• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.azarchitecture.com

LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner

TRIP

11 48 Hours in Greater Phoenix

13 Big Skies & Weird Science

23 Into the Vortex

* * *

Return to beginning of chapter

Tiny Towns of Rim Country

* * *

WHY GO Rim Country – formed by the southern edges of the Colorado Plateau – is the great undiscovered country of Arizona with the most scenic drives, friendly small towns and natural beauty of any one area of the state. Between visits to the towns, there’s plenty of Native American sites and outdoor adventure.

* * *

* * *

TIME

3 – 5 days

DISTANCE

450 miles

BEST TIME TO GO

Sep – Jun

START

Phoenix, AZ

END

Phoenix, AZ

ALSO GOOD FOR

* * *

Rim Country is a gray area on the mental map of most Arizonans. They may or may not have been there – and if so it was either to ski or see the fall colors – and know that it’s towards New Mexico. But the exact cities that line the Mogollon (mow-gee-yon) Rim – or even what it is, exactly –aren’t so clear. What most people will tell you is that it’s beautiful, and rave about drives along sheer white cliffs topped by ponderosa pines and towns with colorful names like Show Low, Strawberry and Snowflake.

Start by heading out of Phoenix on the appropriately named Beeline Hwy (Hwy 87). You know you’re about to leave the Valley of the Sun when you see the big fountain of the city of Fountain Hills spouting its jet – once every 15 minutes – a whopping 560ft into the air. The Beeline really starts zigzagging after the tiny town of Sunflower; 32 miles more of snaking roads and you’re in Payson, the de facto capital of Rim Country and home to the world’s longest-running rodeo.

Get up to speed on Payson and Rim Country at the Rim Country Museum. Walk through the historic buildings of Payson, including a reproduction of the log cabin of Western novelist Zane Grey. Many of his books, including Under the Tonto Rim, were written here in the 1920s.

If the exhibits on Grey and rip-roaring Western adventure novels make you want to sleep with an ear to this untamed country, pitch a tent at Ponderosa Campground, 12 miles northeast of Payson on Hwy 260. True to the name, most of the 60 spots here are shaded by tall pine trees. To get the lowdown on other camping and outdoor fun like swimming or fishing in Tonto National Forest – three million acres that spill over most of Rim Country and extend all the way to Phoenix – stop by the Tonto National Forest Payson Ranger Station. Or, if staying in a mock Tudor building is more tempting, check out the Best Western Payson Inn.

The next day, caffeinate with the strong mochas at Roadrunner Espresso before checking out of your room (or tent) and making a day of it at the area’s star attraction, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. Tucked into a lush valley 10 miles northwest of Payson on Hwy 87, you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled onto the set of the TV show Lost. The park was discovered by a miner on the run from Apaches, and the cave-filled, thick underbrush is a perfect place to hide out for a few days.

From here continue 10 miles north on Hwy 87 to Strawberry. For a night close to nature that’s still comfy, powwow with your traveling mates in a teepee at Fossil Creek Llama Ranch. The ranch offers llama treks that last anywhere from two hours to all day. There are wellness courses and even a goat petting zoo where you can cuddle the critters that supply the milk for the tasty cheese the owners make on the premises.

The next morning, catch Hwy 260 east to Snowflake, the northernmost city of Rim Country. They get an occasional light dusting of snow but the town is really named after the founders, a Mr Snow and a Mr Flake – seriously. The drive takes you on a gentle roller-coaster ride along the rim and into the edge of the White Mountains. Settled by Mormon pioneers in the late 1800s, there are more than 100 historic homes, many with red brick and white trim. A large