A forest of balanced rocks and rhyolite pinnacles left by an immense volcanic eruption 27 million years ago, in a 'sky island' range whose isolation supports species found nowhere else in the country. It recorded 71,390 recreation visits in 2024.
This place scores 49.7 out of 100, at high confidence. The score combines its published visitor count with public interest and tourism significance. The weighting is explained in full on the methodology page.
Faraway Ranch was the home of Swedish immigrants, Emma and Neil Erickson. Emma Peterson bought a two-room cabin in December of 1886. After she and Neil Erickson married in January 1887, they settled on the 160-acre homestead. In 1898 the couple expanded the cabin to a two-story, board-and-batten style frame house. In 1903 Neil became the first ranger for the Chiricahua Forest Reserve.
The Chiricahuas is a mountain range in southeastern Arizona and part of the Basin and Range province of the western and southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The range lies primarily within the Coronado National Forest. Chiricahua Peak, the highest point in the range, rises 9,759 feet (2,975 m) above sea level, about 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the surrounding valleys.
Paradise is a small ghost town located in Cochise County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1901 in what was then the Arizona Territory.
Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona. The remaining buildings and site are now protected as Fort Bowie National Historic Site. Fort Bowie was established by the California Volunteers in 1862, after a series of engagements between the California Column and the Chiricahua Apaches.
Chiricahua Peak is a 9,773-foot (2,979 m) peak located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, located about 35 miles (56 km) north of the United States–Mexico border. It is the highest summit in the Chiricahua Mountains and the highest point in Cochise County. As with the rest of the Chiricahua Mountains, the peak was formed as the result of a violent volcanic eruption about 27 million years ago.
The Chiricahua Mountains in particular are excellent for bird watching as well as wildlife viewing, with a number of very rare avian species sighted here. This facility is operated by the American Museum of Natural History, and offers bird watching tours, and accommodation for naturalists and hikers.
