Arizona parks, trails system wins award for being nation’s best managed

PHOENIX — Arizona’s state parks and trail system was awarded a gold medal Tuesday for being the best-run park organization in the nation.

Arizona beat out systems in Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming to win the award from the National Recreation and Park Association.

“It’s a huge honor to be considered the best-managed state park agency in the country and we hope everyone will get out and see these amazing parks first-hand,” Sue Black, the executive director of Arizona State Parks and Trails, said in a press release.

The medal is given annually to organizations that “demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management and innovative approaches to delivering superb park and recreation services with fiscally sound business practices,” according to the release.

In the video above, Gov. Doug Ducey said the system was facing budget shortcomings and was nearly forced to close some areas. He credited the leadership and staff of the department for turning that around.

In the past two years, the people behind Arizona’s system have created self-sufficient funding, drawn record visitors and developed a plan to create more parks.

“This is a tremendous achievement that benefits everyone in our state, from residents to tourists,” Ducey said in the release. “Winning the Gold Medal is a testament to the hard work, collaboration and innovation that Arizona State Parks and Trails demonstrated to get us to this point.”

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