When times get tough: Take a hike

The East Valley's county parks have seen a spike in attendance since this time last year, which operators attribute to the weak economy and increased offerings at the parks.

All 11 parks in the Maricopa County parks system have seen more people this year, and sales of annual passes are also up, said Dawna Taylor, spokeswoman for the county's parks and recreation department.

Mesa's Usery Mountain Regional Park had 25,230 visitors this February, compared with 18,831 the same month last year.

San Tan Mountain Regional Park just outside Queen Creek, which has attracted more attendance since building a visitors center in 2005, also saw an attendance increase this year. The park had 6,800 visitors this February compared with 4,706 in February 2008.

"(The attendance increase) was pretty surprising, because we did have a short wildflower season this year," said San Tan park manager David Jordan.

But Usery Park manager Jennifer Johnston sees one big reason for the spike.

"I think a lot of the reason is people aren't traveling out of town right now because of the economic condition," Johnston said. "We're finding that a lot of people just aren't traveling as much, so they're coming to the parks."

Johnston said she's seen more people interested in Usery's campsites and ramada rentals. And 1,600 to 2,000 people have participated in Usery's park programs every month during the cool-weather months. Usery has increased its programs from about 10 a month to 50 a month in the past five years, with programs ranging from flashlight hikes to ranger talks on desert animals.

But that doesn't account for all of the attendance. There are plenty of visitors coming in just to explore, too.

A day pass to one park is $6. The parks have also seen an increase in annual passes - $75 passes that give unlimited entry into any park in the system except Lake Pleasant Regional Park and Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.

The parks track annual pass sales by fiscal years, which run from July 1 to June 30.

Usery Park has sold 1,025 annual passes this year, compared with 982 for all of last year and 782 the year before.

San Tan Park has sold 322 passes so far, up from 218 for all of last year and 106 the previous year.

San Tan Park has also been helped by park improvements the past few years. Even though it's been open since 1987, the park didn't have a visitors center until 2005, Jordan said.

Jordan, his one maintenance man on staff and a crew of volunteers have added park trails, exhibits and monthly programs of their own since that time.

That, combined with explosive growth in Queen Creek and nearby Pinal County, have helped more people to get to know the park and refer their friends, Jordan said.

"We've really been the hidden gem out behind the mountains," Jordan said.

Those views were echoed by park visitors on Wednesday.

Elena and Joe Wooster, who moved to the Copper Basin subdivision outside Queen Creek about six months ago, were at the park for the first time after a suggestion from Elena's brother.

Elena Wooster said the couple wanted to try the trails because the park was something new, although Joe Wooster said he could see the economic appeal attracting more visitors.

"It's something to do that's inexpensive," he said.

Florence resident Bob Blome was at the park with two friends from the Netherlands. The three were looking for desert animals to photograph at what Blome called a "new park."

"Nobody really knows about it yet," Blome said. "I think we need more parks, myself."

While Jordan doesn't expect to have many more improvements to the park until the economy gets better, he hopes to one day add things like ramadas, camping and a ranger.

A ranger would especially help with an outreach for kids, Jordan said. "Too many kids would rather play video games than get out and hike."

For more information about Maricopa County parks, visit www.maricopa.gov/parks.