Existing comment:
Park Enjoyment:
What was once unexplored is now enjoyed by many. As use patterns change, park managers are faced with increasing challenges of preserving an unspoiled desert park.
Mission 66:
Early travel to the park was difficult. Roads were dirt and often impassable due to deep sand and washouts. Park managers made road improvements one of their top priorities, but little happened until the 1950s when a ten-year plan to upgrade visitor facilities at in National Park Service areas was implemented. Called Mission 66, the program's goal was to increase visitation to NPS areas by accommodating the needs of an increasingly mobile society.
By early 1956, the new entrance road was under construction. Most of the trails that we enjoy today are the product of Mission 66. The road to Balanced Rock was completed in 1958 and extended to Devils Garden by 1964. The American Society of Landscape Architects selected the Arches entrance road as one of the three best roads of the Mission 66 program. |