Slide Rock State Park

State park in Arizona, United States

34°54′55″N 111°43′52″W / 34.91528°N 111.73111°W / 34.91528; -111.73111Area43 acres (17 ha)Elevation4,930 ft (1,500 m)EstablishedJuly 10, 1985Visitors436,761 (in 2022)^[1]Governing bodyArizona State Parks
United States Forest Service

Slide Rock State Park is an Arizona State Park located in Oak Creek Canyon 7 miles (11 km) north of Sedona, Arizona, United States. It takes its name from a natural water slide formed by the slippery bed of Oak Creek. Slide Rock State Park is located on Coconino National Forest land and is co-managed by the Arizona State Parks agency and the United States Forest Service. Tall red rock formations that are typical of the region also surround the park, which contains a 43-acre (17 ha) working apple farm.

History

The land was first developed by Frank L. Pendley, who arrived in the canyon in 1907 and acquired title to the land under the Homestead Act in 1910. Pendley developed an irrigation system (which is still in use today) and planted an apple orchard in 1912. The state completed a road through the canyon in 1914, and Pendley built rustic tourist cabins in 1933 that in part survive today. Several films were shot in the area: Angel and the Badman (1946), Broken Arrow (1950), Drum Beat (1954), and Gun Fury (1953).

The park was purchased by Arizona State Parks from the Arizona Parklands Foundation on July 10, 1985, and officially dedicated as Slide Rock State Park in October 1987. The Pendley Homestead Historic District was accepted onto the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1991. The apple farm is one of the few homesteads still preserved in Oak Creek Canyon.

There are three hiking trails in Slide Rock State Park: Pendley Homestead Trail (.25 mile), Slide Rock Route (.3 mile) and Clifftop Nature Trail (.25 mile). Slide Rock State Park attracted 254,584 visitors in 2005 and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Arizona. In 2014, Slide Rock was named one of Fordor's Travel Top 10 state parks in the United States. Most recently, USA Today readers voted Slide Rock as the fifth best swimming hole in the country.

Gallery

Oak Creek Canyon
Slide Rock State Park during the 2011 winter season
Oak Creek Cascades
Midgley Bridge

References

^ "Monthly State Parks Visitation Report" (PDF). Arizona Office of Tourism. December 2022.

External links

Slide Rock State Park official site
Media related to Slide Rock State Park at Wikimedia Commons

Protected areas of Arizona

Federal

National Parks	Grand Canyon Petrified Forest Saguaro
National Historical Parks, Historic Sites and Memorials	Tumacácori NHP Fort Bowie NHS Hubbell Trading Post NHS Coronado NMem
National Monuments	National Park Service Canyon de Chelly Casa Grande Ruins Chiricahua Hohokam Pima Montezuma Castle Navajo Organ Pipe Cactus Pipe Spring Sunset Crater Tonto Tuzigoot Walnut Canyon Wupatki Bureau of Land Management Agua Fria Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon–Parashant Ironwood Forest Sonoran Desert Vermilion Cliffs
National Conservation Areas	Gila Box Riparian Las Cienegas San Pedro Riparian
National Recreation Areas	Glen Canyon Lake Mead
National Trails	Arizona National Scenic Trail Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Old Spanish National Historic Trail
National Forests	Apache–Sitgreaves Coconino Elden Pueblo Honanki Heritage Site Palatki Heritage Site V Bar V Heritage Site Coronado Kaibab Prescott Tonto
National Wildlife Refuges	Bill Williams River Buenos Aires Cabeza Prieta Cibola Havasu Imperial Kofa Leslie Canyon San Bernardino
Wilderness Areas	See List of Arizona Wilderness Areas
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Fossil Creek Verde River

State

State Parks	Alamo Lake Boyce Thompson Arboretum Buckskin Mountain Catalina Cattail Cove Dankworth Pond Dead Horse Ranch Fool Hollow Lake Fort Verde Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Homolovi Jerome Kartchner Caverns Lake Havasu Lost Dutchman Lyman Lake McFarland Oracle Patagonia Lake Picacho Peak Red Rock Riordan Mansion River Island Roper Lake San Rafael Slide Rock Sonoita Creek Tombstone Courthouse Tonto Natural Bridge Tubac Presidio Verde River Greenway Yuma Quartermaster Depot Yuma Territorial Prison
Wildlife areas	Becker Lake Cluff Ranch Luna Lake Mittry Lake Powers Butte Santa Rita White Mountain Grasslands Willcox Playa

State Parks

Wildlife areas

Municipal

Nature parks	Papago Park Phoenix Mountains Preserve South Mountain Park

Other

National Natural Landmarks	See List of National Natural Landmarks in Arizona
National Historic Landmarks	See List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
Historic Places	See National Register of Historic Places listings in Arizona