Capital: Phoenix
Population: 3,665,000
State Parks: 24
State Forests: None

Major Points of Interest:

• Grand Canyon National Park;
• Lake Powell/Glen Canyon;
• Tombstone - The Town Too Tough To Die;
• Sabino Canyon (Tucson);
• London Bridge/English Village (Lake Havasu City);
• Arizona Sonora Living Desert Museum (Tucson);
• Monument Valley (Kayenta area).
  

Arizona is one of the most non-public states in the country. Of the 118,000 square miles that makeS up Arizona, only fifteen percent is privately owned. The rest is devoted to national forests, national parks and recreational areas, wildlife preserves and Indian reservations. Right there in the middle of that beauty are more than 250 ghost towns you can visit and, who knows...?

Almost everything you want to know about the state and what it offers visitors can be found in "Arizona Journeys 2000", the state’s official travel guide: 126-pages in full color with descriptions of different vacationing areas, maps, festivals and events and more. It also includes information on public lands, accommodations and tourist resources. It’s available free from the Arizona Office of Tourism (2702 North Third Street, Phoenix AZ 85004; 602-230-7733 or toll-free at 800-842-8257). A list of National Parks, Monuments and Historic Sites, including several trading posts and ruins is included along with addresses and phone numbers you can contact for further information. If you’re interested in the history of the state’s treasures, a list of museums is included with addresses and phone numbers.

To find out what’s going on when you plan on visiting, ask for a copy of "The Arizona Calendar of Events". It’s free from the above office and each edition covers a six month span. During the month of September, for instance, tours of prehistoric and Sinagua Indian dwellings at Montezuma’s Castle at Walnut Canyon are scheduled and in March, the Annual Verde Valley Gem and Mineral Show is held in Cottonwood. Also included is information on Old West reenactment locations, gardens and zoos, State Parks and road condition information. If you’re visiting during the winter months, road update information for the Phoenix area is available by calling 602-861-9400. Flagstaff information is at 520-779-2711.

These ghost towns offer the opportunity to step back into the bygone years of the Old West. Most of the more interesting towns, with information on their histories and maps showing their locations, are explained in a free booklet, "Arizona Ghost Towns", available from the Arizona Office of Tourism. At the base of Superstition Mountain, visitors can explore the Apache Trail, the ghost town of Goldfield and relive the legends of the Old Dutchman Gold Mine. A brief drive from Tombstone is Bisbee, where the hillsides are rich with history and guided underground tours that take visitors equipped with hard hats and miner’s lamps into the depths of the old Copper Queen Mine. More ghost towns are located along the Colorado River northward to Oatman and Chloride.

You can save a few dollars by not having to buy an Arizona road map and using the free one that’s included in the package you’ll receive from the Office of Tourism. It includes a list of points of interest, Indian reservations and major Arizona campgrounds with some information on campground facilities.

Two billion years in the making, The Grand Canyon National Park hosts about five million visitors a year. The key to having an enjoyable visit, the park officials say, is to plan ahead. A free Grand Canyon Trip Planner is available free from: Trip Planner, Grand Canyon National Park (Box 129, Grand Canyon AZ 86023 - 520-638-7888). If you’re planning on camping or using lodge facilities, make your reservations as far in advance as possible.

The Grand Canyon Railway (520-773-1976) operates a turn-of-the-century steam train from Williams to the South Rim of the Canyon. Passengers ride in an authentically restored 1923 Harriman coach across 65 miles of north Arizona countryside.

The Arizona Camping and Campgrounds Guide is available from the Arizona Office of Tourism at 800-842-8257.