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The historic route of the Verde Canyon Railroad – grandfathered between two national forests and adjacent to a national wilderness area – follows the upper Verde River, a lush riparian habitat blessed with astonishing beauty where eagles still soar.

The Verde River, from the Spanish word “verde” translated to “green” in English, is 160 miles long. This very significant river in the Southwest has its headwaters starting from a spring near Ashfork.

Water temperatures are too warm for most of the year, so the Verde is not a perennial trout stream, but the Arizona Game and Fish still stocks it a few times per year. Native carp, catfish, large- and small-mouth bass and bluegill thrive in the river year-round.

According to Native American lore, the Verde River is a female. The Mother Verde is part of a fragile ecosystem that represents less than two percent of the landmass of Arizona called “riparian.” Riparian areas, the narrow strips of land on either side of streams with flowing water, are very precious ecosystems, especially in Arizona. 70 to 80 percent of wildlife and waterfowl depend on these habitats, either directly or indirectly. Riparian regions also support a wide variety of vegetation, exclusive from the native desert landscape.

"The pictures on your website and the displays are great but they don’t begin to do justice to actually being there."

—Larry Klassen, Vista, CA

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