The San Rafael State Natural Area near the Arizona-Mexico border is the only public land owned by the state parks agency that isn’t open to the public.
The land was originally acquired by the state parks system in the late 1990s, and provides the habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals, including rare species. It was identified for potential conservation decades earlier because of its pristine native grassland. But that’s also why the area isn’t open to the public.
Michelle Thompson, deputy assistant director with the Arizona State Parks, said conservation and funding are among the reasons the area isn’t open.
“So we do have a plan to make sure that we are conserving, protecting and safeguarding that resource,” Thompson said. “We just at this time don’t have the funding to improve the existing infrastructure enough or to staff it enough to open it to the public.”
The area isn’t completely off-limits. Motorists can view the landscape from Forest Service Road 61 — a dirt road that runs through the park.
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