Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park

Finalist for the Arizona Forward Environmental Excellence Awards 

Save the Date: 41st Annual Environmental Excellence Awards Presented by SRP April 29th

We are excited to share that our project is a finalist for the Arizona Forward Environmental Excellence Awards! Our project, Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park: Fostering Hope, Heritage, and Community Centered Environmental Education, honors the environmental education and communication work that Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park and Willow Bend Environmental Center are doing. This county park is an important part of the community and provides opportunities for active and passive learning while visitors enjoy the outdoors. Visitors can learn about environmental education topics through programming provided by Willow Bend Environmental Center and then explore the park's outdoor classrooms, gardens, and watchable wildlife platform. The winners will be announced at the Arizona Forward Gala on April 29th.  

Visit Arizona Forward for more details. 

Renaming of Sawmill County Park to Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park

Archuleta Park Renaming Invitation

Coconino County Parks & Recreation is pleased to announce the re-naming of Sawmill Multicultural Art and Nature County Park in honor of a former member of the Board of Supervisors and long-time member of the local community, Elizabeth “Liz” Archuleta. 

The community celebrated the Renaming Ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 13 as Coconino County dedicated Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park. 

Celebrate Reading with the Storybook Path at Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park

52289833552_fece980a1b_o

Coconino County Parks & Recreation and The Literacy Center partnered on a storybook path, at  Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park. The path features the book Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by local author Monica Brown, and the book’s pages are set on pedestals at intervals along the path. Visitors of all ages, but especially younger visitors, have the opportunity to read the book, which includes both English and Spanish. Visitors may also hear audio versions English, Spanish, and Navajo by scanning a QR code on their phone.

Incorporating an amenity that combines being outdoors in nature and learning is especially appealing to Coconino County Parks and Recreation as the department plans for and provides a variety of recreational, cultural, historic, and educational opportunities throughout the county, in developed and future parks as well as natural areas. As evidenced by the department’s new Master Plan, which was adopted in spring 2020, residents of Flagstaff consider more educational programs for kids a key opportunity for parks and recreation. Storybook paths, also called storybook trails, have been growing in popularity across the country, and are often the result of a partnership between local parks and recreation agencies and libraries or non-profits. 

Community Art Wall

Sawmill County Park Mural

Tile Mural

Sawmill County Park Tile Mural

Overview

Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park, formerly Sawmill Multicultural Art & Nature County Park, was built on a "brownfield" where one of Flagstaff's first sawmills operated from 1908 to 1993. The logging and lumber industry shaped the structure of Flagstaff by attracting Mexican, African American, Swedish, Polish, and Italian families to work at the mills.

The park offers recreational and educational opportunities. Meander around the backyard wildlife habitat gardens and see how a contaminated industrial site can be transformed into an environmental and aesthetic amenity. Its public art celebrates the diversity of the surrounding community.


Willow Bend Environmental Education Center

The mission of the Willow Bend Environmental Education Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, is to provide education outreach services that build environmental awareness and an ethic of responsible stewardship of our natural and cultural resources.

Willow Bend Environmental Education Center was founded in 1978 by Jim David, a schoolteacher, and Jim Alam, a supervisor with the Coconino Natural Resource Conservation District (CNRCD). Since then it has served as Coconino County’s only year-round full time environmental education center. 

Friends of Willow Bend Gardens

The Friends of Willow Bend Gardens is an all-volunteer organization whose primary purpose is to support the Willow Bend Environmental Education Center by restoring the habitat demonstration gardens used in its programs.

You can read more about their work in 2018 restoring the habitat gardens at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center with their 2018 Accomplishments and Plans for 2019 (link to PDF, 2.2 MB).

Interested in volunteering? Check out Willow Bend Environmental Education Center's Facebook page for upcoming events.

Experience Watchable Wildlife Opportunities

Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park is one of 30 wildlife viewing sites within 30 miles of Flagstaff.

Visit Arizona Watchable Wildlife Experience to plan your visit and to find other watchable wildlife sites in northern Arizona.
Animal Tracks
AZ Wildlife Views Magazine
The Winter 2014 issue of Arizona Wildlife Views features a story about Elizabeth "Liz" C. Archuleta County Park, formerly Sawmill County Park, and Willow Bend Environmental Education Center. Check out the feature, "Getting Kids Outdoors at Willow Bend."

Amenities

  • 2 acres
  • Backyard habitat demonstration gardens
  • Performance stage
  • Art wall for community painting
  • Sculpture walk
  • Playground
  • Ponderosa Ramada
  • benches
  • Willow Bend Environmental Education Center green building
  • Picnic tables
  • Restrooms and drinking fountain
  • Adjacent to FUTS trails system
  • Lawn area
  • Limited parking
  • Storybook path
Sawmill County Park

Reservation Information

For more information on making reservations for the Ponderosa Ramada or if you have questions, please email our Special Events Coordinator, at parksrec(at)coconino.az.gov

Reservations are limited to Saturday and Sunday only in May, September, and October.

Park maps & information to host a Special Event