Massachusetts has Walden Pond. Yosemite has its waterfalls. Minnesota has 10,000 lakes. We’ll admit, they’re all impressive. But we have water, too. You just have to work a little harder to get to it.
A portfolio edited by Jeff Kida and Keith Whitney
Photograph by Laurence Parent
Jeff Maltzman
A tiered cascade flows over golden-hued rocks in Bear Canyon, part of the Tucson area’s Santa Catalina Mountains. Numerous seasonal waterfalls come to life in the Santa Catalinas during spring snowmelt and the summer monsoon.
Colleen Miniuk
Water droplets adhere to dandelion seed heads in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests of Eastern Arizona. These forests, jointly managed since 1974, contain the White Mountains, one of Arizona’s wetter regions.
Claire Curran
Alfa Fia Tank, a small reservoir near Flagstaff, anchors a view of puffy clouds and distant Kendrick Peak on a breezy day. A short trail to Alfa Fia Tank begins at Aspen Corner, which is along the road to Arizona Snowbowl in the San Francisco Peaks.
Jeff Maltzman
Plants cling to a rock in the middle of Aravaipa Creek, the key waterway in Central Arizona’s Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. Known for its solitude, scenery and perennial water, this 19,410-acre wilderness area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and a permit is required to visit.
Claire Curran
Pastel hues and a bit of a rainbow form an idyllic sunrise scene at Crescent Lake, a reservoir in the White Mountains. The 100-acre lake has an average depth of just 10 feet and is stocked with rainbow and brook trout every spring.
Joel Hazelton
A small cascade flows through a jumble of boulders along a creek in Southeastern Arizona’s Coronado National Forest. In this remote canyon, boulders from nearby hillsides have tumbled onto the creek, creating an underground corridor of cascades and pools.
Joel Hazelton
The Colorado River reflects scattered clouds as it flows through Topock Gorge, a mountainous section of the Havasu Wilderness. Covering 17,801 acres in Arizona and California, this wilderness area features volcanic spires and diverse desert wildlife.
Joel Hazelton
A sunlit tree frames a view of a tall waterfall in the Pinaleño Mountains, a “sky island” range near Safford in Southeastern Arizona. A drive up the Swift Trail (State Route 366) is an ideal way to explore the Pinaleños’ numerous vistas and recreation opportunities.
Paul Gill
Delicate wildflowers thrive along the Black River, a major White Mountains waterway. The river forms southwest of Alpine and ends 114 miles downstream, where it merges with the White River to form the Salt River.
Joel Hazelton
Ferns and other foliage grow around a spring in the heart of Central Arizona’s West Clear Creek Wilderness. Created in 1984, this wilderness area follows its namesake creek through a deep, rugged canyon full of varied vegetation and geology.
Laurence Parent
A lush riparian area on Sycamore Creek offers an inviting view along the Parsons Trail, a hiking route in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness. From its trailhead northwest of Cottonwood, this trail follows the creek north for about 4 miles, passing several small pools, before ending at Parsons Spring.
