DISCOVER ARIZONA

ARIZONA HIGHLIGHTS

  • Phoenix: The desert capital pulses with political, business, and cultural energy.
  • Tucson: The "Old Pueblo" displays a sense of history alongside a vibrant cultural life.
  • Southeastern Arizona: This region, famous for its bird life on "sky islands," has a lengthy history—from early Spanish missions to the latest astronomical discoveries.
  • Western Arizona: London Bridge distinguishes Arizona's "West Coast."
  • Flagstaff: This university town in the mountains has a wide diversity of culture, science, and recreation.
  • San Francisco Volcanic Field: A land of beautiful volcanoes, prehistoric pueblos, and great hiking surrounds the San Francisco Peaks.
  • Sedona: The Red Rock Country's magical setting inspires visitors and offers great outdoor adventures.
  • The Grand Canyon: The world's most magnificent chasm features views, hiking, mule trips, and river rafting.
  • Indian Country: You can experience new cultures among spectacular landscapes.
  • Coronado Trail: A wildly scenic drive leads through eastern Arizona's forested mountains.

 

ARIZONA
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Click on a region of the map
or select from the Contents.

 

CONTENTS

PLANNING YOUR TRIP
When to Go and What to Take
The Regions
Suggested Itineraries
The Land
Flora and Fauna
History
Tribes
Travel Practicalities

SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA
Introduction
Phoenix
Tempe
Scottsdale
Mesa & Chandler
Wickenburg
Apache Trail
Roosevelt Lake
Salt River Canyon Wilderness
Tonto National Monument
Globe to Apache Junction
Phoenix to Tucson
Phoenix to Yuma

WESTERN ARIZONA
Introduction
Yuma and Vicinity
Yuma to Parker
Parker and Vicinity
Lake Havasu City
Kingman
Kingman Vicinity
Lake Mead Natl. Rec. Area

NORTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA
Introduction
Flagstaff
Walnut Canyon Natl. Mon.
Grand Falls
Meteor Crater
Sunset Crater Natl. Mon.
Wupatki Natl. Mon.
San Francisco Peaks
Mt. Elden Trails
Other Hiking Trails
Williams
Williams Vicinity
Mormon Lake Area
Mogollon Rim Ranger District
Black Mesa Ranger District
Payson
Payson Vicinity
Young
Sedona
Sedona Vicinity
Camp Verde and Vicinity
Cottonwood
Jerome
Prescott
Prescott Vicinity
THE GRAND CANYON
Introduction
The Land
Climate
Flora and Fauna
History
The South Rim
Hermit Road
Desert View Drive
Valle
Inner Canyon Hiking
River Running
The Havasupai
The Hualapai
The North Rim
Eastern Kaibab Plateau
Western Kaibab Plateau
Toroweap
Western Arizona Strip
Pipe Spring Natl. Mon.
Fredonia
Page
Glen Canyon Natl. Rec. Area
Lees Ferry
Vermillion Cliffs
Paria Canyon

NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA
Introduction
Western Navajoland
Northern Navajoland
Eastern Navajoland
Hopi Country

EASTERN ARIZONA
Introduction
Winslow
Holbrook
Petrified Forest Natl. Park
Snowflake and Taylor
Show Low
Pinetop-Lakeside
White Mountain Apache
San Carlos Apache
Safford
Safford Vicinity
Coronado Trail
Springerville
Springerville Vicinity


Arizona's diversity and beauty still surprises and awes visitors. The popular image of barren wastes under a burning sun dates back more than a hundred years, when most early travelers kept to the south, avoiding potentially hostile tribes farther north. Hollywood perpetuated the stereotype, preferring to play out dramas across rippled sand dunes beneath soaring rock spires, rather than in flower-filled meadows. Yet the northern and eastern parts of the state have extensive coniferous forests and rushing mountain streams. Even desert areas can be astonishingly verdant, as both winter and summer rains refresh the Sonoran Desert, supporting towering saguaro and a host of other striking and adaptable plants.
    Although not on the ocean, Arizona has a coastline hundreds of miles long! The placid waters of the Colorado River form the western shore with countless boating and fishing opportunities. Rugged cliffs inhabited by desert bighorn sheep rise above the river in Black Canyon, just below Hoover Dam, and in Topock Gorge, just above Lake Havasu. You can venture into these canyons in canoes and other small craft, because the lower Colorado River has no rapids. Also, two of the nation's largest reservoirs—Lake Mead and Lake Powell—lie in the northern part of the state, where their dark-blue waters contrast with the surrounding desert. Each reservoir has a very different setting: Lake Mead is in more open and mostly volcanic country, while Lake Powell lies deep in canyons of gracefully curved sandstone. Countless coves along both reservoirs offer quiet corners to explore. Between the two lakes, the Grand Canyon slices nearly a vertical mile into the geologic layer cake of the Colorado Plateau. You'll be impressed by the immensity and complexity of this majestic wonder as you watch the patterns and soft colors of the rock layers change during the day and into the golden sunset. Hidden wonders reveal themselves as you venture on trails or on a river trip into the depths.
    Movements deep underground have uplifted much of northern Arizona into lofty plateaus. Here you'll see hundreds of well-preserved volcanoes, now quiet, which once blasted magma into the air. The starkly beautiful cinder cones and lava flows at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, northeast of Flagstaff, look as if they had just cooled yesterday. Farther south in the state, shifting and faulting of rock layers created rugged mountain ranges. "Sky islands," the most spectacular of these, rise from the desert and provide cool-climate homes for rare species of plants and wildlife. Paved roads lead up some of the sky islands and all have great hiking possibilities. In winter, you can soak up the desert warmth in the morning and play in the snow atop a mountain in the afternoon. Mt. Lemmon, in the Santa Catalinas just north of Tucson, has the nation's southernmost ski area. All this churning of the Earth's surface has resulted in a great range of climates and vegetation zones—you can find ideal conditions somewhere in any season. The forested uplands offer delightful conditions in summer, the plains and rocky hills of the desert provide spring-like weather in winter, and almost every area enjoys a pleasant climate in spring and autumn. Elevations within this varied land extend from just 70 feet above sea level where the Colorado River enters Mexico to 12,633 feet atop Humphrey's Peak, a weathered stratovolcano in the north.
    Native Americans know this land well, and some can trace their clans back thousands of years through legends and rock art. Tribes across Arizona represent many cultural traditions. You can explore their beautiful lands and perhaps get an insight into their beliefs. In northeastern Arizona, the Navajo have the largest population of all the tribes in the United States and a vast reservation renowned for its scenic splendor. The Hopi, surrounded by Navajo lands, have villages and traditions that date back more than one thousand years.
    Arizona's cities provide a sophisticated art and entertainment scene, though never far from the natural world. You'll find the most varied cultural offerings, nightlife, and sporting events in the two largest metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson. Arizona State University in the greater Phoenix area and the University of Arizona in Tucson add much to the energy of each place. Similarly, Northern Arizona University up north in Flagstaff makes this mountain town a far livelier place than its population figure would suggest. When you feel like getting away from it all, the many resorts let you do just that. You'll find most of them in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, where you can rest beside a pool in a beautifully landscaped setting, spend the day on an immaculate golf course, or ride your horse amidst saguaro-studded hills.

On to Planning Your Trip