Named after an early prospector, this canyon has reliable springs and is a good location for avid birders. It makes for a very challenging hike, and a 4WD is necessary to get to the trailhead. A good trail description can be found here. Allow at least 5 hours.
This place scores 26.4 out of 100, at low confidence. No official visitor count is published for it, so the score rests on public interest and tourism significance, and is capped below the level a measured attraction can reach. The weighting is explained in full on the methodology page.
Note on the data: No official visitor count is published for this attraction.
Hikers on this steep trail are rewarded with excellent views of the San Pedro Valley, with the Huachuca and Dragoon Mountains in the distance. Although the trail is almost entirely on National Forest Land, the trailhead is located within Kartcher Caverns State Park so an entrance fee is required. Allow 2½-3 hours.
The Whetstone Mountains are a range of mountains in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona. The Opata called the mountains Babocomari, a name still attached to the nearby Babocomari River. The Spanish continued the name as Sierra del Babocomari.
Iron Springs is the historical name of a natural spring in the Whetstone Mountains of southeastern Arizona. It is famous for being the site of a confrontation between Wyatt Earp and William "Curly Bill" Brocius on March 24, 1882, which resulted in Brocius' death. The site was then known as Iron Springs, but on later maps the designation is Mescal Springs.
Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early 1880s through the late 1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory.
The most intact remains in the US of a Spanish colonial fortress, built in 1776 and abandoned just four years later due to persistent Apache attacks. The site is now managed as part of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
