Arizona Parks and Recreation Areas with Birding - Page 2

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Here, in this desert wilderness of plants and animals and dramatic mountains and plains scenery, you can drive a lonely road, hike a backcountry trail, camp beneath a clear desert sky, or just soak in the warmth and beauty of the Southwest. The Monument exhibits an extraordinary collection of plants of the Sonoran Desert, including the organ pipe cactus, a large cactus rarely found in the United States. There are also many creatures that have been able to adapt themselves to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight and little rainfall. Acreage: 330,688.86; Federal: 329,316.31; Non-federal: 1,372.55. Wilderness area: 312,600 read more...

Phone: 520-387-6849   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Ajo   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Birding, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Nature Walks, Star Gazing   Details Provided By: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Fort Bowie commemorates in its 1000 acres, the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military. For more than 30 years Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. It was the site of the Bascom Affair, a wagon train massacre, and the battle of Apache Pass, where a large force of Chiricahua Apaches under Mangus Colorados and Cochise fought the California Volunteers. read more...

Phone: 520-847-2500   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Bowie   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Historic Site   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Wildlife Watching   Details Provided By: Fort Bowie

Pipe Spring National Monument, a little known gem of the National Park System, is rich with American Indian, early explorer and Mormon pioneer history. The water of Pipe Spring has made it possible for plants, animals, and people to live in this dry, desert region. Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians gathered grass seeds, hunted animals, and raised crops near the springs for at least 1,000 years. In the 1860s Mormon pioneers brought cattle to the area and by 1872 a fort; Winsor Castle, was built over the main spring and a large cattle ranching operation was established. This isolated outpost served as a way station for people traveling across the Arizona Strip, that part of Arizona separated from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. It also served as a refuge for polygamist wives during the 1880s and 1890s. Although their way of life was greatly impacted, the Paiute Indians continued to live in the area and by 1907 the Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation was established, surrounding the privately owned Pipe Spring ranch. In 1923 the Pipe Spring ranch was purchased and set aside as a national monument. Today the Pipe Spring National Monument - Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Visitor Center and Museum explains the human history of the area over time. Daily tours of Winsor Castle, summer living history demonstrations, an orchard and garden, and a half-mile trail offer a glimpse of American Indian and pioneer life in the Old West. read more...

Phone: 928-643-7105   Price Range: $0 - $5   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Fredonia   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Monument   Activities: Birding, Hiking, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Pipe Spring National Monument

The staff at Saguaro National Park invite you to Experience Your America in a way that only the Sonoran Desert can offer. This unique desert is home to the most recognizable cactus in the world, the majestic saguaro. Visitors of all ages are fascinated and enchanted by these desert giants, especially their many interesting and complex interrelationships with other desert life. Saguaro cacti provide their sweet fruits to hungry desert animals. They also provide homes to a variety of birds, such as the Harris hawk, Gila woodpecker and the tiny elf owl. Yet, the saguaro requires other desert plants for its very survival. During the first few years of a very long life, a young saguaro needs the shade and protection of a nurse plant such as the palo verde tree. With an average life span of 150 years, a mature saguaro may grow to a height of 50 feet and weigh over 10 tons. read more...

Phone: (520) 733-5153   Price Range: $5 - $10   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Tucson   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Park   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Birding, Hiking, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Saguaro National Park