26-404: Alamo Lake State Park is a state park of Arizona , United States, centered on Alamo Lake , a flood control and recreational reservoir . The park is located in western Arizona about 38 miles (61 km) north of Wenden . It is accessed via a paved two-lane road off either U.S. Route 60 to the south or U.S. Route 93 to the east. Owing to its remoteness, the park is often considered one of
52-565: A fur trading post in the area that remained active until the Alaska Purchase in 1867. The National Park Service at one point considered managing the area, but the Alaska State Legislature voted in 1978 to make it a state park. Due to its remote location, the park is not accessible from the contiguous road system. The only road access is from Dillingham, which has an airport with regularly scheduled flights. Many visitors to
78-516: A land lease from the U.S. government , while Mackinac National Park was handed down to become the first of the Michigan state parks . As with national parks, facilities at state parks are often leased to concessionaires to operate. Breaks Interstate Park is operated under an interstate compact by Virginia state parks , although it is also one of the Kentucky state parks , straddling both sides of
104-572: A few exceptions such as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in Alaska, the largest state park in the United States . In addition to preserving natural landscapes and providing recreational opportunities, many state parks also serve as important educational resources . They often offer guided tours, interpretive programs, and exhibits that help visitors learn about
130-683: A restaurant) for lodging at some parks. These typically use "Resort" in the name, such as "_____ Resort State Park" in West Virginia state parks and "_____ State Resort Park" in neighboring Kentucky state parks , which has 17 such resort parks, the most of any state. Other states use the Resort name inconsistently (like DeGray Lake Resort State Park , the only one out of three resorts in Arkansas state parks ), or have only one such park ( South Carolina state parks ' Hickory Knob State Resort Park ), or do not use
156-407: Is often dry, heavy seasonal rains maintain the lake's depth. During extreme flood events, the reservoir can fill rapidly; the lake has been recorded to rise 11 feet (3.4 m) in a single night due to extreme flooding. Unusually high flows during the 1970s and 1980s increased the depth and size of the reservoir to unexpected levels, giving birth to recreational and fishing possibilities. Since then,
182-760: Is part of the Alamo Lake State Park administered by the Arizona State Parks. The lake impounds runoff from the Bill Williams River , an intermittent tributary of the Colorado River . The dam was constructed in 1968 by the Army Corps of Engineers , primarily for flood control purposes. The dam is an earthfill dam that rises 283 feet (86 m) from the streambed. While the Bill Williams River
208-650: The Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales . The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa, and Belgium, is provincial park . Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies. State parks are thus similar to national parks , but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks . In general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with
234-481: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration . Wood-Tikchik State Park Wood-Tikchik State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Alaska north of Dillingham . Over 1,600,000 acres (650,000 ha) (6,500 km ) in area—about the size of the state of Delaware —, comprising more than half of all state park land in Alaska and 15% of the total state park land in
260-549: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Alamo Lake State Park has a hot desert climate , abbreviated "BWh" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Alamo Lake State Park was 124 °F (51.1 °C) on July 29, 1995, while the coldest temperature recorded was 19 °F (−7.2 °C) on December 26, 1990, January 15, 2007, January 4–5, 2019, and January 22, 2023. State park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at
286-510: The "best kept secrets" of the state park system. Alamo Lake State Park features camping facilities and attracts wildlife enthusiasts, as the park is home to numerous wildlife species including the bald eagle . The park's remoteness and distance from cities also makes it a destination for stargazing , as it is the darkest sky state park in Arizona. Alamo Lake itself is formed by the Alamo Dam that
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#1732877208937312-731: The country's state parks. The NASPD further counts over 43,000 miles (69,000 km) of trail, 217,367 campsites, and 8,277 cabins and lodges across U.S. state parks. The largest state park system in the United States is Alaska State Parks , with over 100 sites encompassing 3.3 million acres. Many states include designations beyond "state park" in their state parks systems. Other designations might be state recreation areas , state beaches, and state nature reserves . Some state park systems include long-distance trails and historic sites . To encourage tourism in rural areas, several states have simple lodges, inns, hotels, or motels (usually with
338-424: The country. Despite being the largest state park in the nation, the park had no staff whatsoever for its first five years, and even now at times only a single ranger is in charge of patrolling the entire park, usually by aircraft . Yup'ik people inhabited the area that is now the park for centuries before contact with Europeans . In 1818 a Russian expedition explored the area and its rivers and established
