Papago Park does not feel like your typical hiking destination. With its red sandstone buttes, wide open desert, and easy access from the city, it is one of the most recognizable landscapes in Phoenix.

But unlike other preserved mountain areas, Papago’s story is not just about hiking.

It is about how one piece of desert land was nearly pulled in multiple directions before becoming the shared public space it is today.

Long before trails and viewpoints, Papago Park’s land was shaped by a mix of natural use and human activity. The area’s distinctive sandstone formations made it a landmark, but also a resource.

In the early 1900s, portions of the park were used for quarrying. The rock was valuable for construction and infrastructure as Phoenix grew. At the same time, the surrounding land remained largely open desert, with no clear long term plan for preservation.

As the city expanded, Papago’s central location made it increasingly valuable.

During World War II, Papago Park took on a completely different role. The area became home to a prisoner of war camp that housed German soldiers captured during the war.

Yes, right here in Phoenix.

The camp was one of the largest POW facilities in the United States, and it even became the site of a famous escape attempt. In 1944, a group of prisoners dug a tunnel and temporarily escaped into the desert, believing they could navigate using nearby waterways. Most were quickly recaptured.

It is one of the more unusual chapters in Phoenix history, and it happened on land that hikers now walk every day.

As Phoenix grew through the 1950s and 60s, Papago Park sat in a rapidly developing corridor between Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale. Land in this area was becoming increasingly valuable.

Unlike more rugged mountain ranges, Papago’s relatively gentle terrain made it more adaptable for development. Portions of the park were already being used for civic purposes, including what would become the Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Garden.

There was real potential for the land to be further divided, developed, or commercialized.

Instead of being carved into private development, Papago evolved into something different. The land was designated for public and civic use, shared between the City of Phoenix and the City of Tempe.

Today, Papago Park is a blend of uses that you do not often see in one place. Hiking trails wind past cultural institutions. Families visit the zoo. Locals walk to Hole in the Rock for sunset views.

It is not a remote wilderness area, and it was never meant to be.

It is something else entirely. A preserved piece of desert that was shaped, used, and ultimately protected in a way that reflects the growth of the city around it.

Without preservation and public planning, Papago Park could have looked very different.

Its central location could have made it a prime candidate for residential or commercial development. The buttes might have been surrounded by dense construction. Access to the formations themselves could have been restricted or limited.

Instead, it became one of the most accessible and recognizable outdoor spaces in the Valley.

Papago Park is a reminder that preservation does not always mean leaving land untouched. Sometimes it means guiding how it is used.

From quarrying to a wartime prison camp to a modern day park shared by two cities, Papago’s story is layered in a way few hiking areas are.

And every time you walk up to Hole in the Rock and look out over Phoenix, you are standing in a place that could have easily been something else entirely.

Rooftops or ridgelines. Someone chose.