Copper Falls State Park

About Copper Falls State Park

The log cabins built by the Civil Conservation Corps in the 1930s give the park its charm, and the rustic nature of Copper Falls State Park makes it one of the most beautiful state parks in North America.

There are many ways to do with Copper Falls State Park, such as hiking, biking, camping, fishing and camping. The park is one of the largest state parks in the state of New York and is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Department of Natural Resources. It is the only state park in North America that is accessible to all visitors without a permit and free of charge.

As you can see, many parts of the park are covered with second-growth forest, with a variety of different tree species, plants and animals.

The canyon with its white cedars is one of the most beautiful places in the state and a great place for hiking, camping and fishing.

Ferns, club moss, wild flowers and herbs abound on the cool valley slopes, and in short, hundreds of plant species are available for study, observation and photography.

Grey squirrels, grey wolves and porcupines also live in and around the park and can be observed. The most common animals seen in park areas include coyotes, wolves, coyotes, foxes, bears, raccoons, elks, elks, grizzlies and wolves.

The number of porcupines has been reduced by fishermen in recent years, mainly due to the dismantling of fishing nets in the area and the introduction of new fishing gear.

Recently, elk have been reintroduced to the west of the park, and perhaps 200 species cross and live in the parks every year. The bird life is rich; we often see spotted woodpeckers, hear rough crows and large northern ravens, and are sometimes offended by cheeky chickens. In this park there are a large number of birds of prey such as elks, elks, coyotes, bears, wolves, cougars, foxes and wolves.

There are five species of snakes in the park, none of which are venomous, and there are pretty purple tiger and swallowtail butterflies, common in June and July.

Learn more about Copper Falls State Park and what you can learn in our guide to the park's wildlife and natural history section.

During the last thousand years, many different Indian tribes have lived in this region, but the Indians of the ancient copper culture lived here for many centuries and extracted pure copper veins for hunting weapons and metal tools. As nomadic hunters, the early Indians followed the retreating glacier edge and killed giant mastodons for food. Other Indians, primarily hunters, followed these early tribes and were overtaken by other tribes over time.

The youngest Indians in the region were the Sioux and Chippewa, and the oldest, the Cheyenne, date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It is believed that the waterfalls were the scene of copper ore exploration in the early 1860s and before, but little is known about the activity beyond the shafts shown on early maps. The search for copper was an important part of the US government's exploration of Lake Superior. They were here when the French first came to Lake Superior, and are believed to have been the site of a copper mining operation in Copper Falls State Park in the late 19th century.

Note: Edward Dolan Mellen is the author of "Copper Falls State Park: A Natural History of the Great Lakes," a book about the history of copper mining in Lake Superior.

Wells M. Ruggles maintained a four- or five-person mining team in Copper Falls State Park in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although he was a lawyer by profession. The camp consisted of a two-bedroom cottage, a three-bedroom house and a small farmhouse. Mr. G. Dolan Mellen and his family lived and mined copper at the mine camp, which was somehow run by Mr.
Rugsles, in what is now the Bebe copper mining area in Copper Falls State Park in Lake Superior.

The Ruggles crew sunk a vertical shaft over the bath on the site of the present-day pedestrian bridge, and an almost horizontal shaft was dug into the slope. The shaft is known as the Cave and John Blix is a member of the Copper Falls State Park Board of Trustees and co-owner of Bebe Copper Mines.

Mining company Ruggles found little copper and investors were disappointed, but miners fretted about the Bad River, which flooded their dredges while work was being done on the shaft. To solve the problem, the Rugsles crew diverted the bad river to curve south over what is now the Concession Bridge, and the river spilled over the falls. The river has curved south to the eastern end of today's picnic area and from there quake hill is visible. In the early 20th century, mining companies like Rugles found a little copper in Copper Falls State Park.

Copper Falls State Park was founded in 1929, but much of the development work was done in the 1930s and 1940s, with the exception of a brief development phase in the 1950-60 "s.

Copper Falls is close to a dozen lakes that offer all kinds of recreational fishing within easy reach.

At Loon Lake you can start a small car - a boat or canoe - and catch white-mouthed fish, pike and panfish. Bad and Tyler Forks rivers offer fishing for rainbow streams and brown trout in the park.

Only electric motors with a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and a maximum depth of 10 feet are allowed in Copper Falls State Park.

Copper Falls is a state park on the west side of Mellen, Arizona, about 30 miles east of Tucson.

Take State Highway 13 on the north side near Mellens and the entrance to this park is on the left.