364-474: The designation at all (such as the lodges of Georgia state parks ). The term "lodge" may also refer to a hiking lodge , essentially a large cabin for hikers rather than a large facility with private rooms and a restaurant. Other lodging may include yurts and tipis . Not all parks owned by a state are necessarily part of its state-park system, such as Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. Some Texas state parks are
390-518: The establishment of the park. The park is bounded on the west by Togiak National Wildlife Refuge and on the northwest by the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge , providing an extremely large area of remote wilderness on public lands. The park is considered a critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, however a primary reason for the park’s existence is to preserve salmon spawning areas. All five major salmon species breed in
416-450: The lake has been stocked with numerous fish species, including largemouth bass , crappie , sunfish , channel catfish , flathead catfish and tilapia . The lake is host to fishing tournaments and has been the location of at least one Arizona state fishing record. The park can be accessed by a paved road from Highway 60 at the Wenden turn-off to the north on Alamo Lake Road. According to
442-473: The lake systems as long as 60 miles (97 km), all within park boundaries. Wood-Tikchik is one of only two state parks in Southwest Alaska . The other is Lake Aleknagik State Recreation Site at 59°16′46″N 158°37′29″W / 59.27944°N 158.62472°W / 59.27944; -158.62472 , a small 11-acre (4.5 ha) park whose primary purpose is to serve as a jumping off point for
468-484: The local flora , fauna , geology , and cultural history of the area. These programs are designed not only to enhance the visitor experience but also to promote conservation awareness and encourage responsible enjoyment of natural resources. There are 6,792 state park units in the United States, according to the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD). There are some 813 million annual visits to
494-458: The park arrive by charted floatplane and land on one of the many lakes , all of which are open to floatplane landings. Marine access to the Wood River lake system is via the Wood River itself. There are a few privately owned remote lodges within the park, by reservation only. The entire park is open to camping, but a few areas do require a permit. Leave No Trace camping is heavily emphasized by
520-485: The park managers and fires are only permitted on beaches or gravel bars, or one of the few provided fire pits . The park is deliberately mostly undeveloped wilderness, with various conservation groups working to purchase publicly available parcels within the park, either to hold in trust or to sell back to the park system. This has created some friction with pro-development groups, including Yupik natives who would like to develop on land claims they have that predate
546-413: The park, with sockeye considered the most important for subsistence fisheries in the area. Other wildlife in the park include whitefish , black and brown bears , moose , caribou , wolverines , marmots , porcupines , otters and foxes. Both sport and subsistence hunting of large game is allowed in the park with proper permits. The name of the park refers to two different lake systems within
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#1732877208937572-757: The park. The southern lake system eventually forms the Wood River, which flows into Bristol Bay , and the more northern Tikchik lakes empty into the Nuyakuk River , a tributary of the Nushagak River which also flows into Bristol Bay. The Wood River system of lakes are all directly connected to one another by streams, forming a water trail of over 85 miles (137 km). The lakes of these two systems are large and deep, ranging from 15 to 45 miles (24 to 72 km) long and maximum depths of 342 to 940 feet (104 to 287 m). A dozen of these lakes have over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of surface area. There are rivers connecting
598-469: The state line. Other multi-state parks are legally two separate parks with the same name and more informal cooperation between them. The title of oldest state park in the United States is claimed by Niagara Falls State Park in New York , established in 1885. Several public parks previously or currently maintained at the state level pre-date it. Indian Springs State Park has been operated continuously by
624-454: The state of Georgia as a public park since 1825, although it did not gain the title "State Park" until 1931. In 1864 Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded by the federal government to California until Yosemite National Park was proclaimed in 1890. In 1878 Wisconsin set aside a vast swath of its northern forests as "The State Park" but, needing money, sold most of it to lumber companies within 20 years. Mackinac National Park
650-497: The sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state , some of the Mexican states , and in Brazil . The term is also used in
676-468: Was established in 1875 as the second U.S. national park before being converted to a state park in 1895. The first state park with the designation of "state park" was Itasca State Park in Minnesota , established in 1891. Many state park systems date to the 1930s, when around 800 state parks (and several national ones) across the country were developed with assistance from federal job-creation programs like
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