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 425 units in the National Park Service (NPS), only 109 parks charge an entrance fee. At least 80 percent of the money stays in Saguaro National 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.

 

Projects Underway

 

NPS Photo

Repair and Improvement of the Signal Hill Picnic Area in the Tucson Mountain District

The first phase of this project focused on the construction of a new accessible restroom at the site. The remaining work will focus on carefully repairing historic structures and providing the greater accessibility for visitors with limited mobility. The repair project includes the renovation of three historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) structures built in the late 1930s.

To provide greater accessibility, the project also includes a new accessible parking area, restroom and picnic shelter. Site improvements will be made at two of the historic CCC structures to meet current Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS). This work will also include site improvements made for parking and one new ABAAS shade shelter in addition to the ABAAS-compliant vault restroom.

The Signal Hill Picnic Area project is a significant step forward for Saguaro National Park in providing a more enjoyable and inclusive experience for all visitors.

 

NPS Photo

Repair and Rehabilitate Douglas Springs Trail Segment 4 and Tanque Verde Ridge Trail

This project's focus is on 3.8 miles of the Douglas Springs Trail between Douglas Springs Campground, the Manning Camp Trail and 4.2 miles of the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail between Juniper Basin Campground and Cowhead Saddle.

The project's emphasis is on the repair and/or replacement of failing erosion control structures using locally sourced materials. In some sections, due to poor original layout, deferred maintenance, and years of heavy monsoon rains, the trail has become eroded to such an extent that repair is no longer a viable option. In these sections, the trail will be reestablished to a more sustainable location, and the old trail will be closed-off and rehabilitated using soil and transplanted vegetation from the immediate area.

 

Recently Completed Projects

 

Photo Description: On the left: Saguaro National Park staff are repairing the Desert Ecology Trail in the Rincon Mountain District in the park. On the right: The trail after the repairs.

NPS Photo

The Desert Ecology and Discovery Trails

Saguaro National Park recently replaced the Desert Ecology and Discovery Trail surfaces to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for visitor enjoyment.

This project replaced the decaying asphalt front country trails’ surfaces. The Saguaro West Desert Discovery and Saguaro East District Desert Ecology Trails will are now in compliance with the Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS) for accessibility. Using park seasonal labor and volunteers, the park prepped the sites for the demolition of the existing asphalt and relocated any sensitive cacti and flora that was expected to block the new concrete surface. Then via contract, the NPS formed, poured, smoothened, and restored the trails’ surfaces with grade-compliant and sustainable material.

 

The Pink Hill Trail before and after rehabilitation.

NPS Photo

Sustainably Rehabilitate the Pink Hill Trail Ruts and Remove Hazards for Equestrians

The park repaired and rehabilitated 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 fully rehabilitated the trail tread by filling in ruts with crushed rocks along the trails length.

The Pink Hill project consisted of installing log checks and reroutes to improve badly rutted areas on the Pink Hill trail. This work required digging trenches perpendicular to the trail at distances determined by measuring the rise and run of the trail. Once work was finished within any work zone, we rehabbed the area to look as natural as possible. This was mostly done by replanting non-protected vegetation. In the work area east of Monument wash we used no power tools.