlogged repairs. All of them are special and unique in their own ways.

"I definitely just encourage people to come and experience it," Holden said. "You can't explain it and you can't capture it in a picture either. It's something special."

While the parks face a backlog of repairs and an increase in visitors, they are working to keep them a magical place to visit.

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Greg Bradbury is a reporter for KGUN 9. Greg is a graduate of Syracuse University where he studied Broadcast Journalism and Spanish. Greg joined KGUN 9 in February 2021 as a Multimedia Journalist after working at the ABC National Desk as a Digital News Associate. Share your story ideas and important issues with Greg by emailing greg.bradbury@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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