Parker Canyon Lake is located in southeastern Arizona, 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Sierra Vista around the Huachuca Mountains and about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the border with Mexico. The lake is a reservoir formed by a dam in Parker Canyon in the south end of the Canelo Hills in southwestern Cochise County. Parker Canyon is a tributary to the Santa Cruz River in the San Rafael Valley.
This place scores 43.7 out of 100, at medium 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.
The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately 70 miles (110 km) south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this area is the highest peak in the Huachucas, Miller Peak, and the region of the Huachucas known as Canelo Hills in eastern Santa Cruz County. The mountains range in elevation from 3,934 feet (1,199 m) at the base to 9,466 feet (2,885 m) at the top of Miller Peak.
A lovely place for hiking, picnicking, and birdwatching. Follow the road up the canyon to see Apache (ca. 1700 CE) and Hohokam (ca. 400-1250 CE) pictographs in two different sites. The pictographs are protected behind fences, so they're easy to find.
More than 170 species of birds have been found here, including 14 species of hummingbirds. There is also a small bookshop and a mile or so of easy hiking trails, one of which continues on to the Hamburg Trail on National Forest land. The best time to visit is between April and September. Parking is limited to 27 spaces, and it is not permitted to park along the roadside.
Has the graves of US Army Cavalry and Buffalo Soldiers, who fought in the Apache Wars, as well as several Apache scouts and their wives. Gravestones marked 'Unknown' are for victims of Apache attacks who were too badly mutilated to identify.
