The Purple Mountain site at Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River offers a short walk to the creek in Coconino National Forest, Arizona.
Dense trees provide plentiful shade with many grassy picnic spots. There are several shallow pools with gravel bottoms and easy entry points. It's a beautiful, relaxing area perfect for kicking back in a hammock to read a book, take a siesta, or simply enjoy nature. With long banks to explore, it's easy to find your own little slice of heaven.
Look for bits of history from the days when the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities provided power to nearby communities. The facilities were decommissioned and removed between 2005 and 2008, but many structures and foundations remain. The Purple Mountain area was originally a work camp in 1908 for workers who constructed the nearby hydroelectric power plant facilities.
Increasing popularity has led to the Coconino and Tonto National Forests to implement a parking permit reservation system in 2016. As of 2017, permits are required April 1 to October 1.
Photo taken on April 10, 2017. (Forest Service photo by Deborah Lee Soltesz). Original public domain image from Flickr