Parks in Cottonwood

Two of these are destinations and two are for the neighborhood, and it is worth knowing which is which before you load the car.

Dead Horse Ranch State Park is the big one, on the Verde River at the north edge of town, with fishing lagoons, a campground, cabins and trails that run on into the national forest. It is a state park, so it charges: $10 per vehicle with one person, $20 for two to four, $5 to walk or cycle in. The visitor center runs 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and day-use hours move with the season. It is also the valley’s best easy river access and where the Birding and Nature Festival happens each April.

Riverfront Park, at 1284 East River Front Road, is the city’s and it is free. It has the valley’s public dog park, one and a third acres split into small-dog, large-dog and training areas, plus disc golf, a skate park and ball fields. It hosts the Verde Valley Wine Festival and Thunder Valley Rally, so on those weekends expect it to be busy and the parking to be gone. The Old Town Jail Trail connects it to Old Town on foot, from a trailhead at 1101 North Main.

Cottonwood Kid’s Park on South 12th Street and Lions Club Park are neighborhood parks: playground and grass rather than a day out.

Dogs, water and heat

The dog park at Riverfront is the only fenced one in the valley; the Sedona one is at Posse Grounds, half an hour away. Dogs are fine on leash at Dead Horse Ranch on the trails and in the campground. Our dog-friendly guide covers the rules that catch people out, including the two state parks near Sedona where dogs are restricted or banned outright.

From June to September, plan anything outdoors for before 9 a.m. The river makes Cottonwood feel cooler than it is.