So like I said before, we were really glad to get into Dead Horse Ranch State Park (http://azstateparks.com/Parks/DEHO/) since there were so few sites left - what a terrific park this is. I highly recommend it for anyone needing a 'central' location to tour Phoenix, Sedona and the beautiful Verde Valley. Cottonwood is a great town too - more traffic & actually larger than we thought it would be but just a nice town in a beautiful setting. Cottonwood is located in the Verde Valley about 30 or so miles south of Sedona. The Dead Horse Ranch State Park is located on 423 acres just outside of town along the Verde River and as its name implies, it used to be a ranch. One story goes that the ranch was named by the children of the owners - they were looking for a ranch and had toured several, when the family got together to discuss which one to buy the children all said "the one with the dead horse". Thus the name, or so the story goes.
Despite the name, this is a beautiful park with an extensive trail system that links to the Verde Valley Greenway. There are over 150 developed campsites, most of which have water & electric hookups. Cost is $19 for water/electric, $12 I think for just tent sites and there are several bathhouses with free showers. The campsites, while not 'private' due to the sparse vegetation are well spaced apart and other than Quail Loop, you don't feel crowded at all. This is a GREAT park for dogs as there are numerous trails to hike along and other than one mishap with an antbed & a nearby cactus, we had no issues at all with prickly, stickly things that can get in a pup's foot. From some of the trails you can see nearby Tuziqoot National Monument (more on that in another post) and the surrounding mountains.
Our Campsite #55
every few feet to itch - makes for slow hikes.
stung for her efforts a couple of times.
Jerome, AZ from the trail
One of the lagoons at Dead Horse Ranch
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