A uniquely Arizonan tent site at Yavapai Campground (campground 25)

PREFACE

      As our plane made its bumpy arrival at Sky Harbor International Airport, the kid next to us frowned while looking out across the runway and mumbled resentfully, “I hate Arizona. It’s so brown.”

      We exchanged wry smiles, hearing the echo of so many other voices, even some long-term Phoenicians we know. Later we mulled over the injustice of it. Obviously, this boy has never camped by the rushing Black River or seen the broad meadows and towering pines above the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We planned exactly where we’d take this poor, misguided youth to show him just how green this state can be: up to the verdant crowns of the southern sky islands, the Chiricahuas, Pinaleños, Santa Ritas, Santa Catalinas, Huachucas; along the emerald riparian corridors of the Verde, Gila, and San Pedro Rivers; and into the cool forests of the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains.

      Then we’d bring that kid to the desert again, to reveal to him the kaleidoscope of hues that look brown from an airplane window. In the spring, we’d hike him around the Superstitions and to Lake Pleasant to show him hillsides carpeted in yellow as the Mexican gold poppies and brittlebush bloom, and dotted with purple lupines and orange and pink globemallows. He’d see the startling fuchsia, crimson, and lemon yellow of cholla, hedgehog, and prickly pear flowers against deep-green cactus skins. Finally, we’d make a grand tour of Sedona, Sycamore Canyon, the Painted Desert, and the Grand Canyon, to see all the vivid colors of the earth itself.

      We have no idea who that boy was or how he ended up spending his time in Arizona, but this book is for him and all the kids out there like him.

      Perhaps you’re a visitor from elsewhere, or maybe you’re a new Arizona resident wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into. If metro Phoenix is your main frame of reference, you might be forgiven for having some misgivings. There’s an old joke that Arizona has only two seasons, hot and hotter, but cheer up—you can find spring, summer, winter, or fall within a 5-hour drive at almost any time of the year. Somewhere in Arizona, there’s a landscape and a climate to please almost everybody.

      What we’ve tried to do in this guide is help you find those places that will suit you best. We’re making a few assumptions along the way: that you love the outdoors, that you favor peace and quiet but are sometimes willing to compromise, and that you appreciate a wide variety of different experiences. In short, that you’re a lot like us.

      Like so many Arizonans, we’re imports from other climes—Kirstin from the lakes and snows of Minnesota and Kelly from the lush hills of Maryland. Kirstin knew from day one that she belonged here, while Kelly took some time to develop a full appreciation of the desert. Family camping played a part of both our young lives, in tents, pop-ups, and cabins. The leap to camping as adults came for both of us when we moved to the Grand Canyon State, where unparalleled natural diversity calls out to be explored.

      Studies have shown that being in nature is good for your body and soul. This just makes sense in our modern world of superhighways and smartphones. Congratulations on making the effort to tear yourselves (and especially your kids) away from comfy chairs and glowing screens!

      Note also that these preserves and parks and wildlands need you as much as you need them. This is still an era of budget squeezing and struggling to make ends meet for the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and state and county parks, even as the number of people seeking recreation in America’s outdoors increases every year. Those of us who cherish these resources need to support them, to raise awareness of their value, to advocate their wise use, and to raise another generation of responsible, educated, and enthusiastic campers—kids who get excited when they look out the airplane window.

       WHAT’S NEW

      We wrote the first edition of this book just before the 2008 economic crash, which had a significant impact on many of Arizona’s recreational sites. It’s