About Alpine Arizona

The mountain town of Alpine, Arizona is also called "The Alps of Arizona" due to the majestic mountains that surround the Alpine Valley itself. The town is completely surrounded by the 1+ million acre Apache National Forest and offers numerous outdoor recreational activities.

Alpine is located at Latitude 33.848N & Longitude 109.142W at an elevation of 8050' in Apache County. The most notable topographic features include Escudilla Mountain (10,877') to the north, Luna Lake and the headwaters of the San Francisco River to the east, the Black River to the southwest and the Blue River to the southeast. The unicorporated town lies only 6 miles from the New Mexico border via US 180 to the east, 28 miles south of Springerville via US 191, and 93 miles north of Clifton via US191. US 191 (formerly US666) is also known as the Coronado Trail (Scenic Byway) and passes north-south directly through town. Alpine is located 265 miles from either Tucson or Phoenix and is a popular destination for desert dwellers to relax and cool off. The average driving time from either city is approximately 4 1/2 hours.

The town of Alpine was originally settled by Anderson Bush in 1876 and was called Bush Valley. Mr. Bush constructed a series of low roofed log cabins in a defensive circle, the walls in the cabins had portholes used for firing at attacking Indians. This settlement was known as Fort Bush and was eventually torn down in 1884.

In 1879 Bush sold land claims to William Maxwell and Fred Hamblin, from Alpine, UT - a pretense to the present day name. These Mormon settlers named the town Frisco in honor of the nearby San Francisco River. In 1880, Maxwell & Hamblin sold to Mormon settlers just across the border in Luna, NM that constructed a log home/fort about a mile south east of town. The town was eventually renamed Alpine since the area resembles the Swiss Alps - the Alps of Arizona. In 1953 a Fort Bush Monument was constructed on US 180 to commemorate the early pioneers.

Alpine is reputedly the highest agricultural community in the United States. Key economic providers are still ranching and timber in this mountain community. However, tourism is the main attraction - within a 30 mile radius there are over 30 lakes and 200 miles of trout streams. There are thousands of miles of maintained US Forest Service roads and hundreds of miles of hiking trails. The Forest Service also maintains groomed x-country ski trails in the Williams Valley Winter Recreation Area and at Hannagan Meadow. Big game hunting is also a major attraction with elk and deer being the most sought after game. It is not unusual to view over 100 elk on a daily basis !!

View of Alpine, AZ and Luna Lake from Indian Peak

Contact Eric by Email: Eric@AzAlps.com