Slide Rock State Park Reopens At 8 a.m.

Slide Rock State Park will reopen this morning. The park had been closed due to the Brins wildfire in Sedona. The Brins wildfire in Sedona spread into the edge of Oak Creek Canyon near Slide Rock State Park. State Parks staff evacuated the public from Slide Rock State Park after the fire had been seen on Brins Mesa about 4 miles to the southeast & ash began to fall in the park.

Park rangers at Slide Rock State Park will again be pulling a minimum of 10 samples per day from the Slide Rock swim area in an effort to provide the visiting public with the most updated water quality conditions that can be obtained. Some of the recommendations by rangers to keep the creek clean are: use only designated restroom facilities; help control litter pack it in, pack it out & especially NO glass; keep pets out of the swim area; if you are ill do not swim; do not use the creek for washing or bathing; use rubber pants on children; dump R.V. holding tanks in proper facilities not parking lots; observe all posted notices, rules & regulations. To find out the current water quality conditions at Slide Rock State Park call the water quality hotline at (602) 542-0202.

The park is nestled in the natural beauty of the red rock canyon walls with Oak Creek tumbling over the smooth red rocks of the canyon at 4,000 feet elevation. In the 1920's the ingenious, imaginative Pendley family suspended a flume system 500 feet from the canyon floor & dug lengthy ditches to bring water to the apple orchards which offered 13 varieties of apples for sale.

Slide Rock was named for a stretch of slippery creek bottom adjacent to the historic Pendley homestead & is located on National Forest land jointly managed by Arizona State Parks & the U.S. Forest Service. The park was dedicated in October 1987, & placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1991. The site was once the 43-acre Pendley apple farm Frank L. Pendley, acquired under the Homestead Act in 1910. As one of the few homesteads left intact in the canyon today, Slide Rock State Park is an excellent example of early agricultural development.

From Phoenix: Take I-17 north to Hwy 179 west through Sedona to Hwy 89A north. Park is 7 miles north of Sedona. From Flagstaff: Take Hwy 89A, 20 miles south. Park hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Park Entrance Fee is $10 per vehicle for up to 4 adults, each additional adult is charged $2 each. A $2 per person entrance fee applies to pedestrians, equestrians & bicyclists. Arizona State Park Annual Pass is available for $45 (some restrictions apply) & Premium Annual Pass is sold for $100. For more info about Slide Rock State Park call, (928) 282-3034.