By STEVE AYERS
Staff Reporter / Verde Valley Independent Newspaper

It has been a banner week for the Town of Camp Verde when it comes to getting free money.

First the governor called to say the Arizona Office of Tourism would be sending a check for $35,250 so the town could buy come cannons and some new clothes.

Then the town got word that Arizona State Parks would be sending along a check for $178,500 for a new trailhead.

How good is that?

In the works for several years, the Copper Canyon Trailhead project is finally coming to fruition according to Verde District Ranger Dee Hinze.

The trailhead project has been a collaborative effort between State Parks, the Prescott National Forest, the Town of Camp Verde plus many individuals, local businesses and organizations.

But, perhaps no one has put as much into making the trailhead a reality as Lynn Reddell. The long-time chairman of the town's Trails and Pathways Committee said she is elated.

"We had talked about it for years. It was in the town's first general plan. But things started getting serious a few years ago when the Forest Service got behind it," Reddell said. "I am thrilled.

"It just goes to show that when everyone works together, time doesn't matter as long as the final result is as nice as what we are going to have."

The grant money, which from the State Parks Recreational Trails Program, will be spent to improve the road into the trailhead and to build parking for a dozen vehicles with horse trailers, along with pick nick tables, an off-road vehicle loading ramp and restrooms.

The money will also be used to build and interpretive display illustrating the history of the old Horne Saloon.

The trailhead is adjacent to the historic site of the notorious saloon that was once located just outside the boundaries of Fort Verde. In its time the Horne Saloon served as a recreational opportunity of its own for enlisted men station at the fort.

The trailhead will serve as the gateway to a series of combined-use trails that go up Copper Canyon and connect with the General Crook Trail other trails in the area.

"It will be a combined-use trailhead," Hinze said. "Portions of the trail will be open to motorized vehicles, mountain bikes, horseback riders and hikers."

The trailhead will be the first combined use trailhead in the Verde Valley. The term "combined" describes trails that allow both motorized and no-motorized use.

Hinze said he speculates that the grant was successful because it offered multiple recreational opportunities and had an historic element.

Several Camp Verde business including Rocky Construction, D&D Fence, Cornerstone Surveying, Pender Engineering, Rinker, Rezzonico Welding, Camp Verde Feeds, Pasture Maintenance Service, Rosebud Pecan Ranch and others have donated a total of over $30,000 in cash and services.

The Town of Camp Verde has committed $10,000, and the Verde Valley Horseman's Council has chipped in an additional $1,000 to build a kiosk to educated users on the proper etiquette when using combined use trails.

Trailhead construction will be the responsibility of the Prescott National Forest according to Hinze.

"I can't say how soon we will get it started, but I know that State Parks doesn't like seeing the money sit around," Hinze said. "I expect it will get started within the year."