Discover Gila County

Home
Discover Gila County

Explore the Wild - Discover Gila County. Your next adventure is waiting in the largest ponderosa pin
(14)

08/11/2024

Take a ride with us as we go chasing waterfalls, in Gila County, Arizona!

08/11/2024

Three Cheers for Pinal Mountain Trail Restoration Volunteers! 🌟

A huge shoutout to the incredible volunteers of Tonto Gravity Riders who recently earned the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Regional Volunteers and Service Award in the "Citizen Stewardships and Partnerships" category!

These dedicated volunteers have been essential in restoring trails after the 2021 Telegraph Fire, including Kellner, Icehouse, and Six Shooter Canyon-National Recreation Trails in the Pinal Mountains. From the cold of winter to the heat of summer, TGR volunteers have consistently shown up—ranging from small teams of 2 to larger groups of 20, putting in hard work to keep these trails open and accessible for everyone.

🌲 Tonto National Forest staff had this to say about the TGR crew:
"TGR volunteers have been the glue that binds the mountain biking community, local businesses, and the Tonto National Forest. Their hard work, creativity, and dedication have made a real difference in the future of our public lands."

🔨 Get Involved & Help Out
Want to join the effort or learn more about trail restoration? Follow Tonto Gravity Riders on Facebook or visit tontogravityriders.org/volunteer for updates on upcoming trail workdays, including our next event:

Middle Telephone Restoration Project
🗓️ **November 23, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM**
Join us as we continue work on Telephone’s connection to Icehouse. We’ll be meeting at the Icehouse Trailhead and hiking down to the work zone (a much shorter hike than from Six Shooter). Expect some steep areas, but overall easier terrain. The work will involve clearing deadfall, trimming, and restoring the tread to improve the trail.

Let's give TGR volunteers a high-five for all their hard work and dedication to preserving the beauty of the Pinal Mountains! Your effort makes a difference! 🌄

08/11/2024

Horton Creek Trail is showing why it is the best this time of year! Make a weekend out of it and stay at Kohl's Ranch and eat at the Zane Grey Country Barbecue near Christopher Creek, Arizona!

Photo Courtesy of Elena Wright (Thanks for the awesome Pic!)

06/11/2024

We are hosting two events, one in Payson and one in Globe, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate:

Payson Party:
Date: November 14, 2024
Location: Sawmill Movie Theaters - 201 W Main Street, Payson, AZ
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (Please arrive by 11:15 AM)

At the relaunch party, we will be showcasing:

• The latest updates to the Discover Gila County platform
• Debuting the new discovergilacounty.com website, full of new information, photos, videos, maps and more.
• Success stories from our award-winning campaigns
• New tools and resources for promoting Gila County's unique tourism and economic opportunities
• Our award-winning video series on the big screens, showcasing Gila County's attractions like never before.
• Exciting future plans to continue elevating our region's visibility and reach
• Plenty of time for Q/A

Please RSVP to [email protected] if you can make it!

06/11/2024

We are hosting two events, one in Globe and one in Payson, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate:

Globe Party:
Date: November 12, 2024
Location: Hollis Cinema 4, 161 N Broad St, Globe, AZ 85501
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (Please arrive by 11:15 AM)

At the relaunch party, we will be showcasing:

• The latest updates to the Discover Gila County platform
• Debuting the new discovergilacounty.com website, full of new information, photos, videos, maps and more.
• Success stories from our award-winning campaigns
• New tools and resources for promoting Gila County's unique tourism and economic opportunities
• Our award-winning video series on the big screens, showcasing Gila County's attractions like never before.
• Exciting future plans to continue elevating our region's visibility and reach
• Plenty of time for Q/A

Please RSVP to [email protected] if you can make it!

06/11/2024

05/11/2024

San Carlos Apache Tribe 2024 Veterans Fair & Rodeo
Big weekend coming up in San Carlos including: Run To The Rez, Car and Bike Show, Archery Shoot and more.
November 7-10, 2024
San Carlos, AZ
Thu Nov 7th - Sun 10th
For more info visit www.scatvfr.com

04/11/2024

Beautiful fall colors on the Pinal Mountains captured by the incredible group at Tonto Gravity Riders. 🍁

We appreciate all they do for our local trails!

02/11/2024

Truth, they are enormous and ohhhhh soooo good!!!

You won't believe how huge and tasty these cinnamon rolls are! https://familydestinationsguide.com/enormous-cinnamon-rolls-arizona/

01/11/2024

“Miami’s Live Oak and Sullivan Streets were built on a large creek bed and suffered periodic floods. Several measures undertaken to curb the floods, including a cement wall containing the wash, produced no solution. This picture shows a flooded street in 1917-1918, with workers attending to the flood damage in a 1917-1918 Ford truck.”

Source: Images of America, Around Miami

25/10/2024

WOO HOO!!! We’re thrilled to announce that Discover Gila County hit the road yesterday to receive two prestigious new awards, bringing our total to 12 over the past five years!

