Fall Gatway

‘Explore The Wild’: Your GATEWAY
Online is discovergilacounty.com
Gateway magazine
is your quarterly
update and invite
to visit Gila County and
explore scenic spots along
the Copper Corridor. For
the most up-to-date details
about where to stay and
what to do while you’re
here, bookmark discovergilacounty.com
as a
browser favorite and connect
on the comprehensive
website’s companion
Facebook and Instagram
pages to see enticing photos
of cobalt-blue lakes,
tree-lined hiking
paths and mouth-watering
local food.
Launched by Gila County’s
Board of Supervisors
two years ago, the
stylish new website is a
thorough portal to outdoor
adventure ranging
from the tall, cool pines of the Rim
Country towns of Payson and Star
Valley down through our Copper
Corridor heritage here in Globe
and Miami – including travel and
tourism information about all three
Apache Nations (San Carlos, Tonto,
White Mountain), wilderness
areas, hiking trails, unique local
restaurants and event calendars.
Centrally-located Gila County is
truly the heart of Arizona, with
53,500 residents and 4,796 square
miles of desert, canyonlands and
lakes. Bookmark discovergilacounty.com
as a browser favorite;
you’ll find planned itineraries
for three-day-weekend trips that
hit the highlights for shopping,
relaxed hikes, Native American
culture and history – and outdoor
adventure.
Gila County has seven wilderness
areas: Hell’s Gate and the Mazatzal
canyons and forests offer scenery
that’s approachable, yet remote
enough for peace, quiet and solitude.
Arizona’s majestic saguaro cacti? See
and photograph these desert icons at
our lowest elevations; Gila County
includes Sonoran Desert at 2,000
feet above sea level – proceeding up
to stately ponderosa pine forest (the
largest stand of ponderosa pines on
the planet!). Gila County lures outdoor
enthusiasts choosing a place to
live, work and enjoy the
best mix of Arizona’s desert,
mountains and lakes.
Where to Stay?
discovergilacounty.
com lists our biggest
hotels, of course –
but gives equal space
to singular bed-andbreakfast
lodging in
Pine-Strawberry, Payson,
Globe and Young. Where
to eat while you’re here?
Restaurants are all listed,
too - from family-owned
Mexican restaurants of
Globe-Miami to unique
eateries in Hayden and
Star Valley, a popular
brewery in Pine and
a vineyard-winery in
Young.
Etymologists tell us
the word ‘Gila’ originates
from a Spanish tion of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a
contrac-
Yuma word meaning “running water
which is salty.” Gila County includes
the towns of Payson, Star Valley,
Christopher Creek, Strawberry and
Pine. Mining, ranching and Old West
traditions still thrive here. Payson
takes pride in being the birthplace of
rodeo, and the San Carlos Apaches
still practice their ancient tradition
of Sunrise Dances during the spring,
summer and fall.
Looking for a half-day hike, or
a 2-3 day backpacking adventure?
Explore the Mogollon Rim - a topographic
and geological wonder that
extends about 200 miles across cen-
Continued on page 15
Gateway to the Copper Corridor 2021
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