Arizona State Parks

Join us Saturday, September 26th from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M. for a night of fun celebration. We will have live music, food and drinks, and a raffle and live auction. You can purchase your tickets at www.tontonaturalbridge.org. All proceeds go towards supporting Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.

Beneath the southern Arizona desert limestone lies Kartchner Caverns, a hidden world of wonder. This living laboratory is more than just a park: it is a site of world-class scientific research that reveals secrets of our planet’s past and future.

Because the cave environment holds so many incredible possibilities, we take conservation seriously. Join us on a cave tour and visit with a preservation mindset. If you’ve been here and loved it, check out the other ways you can get involved! 👇
🔬 Interested in research? Get in touch with Cave Resource Manager Chelsea Ballard at [email protected].
👷 Help us gently brushing lint off curbs and rocks near the trail system at our future Lint Camps. Sign up with our Lint Camp interest form at AZStateParks.com/Kartchner/Explore/What-Is-Conservation.
🤝 Volunteer here at the park, welcoming visitors, tending to the hummingbird garden, helping with maintenance, being a campground host, and more. Get started at AZStateParks.com/Volunteer.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards! Last weekend, these projects, organizations, and individuals were recognized for their outstanding contributions to preserving Arizona’s prehistoric, historic, and cultural resources. Visit bit.ly/4e4VFqe to see a photo gallery and get more information on all the honorees.

🏆 The Abuelas Project: Borderlands
🏆 David Yubeta (earthen architecture conservation)
🏆 Fort Lowell Commissary, Tucson
🏆 Jason M. Nez (lead fire archaeologist at Grand Canyon National Park)
🏆 L. Ron Hubbard Osborn House, Phoenix
🏆 Lehi Auditorium Rehabilitation, Mesa
🏆 Lookout Studio Rehabilitation, Grand Canyon National Park
🏆 Pranav Raj Vippagunta and Lois A. Valdez, Arizona Heritage Preservation Youth Council
🏆 Sprouts House, Tucson
🏆 Tucson Heritage Video Series

A special congratulations to the Abuelas Project, winner of the James W. Garrison Heritage Award. Led by Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC), the Abuelas Project serves as a "people's archive" designed to protect and center Latinx history through digital StoryMaps. The initiative honors the role of abuelas as culture bearers and utilizes diverse methods, including oral histories, archival research, and community photographs. The project provides a vital platform for preserving intangible cultural heritage that has historically been excluded from traditional repositories.

Pictured 1: winner of the James W. Garrison Heritage Award — the Abuelas Project representative and Arizona House of Representatives member for District 11, Junelle Cavero (center) with Larry Sandigo, Arizona governor's office deputy chief of staff of operations and cabinet affairs (left) and Kathryn Leonard, Arizona state historic preservation officer (right).
Pictured 2: Abuelas Project digital storymap highlight
Pictured 3: David Yubeta working on adobe preservation
Pictured 4: Tucson Heritage Video Series production

Arizona State Historic Preservation Office - SHPO | Arizona Preservation Foundation