REGIONAL ATTRACTIONS TONTO NATURAL BRIDGE STATE PARK:The world’s largest natural travertine bridge remains a marvel of geology and a touchstone of history. A vast dike of dissolved limestone deposited by ancient springs created the massive wall of travertine. Pine Creek then cut a cavernous tunnel through the center. The creek now flows through the grotto-like arch of the massive natural bridge. TONTO NATIONAL MONUMENT: This 600-year-old Sinagua Indian ruin perches beneath an overhang at the base of a soaring cliff overlooking Roosevelt Lake. The Sinagua built a series of fortress-like settlements some 800 years ago, but occupied it for less than 200 years before vanishing mysteriously. FOSSIL CREEK:This spring-fed creek tinted tropical-seasturquoise creates a chain of deep, crystal clear pools and waterfalls in a deep canyon just east of the little hamlet of Strawberry. It also serves as the premier refuge for native fish in the state and a year-round adventure. EAST VERDE RIVER:This trout-stocked stream starts in springs beneath the Mogollon Rim then runs past the secondhome and retirement enclave of Whispering Pines, the historic, laid-back refuge of Beaver Valley, the hidden delight of Flowing Springs and the leafy paradise of East Verde Estates. Undeveloped along most of its length, it offers one of the few places in the state you can buy riverfront housing. TONTO CREEK:This treasure lies about 15 miles north of Payson, close by the subdivisions of Christopher Creek and Tonto Village. The spring that makes it one of the best, yearround streams in Arizona also feeds into the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery, which provides the trout used to stock lakes and streams in the whole region. VERDE VALLEY: An hour down West Highway 260 you’ll find the Verde Valley, with the lazy, leafy, fishable Verde River and fascinating Indian ruins like Tuzigoot and Montezuma’s Castle. The low valley offers plenty of camping, fishing and splashing about — with easy access to the funky mining town turned art colony town of Jerome and the red rock charms of Sedona. MOGOLLON RIM:The mostly dirt Forest Road 300 threads along this 200-mile-long chain of 1,200-foot-tall cliffs that marks the southern edge of the uplift that created the Colorado Plateau. A 40-mile meander between Highway 260 and Highway 87 skirts the edge of the cliff and offers stunning views. RIM COUNTRY LAKES: A series of man-made lakes atop the Mogollon Rim provide some of the most popular fishing and camping spots in the state, most of them a roughly 40-minute drive from Payson. Bear Canyon, Willow Springs and Woods Canyon lakes all have boating, camping and fishing facilities. The state stocks them heavily all summer long with trout. ROOSEVELT LAKE:This giant reservoir captures the Salt River, which makes Phoenix possible. The first federal reclamation project in the West, Roosevelt Lake also offers terrific fishing opportunities for bass, catfish, buffalo fish and other warm-water species, plus campgrounds and boat launching ramps.
MILES FROM PAYSON TO ... Phoenix: Sky Harbor Airport: Flagstaff: Grand Canyon: Globe: Petrified Forest: Sedona: Prescott: Show Low: Winslow: Mesa: Glendale, AZ: Tucson: Kingman: Safford: Gallup, NM: Needles, CA: Las Vegas, NV: Los Angeles: Albuquerque: Santa Fe: Salt Lake City: Denver:
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2013
Fossil Creek (top) offers the best swimming holes in Arizona and Tonto National Monument offers clues to an ancient mystery.
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