[Chiricahua National Park, Sep 26, 2026]
With the 2027 HEDW conference set to be hosted by the University of Arizona in Tucson, it was time for the HEDW board, which I am on, to convene to start planning it. Of course, I had to extend my trip to add in a personal side quest! Since I had already visited Saguaro National Park during the 2017 HEDW conference, I set my sights on a different unit in the National Park system. Little did I know, Chiricahua was just weeks away from becoming the nation’s 64th national park! (I really thought it would be Ocmulgee Mounds!)
Chiricahua National Monument was established in 1924 to protect its extensive hoodoos, pinnacles, balanced rocks and other formations. An immense volcanic eruption shook the region about 27 million years ago. The thick ash cooled and hardened into rhyolitic tuff. Wind, water and ice eventually eroded the volcanic material into the rock formations of the present monument.
I’d seen some pictures online and the Chiricahua formations reminded me of the Belogradchik Rocks in Bulgaria. I am intimately familiar with the Belogradchik Rocks because my mom grew up in the area and I spent my summers there as a kid.
Chiricahua is located a couple of hours east of Tucson. I arrived with the only non-stop flight from Portland, which landed at 10 am. I made my way to Willcox, AZ, which was going to be my home base for the next couple of days. My room wasn’t ready yet, which was not surprising given the midday hour. I changed clothes in the restroom, dropped off my luggage and headed into the park.
Willcox is still a good 45 minutes away, so I made to to the park after 1 pm. I knew it was going to be too hot for serious hiking, so I focused on the visitor center and the scenic drive with just short walks and overlooks sprinkled in-between.
The visitor center was small and the park movie was super old, but I watched it anyway. And I am glad, because I learned that I had been pronouncing Chiricahua wrong. I was saying “cheery-ka-hoo-ah” but it’s actually pronounced “cheery-cow-ah.” I stamped my passport, which I don’t normally do any more for non-national park units. I am running out of room, even after adding multiple expansion packs! But Chiricahua was one of the most likely next national parks (at the time of my visit) so I had to get the stamp.
I then drove to Massai Point, one of the best scenic viewpoints in the park. I had brought the breakfast I purchased on the plane with me, and I ate it on a picnic table nearby. I then completed the short half-mile loop through the area, which gave me my first glimpses of the amazing rock formations in the park.
A short paved trail took me to an overlook for colossal rock profile that looks like the head of a man laying down. This was believed to be Cochise, the brilliant chief of the Chiricahua Apache. After his death in 1872, the Apache signed a peace treaty with the white settlers and were forced to live on a reservation. This opened up the land for settlement.
The trail then took me through some rock formations with great views of more spires in the valley in front of me. I couldn’t wait to hike deeper into the park tomorrow and see more of these amazing formations!
There was also an awesome overlook carved into one of the rock formations. I later learned more about its creator.
I then checked out Sugarloaf Mountain Trail but decided against hiking it. It was less than a mile but it had quite a bit of elevation gain. There was a fire lookout at the top, which I would have loved to see, but It was quite hot this late in the day and I didn’t think the views would be worth the effort. I had already seen plenty from Massai Point. My decision was confirmed by the presence of just one other car at the trailhead. Roadside photos were going to have to do.
As I descended back towards the visitor center, I checked out a couple of the pullouts, which were now on my right. The Organ Pipe formation was quite impressive.
Last, I checked out the Faraway Ranch and the Stafford cabin. The Faraway Ranch belonged to Neil and Emma Erickson, Swedish immigrants who were among the first whites to make their home in the area. Neil became a forest ranger in 1903 and traveled all over Arizona. Management of the ranch fell to his oldest daughter, Lillian. She married Ed Riggs, for whom one of the trails in in the park is named after. Ed and Lillian developed the ranch for raising cattle and accommodating guests.
When Chiricahua National Monument was established in 1924, Ed surveyed the boundaries and served as a trail construction foreman with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He was instrumental in the creation of many of the trails in this “Wonderland of Rocks.” I have him to thank for the viewpoint carved into the rock at Massai Point!
I then walked to the nearby Stafford cabin. It is one of the oldest homesteads in southeastern Arizona, established in the 1880s. Lillian Erickson and Ed Riggs later purchased it and turned it into accommodations for their guests.
By this time, it was late afternoon and I wanted to head back to Willcox. I checked into my hotel room and promptly headed out for dinner. The hotel staff recommend Black Pigg Cowboy grill. It didn’t look like much from the outside and there was only one other party inside. But a steady stream of people arrived as the clock neared 5 pm, which alleviated my trepidation a bit. I decided to trust the waitress’ recommendation and went with the steak, which was actually fantastic. After a quick stop at Safeway to get some last-minute provisions for my hike tomorrow, I relaxed in my hotel room and turned in early. It was going to be another early morning wake up for me. I wanted to do a some serious hiking, which required an early start to beat the heat.