The first award, the Golden Prospector Award from the Arizona Association of Economic Development, recognizes Discover Gila County for the Best Multi-Media Video Program. Over the last year, our team collaborated with Channels 3, 5, and 12 to showcase Gila County through a compelling video series across top streaming networks. These campaigns delivered millions of impressions and brought ten's of thousands of new visitors to our site.

Our second award is the 2024 TIM Award for Mastery in Best Search Engine Optimization Campaign from the Arizona Innovation Marketing Association. Thanks to a dedicated five-year SEO strategy, Discover Gila County has achieved exceptional visibility on Google. In 2023 alone, 81% of our traffic came from Google searches— that is 91% above industry standards. With over 500 pages, https://Discovergilacounty.com now ranks in the top 5 search results for over 73% of our targeted keywords on Google.

We’re incredibly grateful to our followers and everyone who’s visited our website, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages over the past five years.

We're not done....on November 12, stay tuned for the launch of our new website, featuring exciting updates that make it even easier for you to Discover Gila County!

23/10/2024

Come enjoy the Monster Mash this weekend in Payson!

22/10/2024

October Skies at Roosevelt Lake 🌅

📸:

21/10/2024

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, truly one-of-a-kind!

PC: IG

21/10/2024

It's time for the Gila County Gem and Mineral's Fall Show and Sell! Please share and let Haley Williams at 480-815-6901 or [email protected] know if you are interested in participating!

Address

Telephone

+19289785077

Website

http://www.discovergilacounty.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Discover Gila County posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Discover Gila County:

Videos

Take a ride with us as we go chasing waterfalls, in Gila County, Arizona! #HaiglerCreekFalls

Looking for the perfect family getaway this fall break? The Discover Gila County marketing team joined Channel 12’s Vanessa Ramirez on Arizona Midday yesterday to showcase a variety of amazing, budget-friendly activities just a short drive from the Valley. Explore the beauty and adventure Gila County has to offer without breaking the bank! Check out the video and then visit the links below for more information: 👉Tonto Natural Bridge State Park https://www.discovergilacounty.com/tonto-natural-bridge 👉Tonto National Monument https://www.discovergilacounty.com/tonto-national-moument 👉 Roosevelt Lake https://www.discovergilacounty.com/roosevelt-lake 👉Fishing in Gila County https://www.discovergilacounty.com/fishing 👉 Places for Fall Colors in Gila County https://www.discovergilacounty.com/fall-colors 👉 Mogollon Rim https://www.discovergilacounty.com/mogollon-rim 👉 Camping Spots https://www.discovergilacounty.com/camping 👉 Hiking Trails https://www.discovergilacounty.com/hiking-trails 👉 Fun Family Events Across Gila County https://www.discovergilacounty.com/special-event-calendar #discovergilacounty #ExploreTheWild #fishing #campinglife #azoutdoorliving #fallbreak #fallbreakaz #azliving #azmom

Fall time is special in Gila County. Temperatures start to cool and leaves start to change creating the perfect cozy little family retreat. 🍂View a few perfect day trip ideas from @wizard_of_za 🎥#discovergilacounty

Apache Jii Festival

Come experience true Native American history at the Apache Jii Festival on October 19th in Globe, Arizona. 🎥 : @owlsarebetter

⛰️ Rim Country Memories ⛰️ #discovergilacounty

Missing Man Formation

“Missing Man” Formation Fly over at the Northern Gila County Fair!

A day at Roosevelt Lake is a day unlike any other. 🌅#DiscoverGilaCounty

Set your course for adventure to Globe, Arizona this weekend and Discover the Besh Ba Gowah Ruins! Road Trip!!! 🚙

Here is another must do Arizona road trip! 🚗 #beshbagowah Watch the video to find out how this ancient dwelling was the center of a thriving Native American Culture. For more info visit: https://www.discovergilacounty.com/besh-ba-gowah #discovergilacounty #come2globeaz #ExploreTheWild

Here is another must do Arizona road trip! 🚗 #tontonaturalbridge Watch the video to find out how the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park was discovered. For more info visit: https://www.discovergilacounty.com/tonto-natural-bridge

You + Me at the @tontonaturalbridgestatepark 🙌#DiscoverGilaCounty

Find your cool place in Payson, Arizona at Majestic Mountain Inn! Road Trip - Let's Go! 🚗🚙

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Alerts
Contact The Business
Videos
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?

Country:

City:

Explore the Wild - Discover Gila County

Welcome to the heart of Arizona and access to amazing outdoor adventure. Home to 7 wildernesses, like the Hell’s Gate Wilderness and Mazatzal Wilderness areas this maybe some of the most “Wild”, beautiful and due to its remoteness less explored territory in the United States. That is until now! The Gila County Board of Supervisors in early 2018 approved a never-been-done-before marketing plan that would showcase the entire area and shed light on all the amazing adventures, activities, special events, diversity, history and culture of this amazing part of Arizona. From 2,000 feet above sea level through the grand saguaros to the amazingly beautiful ponderosa pine forest (largest in the world) sitting at 8,000 feet above sea level, to the north and every place in between, Gila County has it all.

