After several years of delays, administrative shuffles within the department and operational changes to the property, Rockin’ River Ranch State Park off Salt Mine Road in Camp Verde is slated to open sometime in the late fall or early winter as a day-use only park.
“Arizona Parks and Trails bought the 209-acres Rockin’ River Ranch [with $7 million from a conservation fund] in 2008 from The Nature Conservancy,” the park’s master plan states.
“Variously used as a cattle or horse ranch and a musician’s retreat, the property is located approximately seven miles south of Camp Verde along the Verde River in the heart of central Arizona.”
Upon opening, it will be the first new Arizona state park since the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a memorial to the 19 firefighters who died on June 30, 2013, while suppressing the Yarnell Hill Fire.
“We’ve definitely made updates to what had originally been proposed [for Rockin’ River],” Arizona State Parks public information officer Michelle
Thompson said. “There isn’t any formal new master plan that we can share. But based on community feedback and some of the concerns that were raised, we did decide to change to just a day-use facility rather than having the overnight camping and cabins that were proposed in the initial master plan.”
Thompson also pointed out that Salt Mine Road, which leads to the park, is an unpaved road, and figuring out how recreational vehicles and other large automobiles could navigate the road, as well as effects on the surrounding neighborhoods, were among the concerns taken into account.
The first phase of development for Rockin’ River Ranch will include the addition of parking areas, picnic tables, restrooms and a small visitor center.
“We will have approximately four miles of walking paths in five different locations throughout the park property,” Thompson said. “There may be other areas where people would be able to put in kayaks or maybe fishing piers.”
The park has not yet hired a manager and Arizona State Parks has not posted an advertisement for the position. Thompson said that staff from other Verde Valley state parks could man the site temporarily, and while she did not have a timeline for filling the position, that would not affect their ability to open on schedule.
The park was originally scheduled to have a soft opening in September 2017, followed by a formal opening in the fall of 2018. The delay was caused in part by organizational problems stemming from the November 2018 firing of Parks Director Sue Black by then-Gov. Doug Ducey for developing state land while disregarding laws protecting American Indian sites.
“Continuing to work on this kind of fell below some other priorities that our agency had at the time,” Thompson said. “Then, obviously, 2020 was when the pandemic hit, bringing a whole other set of priorities for the agency. After that, it’s also impacted construction [and] contractors, all of those things just have long delays now. So it has been a bit of a struggle to get contractors willing to do the work, and then the ability to get the supplies. But we seem to be on a really good track now to open this fall.”
While there is no formal grand opening planned for the park at the moment, Thompson hasn’t ruled it out.
“I think this is going to be a really popular park,” Thompson said. “I know that it’s been many years [that] people have been waiting for this to open. I think we will make a big announcement and try to encourage people to come out and see the park as soon as we’ve opened. Then obviously, since this is phase one, we’ll have additional phases with amenities being added from there.”
