While my National Parks quest has received the bulk of my attention the last decade or so, I’ve also explored most of what the Arizona State Parks system has to offer.
The State Parks system is chronically underfunded by the Arizona Legislature, so I wanted to be well informed about each of the parks anytime I contacted a legislator about funding issues. In the process, I’ve had the chance to visit many of the great little places this state has in its state parks system.
I’ve been to 28 of the state’s 31 state parks*.
- Alamo Lake
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum
- Buckskin Mountain
- Catalina
- Cattail Cove
- Dead Horse Ranch
- Fools Hollow Lake
- Fort Verde
- Homolovi
- Jerome
- Kartchner Caverns
- Lake Havasu
- Lost Dutchman
- Lyman Lake
- McFarland
- Oracle
- Patagonia Lake
- Picacho Peak
- Red Rock
- Riordan Mansion
- River Island
- Roper Lake
- Slide Rock
- Tombstone Courthouse
- Tonto Natural Bridge
- Tubac Presidio
- Verde River Greenway
- Yuma Quartermaster Depot
- Yuma Territorial Prison
I have 3 state parks left to visit:
- Dankworth Pond State Park (technically a sub-unit of Roper Lake SP, but it’s shown as a separate listing on the Arizona State Parks website, so I’m treating it as a separate objective)
- Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial (I’ve been to the construction site prior to opening, but will return to officially mark it off now that it’s open)
- Sonoita Creek
Note: Arizona has three additional state parks that are currently not open to the public, and which I haven’t included in this quest: Havasu Riviera and Rockin’ River Ranch are both currently being developed, and San Rafael State Natural Area (authorized in 1999 but still not open to the public).