After years of planning, Saguaro National Park is about to break ground on a major overhaul of its east entrance.
Work will get underway on Oct. 13 on an expanded parking lot, a realigned entrance road, more restrooms and a large new ramada for bicyclists.
The year-long project is expected to cause occasional disruptions, but visitor services will remain open throughout construction, park officials announced on Monday.
βRedesigning the parking lot and infrastructure around the Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center has been a park goal for many years,β said Superintendent Kelly Fuhrmann. βWeβre looking forward to breaking ground on this project and seeing a marked improvement in the visitor experience for all user groups in the east district of the park.β
The existing parking lot dates back to 1953, when Saguaro was still a national monument that only included land on the east side of Tucson and drew fewer than 100,000 people a year.
The roughly 93,000-acre national park bracketing the city now averages more than 900,000 visitors annually, but its busiest visitor center still has just 30 parking spots and bathrooms that can handle no more than 6 people at a time.
The expansion plans include another 88 spaces, including 8 large spots for buses and RVs, and a new βcomfort stationβ with restrooms and a dispenser where visitors can fill their water bottles for free.
The Rincon Mountains are in the background as vehicles drive past the fee station on the east entrance of Saguaro National Park.
The entrance road off of Old Spanish Trail will be straightened and expanded to make it safer for motorists coming and going from the park, and vehicle traffic will be routed around the parking lot to reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety.
The National Park Service even plans to relocate and upgrade the parkβs entrance sign, so visitors can safely take pictures in front of it.
The project is slated for completion in the fall of 2026. Until then, visitors should expect to see construction activity and changes in traffic patterns as the work is completed in phases, park officials said.
Construction could be delayed by the looming federal shutdown, though the exact impact would likely depend on the length and severity of any government work stoppage.
Park spokeswoman Beth Hudick said she couldnβt really address such hypotheticals. βAs far as a potential shutdown, I donβt have any information at this time as to how the park and projects like this one may be impacted,β she said.
Herbert Hoover established Saguaro National Monument during the final days of his presidency in 1933, and his successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, transferred management of the monument to the Park Service later that same year.
President John F. Kennedy expanded the monument to include portions of the Tucson Mountains in 1961, and Congress elevated the land to national park status in 1994.
The park has never been more crowded. Seven of Saguaroβs eight busiest years on record have come since 2017, when annual visitation surpassed the 900,000 mark for the first time.
The park posted its first year with more than 1 million visitors in 2019, and repeated the feat in 2021 and 2023.
Last year, Saguaro reported 946,369 recreational visits, its sixth highest total since recordkeeping began in 1920. Itβs unclear how and where visitation was recorded during the 13 years before the national monument was created in 1933.
The National Park Service is about to break ground on the first major expansion of Saguaroβs east entrance in more than 70 years.
