Canyon Lake Canyon Lake is formed by Mormon Flat Dam which is feature of the Salt River Project. The lake is 51 miles east of Phoenix and a popular spot for swimming and boating.There are three recreation sites at the lake available at no charge. They are the Acacia Picnic Site, the Palo Verde Recreation Site and the Boulder Creek Recreation Site. Acacia, with 40 spaces, Palo Verde, with eight spaces, and Boulder Creek, with eight spaces, are open year around.Canyon Lake is the smallest of Salt River Projects lakes. It has a designated swimming site and a pair of boating ramps. The Canyon Lake Resort offers a variety of marina services, food and a beach area. Located nearby is a Maricopa County Sheriffs aid station.Across the highway from the resort is a hiking trail that borders La Barge Creek and a small finger channel of the lake. La Barge Creek originates in the Superstition Mountains to the east.Two miles from the resort is the Tortilla Campground with 77 spaces. Open October through April, the campground offers individual units with water and sewer hook-ups. A fee is charged for use.Across the highway from the campground is Tortilla Flat, which includes a coffee shop, store and post office.For fishermen, Canyon Lake offers walleye, largemouth bass, yellow bass, rainbow trout, bluegill, channel catfish and crappie.Seclusion-seeking boaters can travel three miles up the lake, between steep cliffs, to The Point Campground. It is open all year at no charge, but has only three units.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument For over a thousand years, prehistoric farmers inhabited much of the present-day state of Arizona. When the first Europeans arrived, all that remained of this ancient culture were the ruins of villages, irrigation canals and various artifacts. Among these ruins is the Casa Grande, or "Big House," one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America. Casa Grande Ruins, the nation's first archeological preserve, protects the Casa Grande and other archeological sites within its boundaries. You are invited to see the Casa Grande and to hear the story of the ancient ones the Akimel O'otham call the Hohokam, "those who are gone."
Chiricahua National Monument Twenty seven million years ago a volcanic eruption of immense proportions shook the land around Chiricahua National Monument. One thousand times greater than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the Turkey Creek Caldera eruption eventually laid down two thousand feet of highly silicious ash and pumice. This mixture fused into a rock called rhyolitic tuff and eventually eroded into the spires and unusual rock formations of today.
The monument is a mecca for hikers and birders. At the intersection of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts, and the southern Rocky Mountains and northern Sierra Madre in Mexico, Chiricahua plants and animals represent one of the premier areas for biological diversity in the northern hemisphere.
Of historic interest is the Faraway Ranch, a pioneer homestead and later a working cattle and guest ranch. It is a significant example of human transformation of the western frontier from wilderness to the present settlement. Faraway Ranch offers glimpses into the lives of Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson, and their children. The house is furnished with historic artifacts which not only give us reminders of our youth and our ancestors, but one can also trace the development of technology during the first half of the twentieth century. Acreage: 12,000 acres.
Coconino National Forest Located in central Arizona, lies the Coconino National Forest. Northward lies the Colorado Plateau, a high, cold desert of flat-lying rocks and sheer-walled canyons. Southward lie hot desert basins and rugged mountains - the "basin and range province" which includes the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. From the snow-frosted San Francisco Peaks to desert highlands along the Verde River, Coconino National Forest's 1.8 million acres drop 10,000 feet in elevation and cover a remarkable variety of landscapes. Here you can climb the highest mountain in Arizona, fish in crystal-clear lakes, swim in desert creeks under red rock cliffs and magnificent sycamore trees, float suspended under a hang glider from the crest of a cinder cone, or ski through parks and meadows and ponderosa pines.
Copper Basin Dunes OHV Area This area is an unrestricted playground for ATVs and other off-highway vehicles. The site includes parking area, unloading ramp, and vault toilets. Vehicles must be street legal or have state required off-highway vehicle stickers. Resort facilities nearby.
Coronado National Forest Located in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, lies the Coronado National Forest. The forest covers 1,780,196 acres. Elevations range from 3,000 feet to 10,720 feet in twelve widely scattered mountain ranges or "sky islands" that rise dramatically from the desert floor, supporting plant communities as biologically diverse as those encountered on a trip from Mexico to Canada. Views are spectauclar from these mountains, and you may experience all four seasons during a single day's journey. Spend the morning wandering among giant saguaros and colorful wildflowers, have a picnic lunch under the brilliant golden leaves of a cottonwood tree, and play in the snow in the afternoon. Interpretive trails in and around historic and prehistoric sites allow you to experience the past in the mountains of southeastern Arizona. Eight wilderness areas encompassing 338,536 acres offer you solitude and primitive recreation.
