By state · AZ

National Parks in Arizona.

Arizona's NPS network at a glance — units, designations, visit totals, and what shapes the visiting season.

By Nicholas Major · Last updated

Arizona has more than twenty NPS units, anchored by Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest. Other notable units include Saguaro, Canyon de Chelly, Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, Sunset Crater Volcano, Tonto, Casa Grande Ruins, Hubbell Trading Post, Tumacácori, Pipe Spring, Glen Canyon NRA, and Lake Mead NRA. Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) is the main anchor for southern Arizona and the desert units; Flagstaff (FLG) is closer to the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The season runs October through April for the Sonoran Desert units and for the Grand Canyon's inner canyon. The South Rim is workable year-round (cool in winter, hot in summer); the North Rim has historically opened mid-May through mid-October, but recent fire seasons have constrained services — check the official NPS Grand Canyon page for current North Rim status before planning. July and August bring summer monsoons with reliable afternoon thunderstorms.

Every NPS unit in Arizona.

Arizona's 25 NPS units: 13 National Monuments · 3 National Historic Trails · 3 National Parks · 2 National Historic Sites · 2 National Recreation Areas · 1 National Memorial · 1 National Historical Park. Combined 5-year-average annual visits: 18,272,253 (multi-state units count their full visits in every state they touch — see methodology). The most-visited unit is Lake Mead National Recreation Area at about 6.31M annual visits.

UnitDesignation5-yr avg visitsBusiest month
Lake Mead National Recreation Area National Recreation AreaLAKE 6,305,736 June
Grand Canyon National Park National ParkGRCA 4,669,660 July
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area National Recreation AreaGLCA 3,929,828 June
Saguaro National Park National ParkSAGU 958,601 March
Petrified Forest National Park National ParkPEFO 498,248 June
Montezuma Castle National Monument National MonumentMOCA 369,876 April
Canyon de Chelly National Monument National MonumentCACH 320,106 August
Wupatki National Monument National MonumentWUPA 193,533 June
Walnut Canyon National Monument National MonumentWACA 176,959 April
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument National MonumentORPI 173,600 March
Coronado National Memorial National MemorialCORO 148,970 March
Tuzigoot National Monument National MonumentTUZI 107,747 March
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument National MonumentSUCR 88,713 March
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument National MonumentCAGR 86,277 March
Chiricahua National Monument National MonumentCHIR 63,834 March
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site National Historic SiteHUTR 43,417 September
Navajo National Monument National MonumentNAVA 40,535 September
Tumacácori National Historical Park National Historical ParkTUMA 34,744 December
Tonto National Monument National MonumentTONT 30,411 March
Pipe Spring National Monument National MonumentPISP 22,908 May
Fort Bowie National Historic Site National Historic SiteFOBO 8,550 March
Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail National Historic TrailBUOV — —
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail National Historic TrailJUBA — —
Old Spanish National Historic Trail National Historic TrailOLSP — —
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument National MonumentPARA — —

Methodology

Unit list and per-unit visit counts come from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. The "5-year average visits" column is the mean of 2021-2025 Recreation Visits. Multi-state NPS units (Yellowstone, Death Valley, Great Smoky Mountains and others) are listed under every state they touch; the per-unit visit count is the unit's total, not a per-state share. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.

Adjacent reading

Independence

Independent site. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Data comes from the official NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025; editorial analysis is ours. The NPS Arrowhead and other NPS marks are not used.

Last updated · 2026-05-19