What makes Slide Rock so popular? (Phoenix, Glendale: appointed, for sale, home)

[urbex]

I live in Glendale, and drove up to Flagstaff today to pick up some car parts (ironically enough...dozens of junk yards, hundreds of auto parts stores, and thousands of for sale items on Craigslist/ebay in Phoenix, yet the only place I found that had the transmission I needed was a guy in Flagstaff, lol).

On the way back, I decided to take the "scenic" route down 89A through Sedona. Coming up towards Slide Rock, traffic got HEAVY, and there was a back up of traffic trying to get into Slide Rock park almost a 1/4 mile long, along with dozens of cars crammed into every nook and cranny of available space for a couple miles either side of 89 for a couple miles each direction from the park.

I didn't even know it was there until today driving past it (kept thinking there must be an accident on this twisty road for traffic being so bad until I saw the park), so I've never been in the park either.

What the heck is so much of a draw for seemingly everyone to go to this one park? I don't deal well with large crowds (anxiety issues), so I wasn't about to stop to check it out myself, but did do a mental note to check it out at a later date (plus I had a few grand worth of car parts sitting in my open truck bed that I didn't really want to leave unattended). Is there a good time to visit it when it wouldn't be so packed?

[fennec2009]

It's overhyped. Everyone loves places where you can park the car, walk 500 feet, and pretend you are outdoorsy and enjoying nature. The South Rim is another good one. Tuweep and Havasupai are so much better than the South Rim but are too remote to be comfortable for most people. Pit toilets and no amenities within an hour? Oh heck no! That's also why Fossil Creek has cleared out in the past year or so. The road from Camp Verde requires a high clearance vehicle and the road from Strawberry is closed. Walking three miles from the upper trailhead? That's way too far!

There are prettier, more enjoyable natural attractions in the state. They also aren't jam packed with people and littered with trash. But hey, if someone wants to wait an hour to park and pay $20 a car to swim, go right ahead.

[urbex]

Originally Posted by fennec2009

The road from Camp Verde requires a high clearance vehicle

That right there is an attraction to me...my "little" Jeep rolls on 33" tires, and the "big" Scout on 37s has door sills higher than my waist...a "high clearance" road to me is dang near a paved road

So the short of it is just that Slide Rock is an easy to get to/from with the family car swimming hole (which from reading some threads here seems to be kinda rare in the area)?

[fennec2009]

Originally Posted by urbex

That right there is an attraction to me...my "little" Jeep rolls on 33" tires, and the "big" Scout on 37s has door sills higher than my waist...a "high clearance" road to me is dang near a paved road

So the short of it is just that Slide Rock is an easy to get to/from with the family car swimming hole (which from reading some threads here seems to be kinda rare in the area)?

haha But yes, pretty much. And there are plenty of swimming holes in AZ, though most require some hiking to reach or are accessed by rough roads. Swimming Holes of the Southwest is a good reference material, and you can order it for the price of only one visit to Slide Rock Day Trips With a Splash: Swimming Holes of the Southwest
There was a website with locations and photos of swimming holes as well but it appears it has been offline for two weeks. Here's the link in case the domain name is renewed by chance: http://www.running-water.com/holes/dswholespage.html

[curly5759]

It hasn't been mentioned, but maybe the original poster doesn't know about the slides at slide rock. Oak creek flows quickly through several narrow crevices that act as slides. The moss that grows on them makes them very slick. Lots of fun to ride. I haven't gone down the slides in a very long time, but it was a favorite place to go when attending NAU.

I drove through the canyon twice last Tuesday. Although it wasn't as busy as a weekend, there was at least 200 people there. I can't imagine going there on a weekend or holiday.

Curly

[chazk14]

theres water there!!

[katie45]

Each vacation (for approx 10 yrs) we visited Flag and Sedona. We were very disappointed when Slide Rock was added to Oak Creek Canyon. As far as we were concerned it ruined the area.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by katie45

We were very disappointed when Slide Rock was added to Oak Creek Canyon.

Slide Rock has been a part of Oak Creek Canyon for millions of years!.....don't quite know what you mean here!....do you mean when it became a state park and a fee was added?....

of course, it was busy, urbex, because it was hot and a weekend....it actually is a great area for summer fun....lots of water....but I also hate crowds and I remember when it was just a walk-up area with no fancy entrance gates and parking areas.....it was crowded even then and peoples' cars were sticking out into the highway, etc....

[urbex]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

of course, it was busy, urbex, because it was hot and a weekend....

True, but I meant more along the lines of why this particular place. I passed about a dozen other park areas that were all just as easily accessible (actually, more so I'd say, as you wouldn't have to go down that slow, winding section of 89A to get there...was actually glad I wasn't driving one of my 4x4s with the super flexy suspension, lol), and they only had a couple cars in them, if any at all.

It's not at all obvious to people that have never been there, what's back there, and what's drawing so many people when you just drive by the area. Or, at least not to me :P

[Canyon Cat]

After visiting Sedona for about 25 years, and now having a 2nd home there, I can say that Slide Rock is where the unwashed masses (literally) come to play. [Locals avoid the area like the plague.] Usually carloads of the Phoenix hoi polloi with their gaggle of kids and the ubiquitous cooler full of Bud Light. A good percentage of the Bud Light empties end up on the side of the road. These people clog up the shoulder of the road, often stepping out into traffic, as they fight for their free parking spots along the highway, and trudge with their kids and coolers to the park. After a few busy weekends of nasty children in dirty diapers frolicking in the water the place gets closed due to high levels of fecal coloform in Oak Creek. Just lovely . . . .

Driving up and down windy Oak Creek Canyon in the summer months, especially on weekends, is a dreadful experience. It's smarter to drive into Sedona/VOC via Route 179 from I-17 to avoid the tourists, RVs, and Slide Rock hordes. Call me a snob, but I would never go there myself. It's nasty.