healing qualities. It’s been said that a visit to a vortex strengthens a person’s inner being and can cause amazing, uplifting trans-formation. The Courthouse Butte Loop Trail brings you close to the energy, but to get closer, hike the 1.1-mile Bell Rock trail (which connects to the Courthouse Butte Loop Trail), where views from above are worth the scramble. More than 21,000 acres are yours to explore at McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fort McDowell, where the desert and lower Verde River basin becomes a playground for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. Keep your eyes open; the park offers views of the Four Peaks and the distinct Weavers Needle spire, and you may see javelina, coyotes and deer. Ponder the vastness of the universe at Oracle State Park , an International Dark-Sky Park in the northern foothills of the Catalina Mountains, where the unobstructed sky views and supreme darkness create perfect conditions for seeing the Milky Way and other celestial bodies. After park hours, access the American Avenue Parking Area for nighttime stargazing. The best place to be earlier in the day? Yavapai Point , within the Grand Canyon Village. Take in sunset views: below a changing sky of magenta, burning orange, indigo and violet, spot the river and Isis Temple to the north, and peaks all the way to the Desert View view-point to the east. Yavapai Point is the northernmost point of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and the closest to the Colorado River. The Fine Family Contemplation Garden is situated at the heart of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and was created as a place to center the self. Within the Kitchell Family Heritage Garden, on the 0.3-mile Desert Discovery Loop Trail, the multisensory space connects past and present. Photos from the 1940s show the area planted with small cactus, which stand tall today, surrounding a swirling, circular laby-rinth made of high-contrast terrazzo. Shallow water features multiply the surrounding flora and fauna in their reflections and serve as resting spots for birds. 23 Photos: (clockwise from top) Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix ; Oracle State Park, Oracle ; McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fort McDowell CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN; ARIZONA STATE PARKS AND TRAILS; FRANCISCA OREDEKO; MARICOPA COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
Arizona Official State Travel Guide Arizona 2021-22: Page 23
