Your Fee Dollars at Work

The park fees you pay in Saguaro National Park help us right here. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience.

Out of the 417 units in the National Park Service (NPS), 117 parks charge an entrance fee. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience. At least 80 percent of the money stays in the park where it is collected, and the other 20 percent is used to benefit parks that do not collect fees.

You can see your fee dollars at work all around the park.

 

Photo Description: Saguaro National Park staff are repairing the Desert Ecology Trail in the Rincon Mountain District in the park.

NPS Photo/Ryan Summers

The Desert Ecology and Discovery Trails

We are replacing the Desert Ecology and Discovery Trail surfaces to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for visitor enjoyment.

This project will replace the decaying asphalt front country trails’ surfaces. The Saguaro West Desert Discovery and Saguaro East District Desert Ecology Trails will be brought back into compliance with the Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS) for accessibility. Using park seasonal labor and volunteers, the park will prep the site for the demolition of the existing asphalt and relocate any sensitive cacti and flora expected to be blocking the new concrete surface. Then via contract, the NPS will form, pour, smooth, and restore the trails’ surfaces with grade compliant & sustainable material.

 

Maintain and Repair Douglas Spring and Cow Head Saddle Trails

This project will accomplish cyclic maintenance on approximately thirteen miles of trail through the Saguaro Wilderness. The Saguaro trail crew and a conservation corps will work in the wilderness area repairing stone steps, cleaning and repairing water bars, replacing eroded tread, brushing, and removing fallen trees along the 3.3 miles of Cow Head Saddle Trail and 9.7 miles Douglas Springs Trails. Trail crew leaders and youth participants will perform these repairs and maintenance in compliance with Wilderness Preservation principles.

 

Sustainably Rehabilitating the Pink Hill Trail Ruts and Removing Hazards for Equestrians

The park is repairing and rehabilitating 1.6 miles of the most popular equestrian use trail named the Pink Hill Trail, located in the Rincon Mountain District within the Cactus Forest Trail Complex. Work crews are fully rehabilitating the trail tread by filling in ruts with crushed rocks along the trails length.