Arizona State Parks

In this guide we join travel writer Roger Naylor as he takes us through the state parks of this amazing region.

Showcasing 64 of the best state parks in the region, the authors direct readers to some of the finest hiking, skiing, climbing, boating, and desert exploration opportunities available. Each description highlights the park's location, facilities, and history as well as activities for everyone from young adventurers to families to retired travelers. 66 maps. 75 photos.

Arizona is home to some of the region's most stunning national parks and monuments and has had a long tradition of strong federal agenciesÑalong with effective local governmentsÑdeveloping and managing parklands. Before World War II, protecting sites from development seemed counterproductive to a state government dominated by extractive industries. By the late 1950s this state that prided itself on being a tourist destination found its lack of state parks to be an embarrassment. Gateways to the Southwest is a history of the creation of state parks in Arizona, examining the ways in which different types of parks were created in the face of changing social values. Jay Price tells how Arizona's parks emerged from the recreation and tourism boom of the 1950s and 1960s, were shaped by the environmental movement of the 1970s and 1980s, and have been affected by the financial challenges that arose in the 1990s. He also explains how changing political realities led to different methods of creating parks like Catalina, Homol'ovi Ruins, and Kartchner Caverns. In addition, places that did not become state parks have as much to tell us as those that did. By the time the need for state parks was recognized in Arizona, most choice sites had already been developed, and Price reveals how acquiring land often proved difficult and expensive. State parks were of necessity developed in cooperation with the federal government, other state agencies, community leaders, and private organizations. As a result, parks born from land exchanges, partnerships, conservation easements, and other cooperative ventures are more complicated entities than the "state park" designation might suggest. Price's study shows that the key issue for parks has not been who owns a place but who manages it, and today Arizona's state parks are a network of lake-based recreation, historic sites, and environmental education areas reflecting issues just as complex as those of the region's better-known national parks. Gateways to the Southwest is a case study of resource stewardship in the Intermountain West that offers new insights into environmental history as it illustrates the challenges and opportunities facing public lands all over America.

Get inspired and plan your next trip with Fodor’s e-book guide to the Arizona’s national parks: the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Saguaro. To get your bearings, browse a brief overview of each park and peruse full-color maps of the region. You’ll develop an immediate sense of each park’s awe-inspiring landscape as you flip through an album of vivid full-color photographs. Read on and find all of the essential, up-to-date details you expect from a Fodor’s guide: From the best dining and lodging in the area to must-see hikes and scenic drives, Fodor’s has it all. Discover three great Arizona parks in one e-book. The Grand Canyon—277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep—is an unsurpassed natural wonder. Fallen and fossilized trees in northeastern Arizona’s Petrified Forest national park are visible from scenic overlooks and short paved hikes. Saguaro, divided into two districts near Tucson, is known for its dense stand of towering namesake cacti. Note: This e-book edition includes photographs and maps that will appear on black-and-white devices but are optimized for devices that support full-color images.

Arizona’s 20 national parks and monuments celebrate the natural wonders and rich heritage of Arizona, preserved through the efforts of countless citizens and the American Antiquities Act of 1906. Aggressively implemented by eight US presidents, this legislation permits the president to unilaterally proclaim sites as national monuments without congressional action. The Antiquities Act was applied in Arizona 23 times, more so than any other state in the union. Using more than 200 historical photographs, many of which have never been published, this book contains the stories of the creation of each of Arizona’s national parks and monuments, emphasizing the importance of the landscape and cultural heritage to Arizona’s identity.