Explore Chiricahua, the country’s new national park

A new national park was designated late last month: Chiricahua National Park. Pronounced “cheery-cow-uh,” this is the 64th national park in the United States and sits in the southeastern corner of Arizona near the state’s border with New Mexico. The region has for centuries been a central part of Apache life. This is what you need to know about how to best experience the park, plus when to visit weather-wise — which happens to be right now.

Extraordinary rock formations

A good century ago, in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge named Chiricahua a national monument, courtesy of its geological marvels. The area’s mind-boggling rock spires were created from a volcano’s “spectacular series of eruptions,” said NASA’s Science blog. They look like Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos, but unlike those, Chiricahua’s were first welded together rather than borne of erosion.

To experience a sense of the park’s breadth, drive to Massai Point where a “manageable half-mile nature trail offers sweeping views from different vantage points,” said Kris Ann Valdez at Afar. You can also explore by foot on the 3.3.-mile Echo Canyon loop, with its forays into grottos, or trek across the “park’s showstopper,” the Heart of Rocks loop, with legendary formations like Duck on a Rock, said the travel company Timberline Adventures. The best months for a temperate visit are March to May and September to November.

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Birding and bedding

“One of the legendary spots in all of American birding,” said Arizona Birding Trail, Cave Creek in Chiricahua is where to spot the “spectacular” Elegant Trogon, a species that “links southeastern Arizona with the tropics.” The Trogon is a rare find, but the park hosts 200 to 500 resident and migratory species too, along with the coatimundi, a sleek cousin of the raccoon.

The closest town with “basic services,” said National Park Obsessed, is Willcox, 45 minutes to an hour away by car. Or continue your Chiricahua immersion and sleep in your own tent at Bonita Canyon Campground, located in a forest of oak and pine on the western limit of the park.