Popular theory says that the word Gila was derived from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".

Gila County has a very diverse and somewhat wild makeup. The northern part of the county rises almost 8,000 feet above sea level and includes the Towns of Payson, Star Valley, Christopher Creek, Strawberry and Pine. Here you will find a tradition rich in the old west, including what some think is the birth place of the modern-day rodeo and the last strong hold of the Apache Indians in what was around the early 1800’s called the Arizona Territory. It then stretches east to include the remote community of Young and some of the most wild, untamed territory in the western United States.

To the south the history and heritage of American work ethic and toughness is on display where mining for copper and other precious minerals can be found in the cities of Globe and Miami. To the east the rich Native American culture brings to light the traditions and lifestyles of the San Carlos and Apache Indian Reservations.

Gila County has long been known for its rugged almost untamable geography, people and way of life. It incorporates the Mogollon Rim that is a topographical and geological wonder cutting across the State of Arizona. It extends approximately 200 miles (320 km), starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border with New Mexico. It forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona. This natural geographic wonder is second to none when it comes to providing outdoor adventure to campers, hikers, mountain bikers, hunters and anyone else that follows the call of the wild.

In addition to the “The Rim”, about 10 miles from Payson is one of the greatest national treasures in all of America - The Tonto Natural Bridge. So special that in 1990 a purchase agreement between the State Parks Board and the Tonto Natural Bridge, Inc., was signed to operate this as a State Park. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come each year to see the largest travertine Bridge in the world. One spring day in 1877, while prospecting for gold in the Tonto Rim area, David Douglas Gowan’s eyes first beheld this enormous Natural Bridge. He descended from the mountains to the east to the beautiful little valley below that had a clear spring, in order to quench his thirst. After refreshing himself, he started exploring the adjacent area and made his unique discovery. After a few more trips to this “Garden Spot” with its unique beauty, Gowan decided this was the place for him to live.

Its people were no less rugged. During the prohibition years “bootleg” enterprises grew. New stills sprouted in the canyons. In an Arizona Highways article, Vernon Haught said that 30 to 40 stills were operating in the Payson area. In the 1880s, a long range war broke out in Gila County that became the most costly feud in American history, resulting in an almost complete annihilation of the families involved. The Pleasant Valley War (also sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud or Tonto Basin War) matched the cattle-herding Grahams against the sheep-herding Tewksburys. Once partisan feelings became tense and hostilities began, Frederick Russell Burnham, who later became a celebrated scout and the inspiration for the boy scouts, was drawn into the conflict on the losing side. Burnham shot many men in the feud and was himself nearly killed by a bounty hunter. Tom Horn, a famous assassin, was also known to have taken part as a killer for hire, but it is unknown as to which side employed him, and both sides suffered several murders to which no suspect was ever identified.

Globe is currently the County seat and truly exemplifies the culture of the once popular phrase uttered in most old western movies, the “Wild Wild West”. Due to Globe’s relative isolation from the rest of Arizona and its proximity to the San Carlos Apache reservation, Globe remained a frontier town until the mid 1900’s. Globe's history is laced with many historic events such as murders, stagecoach robberies, outlaws, lynching’s, and Apache raids. The history of Globe is often linked back to several outlaws that ran rough shod over the area in the early 1800’s including; Ike Clanton from the famous Gun Fight at the OK Corral, Geronimo, Apache Kid and Big Nosed Kate - the estranged girlfriend of Doc Holiday from the infamous “Fight at the Ok Corral” in Tombstone, Arizona. She later moved to Globe and opened a boarding house. That home still stands today.

Currently Gila County is working to find its footing as a place that offers tourists and visitors a glimpse of its famous history that was certainly instrumental in forming the famous “Wild” western frontier.

It looks to position itself as the place in Arizona to “Explore the Wild”, not only by showcasing its colorful historic past but also featuring its current day world class outdoor recreational opportunities and access to some of the most beautiful yet challenging landscape in North America.

We invite you and your family to come and Explore the Wild and Discover all that Gila County has to offer. Locals have a saying “come for the Mexican food and stay for the sunsets”. Whatever your draw, whether it be hunting your trophy elk on the San Carlos Indian Reservation or embracing Globe’s mining history or the Payson – World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo, backpacking the Pinal mountains or camping on “The Rim”, Gila County is your next ADVENTURE DESTINATION – Best part it is only 90 minutes from Phoenix - See you there!!

For More info visit https://www.discovergilacounty.com

08/11/2024

08/11/2024

08/11/2024

06/11/2024

06/11/2024

06/11/2024

05/11/2024

04/11/2024

02/11/2024

02/11/2024

01/11/2024

25/10/2024

23/10/2024

22/10/2024

21/10/2024

21/10/2024

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Videos

Apache Jii Festival

Missing Man Formation

Shortcuts

Share

Explore the Wild - Discover Gila County