Photos

The Salt River Canyon is sometimes called the mini-Grand Canyon, with its stark, sweeping vistas carved by millions of years of erosion. U.S. 60 snakes down one wall of the canyon, crosses the Salt River, then climbs up the other side on its way to Show Low.
Nevertheless, the Salt River Canyon remains a wild place. It's so vast it curls off to the east and west through hundreds of square miles of mysterious valleys, rocky spires and vertical cliffs.
It's a nine-mile drive from rim to rim along a series of switchbacks to the valley floor, then up the opposite side. At the bottom of the canyon, the Salt River roils through its rocky bed.
Beyond the bridge adventurers can turn off the main road onto dirt tracks that run for several miles along the river.
Many pullouts at varying elevations on both sides of the canyon enable motorists to park and enjoy the view. At some turnoffs travelers can explore by foot. At some sites, prehistoric tribes carved petroglyphs into the black boulders that line the slope below the road.
The Salt River Canyon was used by Apache warriors during the 1800s as a refuge from pursuing U.S. calvary troops. Nowadays, the river provides a border between the San Carlos Apache Reservation to the south and the White Mountain Apaches to the north.
As an outdoor destination, the canyon offers camping, hiking, fishing and white-water rafting.