A. Woods shared this photo where snow melt from the mountains creates a slippery slope of water fun!
If you’re looking for a great place to cool off, have fun, and learn about some fascinating Arizona history, you need to plan a summer trip to Slide Rock State Park!
Slide Rock is just a small segment of the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon that starts from the trickle of a few springs near Flagstaff. The bottom of this special part of Oak Creek is made up of smooth, red sandstone that is so slippery, you can use the currents to slide down natural water chutes before landing in a beautiful, cool swimming hole.
This State Park is not just a great place to swim, but it’s also a nature preserve and features a historic apple orchard. In 1910, Frank L. Pendley acquired title to the land under the Homestead Act, and the family planted the apple trees in 1912. In the early 1980’s, the Pendley family generously parted with their land so that it could be turned into a state park and it is now maintained by both the Arizona State Parks and U.S. Forest Service.
Oak Creek continues flowing south past Slide Rock into the Verde River and the Verde is a tributary of the Salt River. Salt River Project uses the Salt River to make electricity at Roosevelt Dam and then delivers both power and water to farmers, homes, and businesses in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
This photo by A. Woods is just one of over 1,000 submittals for our Spring 2014 Celebrate AZ Water Photo Contest. It provided a stunning opportunity to celebrate the importance and wonder of water in Arizona and to reflect on one of our region’s most precious resources.