One of the rarest wildlife habitats in Arizona, this 128-acre natural area is a spring-fed wetland with higher biological activity than the surrounding landscape. It attracts a wide variety of wildlife, including elk, foxes, deer, waterfowl, wading birds, migratory birds, wintering bald eagles, elk, garter snakes, songbirds, and small mammals. Hike the Pumphouse Nature Trail, an easy 0.75-mile round-trip trail with wildlife viewing blinds, stone benches, and educational displays.

The wet meadow and washes of Pumphouse drainage form the “headwaters” of Oak Creek, a major tributary of the Verde River. When debris gets into the water along the natural area—dog poop, motor oil, or cinders from road maintenance, for example—it ends up affecting fish, birds, snakes, and mammals that rely on the Verde River corridor for habitat.

The hills and springs that ring Pumphouse County Natural Area were once a camping and hunting area for Apaches coming and going out of the Verde Valley to Dzil Cho (the San Francisco Peaks) and to Hopi to trade. The Apache place name for the area translates as Place of Many Springs. Their signature on the landscape is invisible even though they used the area for several centuries.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Pumphouse County Natural Area.