Red Rock State Park is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, USA, featuring a red sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 canyon outside the city of Sedona

Sedona, Arizona

Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona...

. This day-use park hosts numerous environmental education

Environmental education

Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...

 events for the public and for school or private groups.

Natural history

Red Rock State Park includes a 1.4 miles (2.3 km) stretch of Oak Creek, which upstream flows through the famous Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona located between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty...

 in Coconino National Forest

Coconino National Forest

The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", the area was designated a U.S...

. The rich riparian zone

Riparian zone

A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...

  along the creek supports a diverse array of species. Trees in this habitat include Fremont cottonwood

Populus fremontii

Populus fremontii, the Fremont cottonwood or Alamo cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to western North America, in California and east to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, and south into Sonora in northwestern Mexico...

, Arizona sycamore

Platanus wrightii

Platanus wrightii , is a sycamore tree native to Arizona and New Mexico with its range extending south into Sonora, and a small area of Chihuahua Mexico....

, velvet ash

Fraxinus velutina

Fraxinus velutina is a species of Fraxinus native to southwestern North America, in the United States from southern California east to Texas, and in Mexico from northern Baja California east to Coahuila and Nuevo León.-Description:Fraxinus velutina is a small deciduous tree growing to 10 m tall,...

, and Arizona alder

Alnus oblongifolia

Alnus oblongifolia is a large alder, birch-family tree up to 72ft, from the southwestern United States and northern Sonora Mexico. It grows across Arizona into western New Mexico mountain ranges...

. Oak Creek supports rare native fish, several frog species, and the threatened

Threatened species

Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...

 Sonora mud turtle

Sonora Mud Turtle

The Sonora mud turtle is a species of turtle in the Kinosternidae family.It is found in Mexico and the United States.-Source:* Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 29 July 2007....

.

Away from the creek the dominant trees are velvet mesquite

Prosopis velutina

Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium sized perennial tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran...

, netleaf hackberry

Celtis reticulata

Celtis reticulata, with common names including Netleaf Hackberry, Western Hackberry, Douglas Hackberry, Netleaf Sugar Hackberry, Palo Blanco, Acibuche, is a small to medium size deciduous tree, native to western North America.-Prehistoric:Celtis reticulata was one of the species analyzed in a...

, Utah juniper

Juniperus osteosperma

Juniperus osteosperma is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 m tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California...

, and alligator juniper

Juniperus deppeana

Juniperus deppeana is a small to medium-sized tree reaching 10-15 m tall. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the southwestern United States...

. Bird species found in the area include the common black hawk

Common Black Hawk

The Common Black Hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures. It formerly included the Cuban Black Hawk as a subspecies...

, wood duck

Wood Duck

The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...

, and common merganser

Common Merganser

The Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...

. Lower Oak Creek, which includes the state park, has been designated an Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

. Large mammals include the cougar, coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

, mule deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

, collared peccary

Collared Peccary

The collared peccary is a species of mammal in the family Tayassuidae that is found in North, Central, and South America. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family...

, and river otter. Introduced species

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

found in the park include giant reed

Arundo donax

Arundo donax, Giant Cane, is a tall perennial cane growing in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline. Other common names include Carrizo, Arundo, Spanish cane, Wild cane, and Giant reed....

, tamarisk

Tamarix

The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...

, Johnson grass

Johnson grass

Sorghum halepense, commonly called Johnsongrass, is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but growing throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica and most larger islands and archipelagos...

, and tumbleweed

Salsola

Salsola is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. A common name of various members of this genus is saltwort, for its salt tolerance.-Description:...

.

Cultural history

Red Rock State Park was previously a part of a ranch

Ranch

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

, Smoke Trail Ranch. In 1941 it was purchased by Jack Frye

Jack Frye

William John "Jack" Frye was an aviation pioneer, who with Paul E. Richter and Walter A. Hamilton, built TWA into a world class airline during his tenure as chairman from 1934-1947....

, then-president of Trans World Airlines

Trans World Airlines

Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...

, as a southwestern retreat for himself and his wife Helen. Helen Frye maintained the property for many years after Jack's death in 1959. In the early 1970s she sold 330 acres (133.5 ha) to a real estate development

Real estate development

Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...

 company, who planned to build a resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 complex. The deal fell through from lack of funds. In 1976 the property was transferred to Eckankar

Eckankar

Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...

, a new religious movement

New religious movement

A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...

 that Helen Frye belonged to, who planned a private retreat for their members.

In the fall on 1980 a group of friends hiking along Oak Creek were informed by an Eckankar representative that they were trespassing

Trespass to land

Trespass to land is a common law tort that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally enters the land of another without a lawful excuse. Trespass to land is actionable per se. Thus, the party whose land is entered upon may sue even if no actual harm is done...

 on private property. The group happened to include Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...

, then-governor of Arizona. Concerned about loss of public access along waterways, Babbitt researched the property and noted its potential for a full-fledged state park. After determining the willingness of all parties involved, Babbitt pursued a three-way land exchange: Eckankar would sell 286 acres (115.7 ha) of the Smoke Trail Ranch to Anamax Mining Company, who would donate the land to the state in exchange for 3947 acres (1,597.3 ha) of Arizona State Land Department property they had been leasing in Pima County

Pima County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

. Since state law only provided for such exchanges within a county, the Arizona Legislature

Arizona Legislature

The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...

 had to pass new legislation allowing trans-county trades. The enabling law and the transfers were completed in 1981.

Development was slowed by budget cuts in the following years and a new land exchange with the federal government involving Red Rock and Lake Havasu State Park

Lake Havasu State Park

Lake Havasu State Park is a state park located on Lake Havasu in Mohave County, Arizona, USA. The park provides outdoor recreation opportunities such as camping, boating, and fishing. The Arroyo-Camino Interpretive Garden displays local desert flora....

. Red Rock State Park opened to the public and was dedicated on October 19, 1991.

Recreation

Red Rock State Park has a network of trails totaling 5 miles (8 km). The park's visitor center

Visitor center

A visitor center or centre , visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to the visitors who tour the place or area locally...

 contains interpretive exhibits, a movie theater, and a gift shop. There are several picnic shelters which can be reserved for private events. From the park visitors can access mountain biking and horseback riding trails on adjacent U.S. Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

land.

External links

• Red Rock State Park