Bruce Simballa (on oars) and Kenton Grua (steering) guide an authentic Whitehall boat, the kind used by John Wesley Powell’s party, through the Grand Canyon’s Granite Rapids for an Imax film in 1984. Powell’s group portaged these rapids, but modern boatmen have the skills and experience to run these boats through the Canyon’s largest rapids. By Rudi Petschek
In Depth

Whatever Boats You Float

The rapid we started with this morning gave us to understand the character of the day’s run. It was a wild one. The boats labored hard but came out...
The San Francisco Peaks, Arizona’s highest mountains, loom over a hillside of evergreens and wildflowers at sunset. The Peaks are sacred to several of Arizona’s tribes, adding deeper meaning to an effort to rename one of the summits. By Michael Wilson
Latest Feature

Home of the Clouds

You don’t need a Ph.D. in anthropology to decipher the names of many of Arizona’s landmarks. The Grand Canyon is just that. The Vermilion Cliffs...
Reddish ponderosa pine trunks contrast with green pine, spruce and Douglas-fir needles on the Kaibab Plateau, north of the Grand Canyon. Featuring elevations of up to 9,200 feet, the Kaibab Plateau is known for mild summers and snowy winters. By Tom Bean
Latest Feature

Forested Highlands

Remembering gives a place life. Think back to plum-colored storms in summer and the sound of thunder booming through the woods. Ferns uncurl around...
Aspens mingle with ponderosa pines in Sandys Canyon, a scenic hiking destination southeast of Flagstaff. This view is from an overlook west of Canyon Vista Campground, which is just off Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3). By Tom Bean
Latest Feature

Headed for Higher Ground

At Sheeps Crossing, in the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona, grasses and flowers grow on a log in the West Fork of the Little Colorado River....
A rolling sea of evergreens stretches to the horizon in a view from the White Mountains’ East Baldy Trail. This challenging hiking route is one of two that ascend Mount Baldy, the highest peak in the White Mountains. By Laurence Parent
Latest Feature

Baldy: The Mountain and the Myth

Editor’s Note: This month, we continue the celebration of our centennial with another wonderful piece from our archive. Although we’re best known for...
A healthy ponderosa pine forest near Aspen Springs is among the rewards for those who tackle the Houston Brothers Trail. By Tom Bean
Hiking

Houston Brothers Trail

It’s dangerous to dole out superlatives when writing about hikes in Arizona. As soon as you do, you’ll discover one that’s even better than the...
Forest Road 276 curves past ponderosa pines as it parallels the East Fork of the Black River. By Rusty Childress
Scenic Drives

Forest Road 276

There might not be a silver lining to wildfire, but there’s a white (and black) one: aspens, which colonize burned areas in many of Arizona’s forests...
Large wooden containers hold mature succulent outside a the patio and entrance to a room at The Star Motel. By Laurence Parent
Lodging

The Star Motel

Michael Feldman describes the Star Motel as Sedona’s “little time machine vortex” — one he first experienced as a guest in September 2020, when he and his wife, Blair Morton, needed a road trip...