Whether escaping the "roar" of the '20s or the slightly different roar of the current decade, Mount Lemmon has always beckoned from the north, a cool green getaway from those 100-degree days. Generations of Tucsonans, natives and newbies alike, have flocked to the mountain like pilgrims to camp and recharge their spiritual batteries. The recent fires, while dramatic, didn't toast the entire mountain. Some places burned; others didn't; many simply had the accumulated brush burned out. This was nature hitting the "reset" button. And the camping? It's still some of the best around.

Runners up:

2. Rose Canyon www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest/recreation/camping/sites/rose_cyn.shtml
3. TIE

• Chiricahua National Monument www.nps.gov/chir/
• Madera Canyon www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest/recreation/camping/sites/madera.shtml