Driving up Catalina Highway to the top of Mount Lemmon, you'll pass through four completely different ecological strata--and you can camp in each one of them. For those who like it warm and dry, we suggest the Gordon Hirabayashi campground, where you can climb rocky embankments, walk through washes and curl up in your sleeping bag to the gentle rustle of cottonwood trees. Or if--like most of us Tucsonans--you'd rather ascend to a higher elevation, you can go up thousands more feet to Spencer Canyon and roast some marshmallows under the pines. Whichever of Mount Lemmon's zones you choose, you can be sure it'll beat the heat of Tucson's asphalt. All you need for a super-cool weekend is a tent, a package of wieners and a car with functional brakes.
Runners up:
2. TIE
Catalina State Park, www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/catalina.html
Rose Canyon, www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest/recreation/camping/sites/rose_cyn.shtml