I rsBN 978-0-9664919-9'9 PADDLING ARIZONA A Guide to lakes, Rivers, and Creek by Tyler \filliams Funhog Press Flagstaff, Arizona Flatwater Rivers and Lakes Alphabetical Listing of Flatwater Rivers and Lakes Apache Lake p9.56 Lyman Lake pg.1 08 Ashurst Lake pg.B6 Lynx Lake p9.1 00 I I Bartlen Lake p9.52 Martinez Lake ps.7Q I UT I Big Lake pg.'l 14 Mary (Lake) p9.84 t-- Bill lfilliams River Mouth pg.6B McHood Park Lake p9.46 Lk. Powell Black Canyon p9.8 Mead (Lake) p9.42 NV Glen Blue Ridge Reservoir p9.92 Parker Canyon Lake pg,1 20 Bunch Reservoir p9.112 Patagonia Lake pg.7 4 LkJ Mead î I Lake pg.58 p9.76 N Canyon Pena Blanca Lake Carnero Lake pg.1 1 0 Pleasant (Lake) pg.4B Black Colorado River (lower) p9.12 Powell (Lake) p9.38 cyn. Colorado @ Yuma pg.1 6 Prescott Granite Lakes p9.1 02 p9.82 pg.1 Marv Dogtown Reservoir Prescott Pine Lakes 00 Kinnickiñick Fools Hollow Lake pg.1 04 Rainbow Lake pg.1 06 Kaibab" r--, Ashurst Dostown' i19j Stoneman Gila River @ Kelvin p9.32 Reservation Lake pg.1 1 B Topock Marsh Goldwater Lake pg.1 00 River Reservoir pg.11Z Glen Canyon p9.20 Roosevelt Lake p9.54 Greer Lakes p9.112 Saguaro Lake p9.60 Horseshoe Reservoir p9.50 Salt River (LoweQ pg.2B Blue CA ), Kaibab Lake p9.80 San Carlos Reservoir p9.64 Prescotl Fools Kinnickinnick Lake Stoneman Lake p9.90 Lakes Hollow'- P9,BB Bill Williams Rainbow' Knoll Lake p9.94 Topock Gorge p9.24 Lake Mary p9.84 Marsh p9.66 Lk. Pleasant Topock Lake Mead p9.42 Tempe Town Lake p9.62 Lwr. Lake Pleasant pg.4B Tunnel Reservoir p9.112 Colorado iñxl Salt I Lake Powell pg.3B Watson Lake pg.1 02 ¿-(. Roosevelt, Apache p9.12 lüfillow Lake pg.9B Lk. Canyon, Saguaro Lower Colorado River Springs Lower Salt River p9.28 llillow Lake p9,1 02 Mittry Lk. Carlos Luna Lake pg.1 1 6 Lake p9.96 Gila lfoods Canyon @Kelvin Colorado @ Yuma lierrl Palagon¡a Pena Blanca SN, MX \------ ' ParkerCyn. Disclaimer Table of Contents Paddling is dangerous, Other dangerous activities commonly practiced OVERVIE\I MAP- ii while on paddling trips include, but are not limited to: portaging, swim- ming, drinking the water, and driving to and from your destination. ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF CANYONS iii Nearly everything about a paddling trip is dangerous. lf you don't want to endanger your life, don't go paddling, don't buy this book, and certainly INTRODUCTION 0 don't use this book. Nature is constantly changing. Rockslides occur, floods change river ACKNO\íLEDGEMENTS i and creek channels, beaches erode away, and earthquakes create new ter- rain altogether. Therefore, any information contained herein should be ARIZONA BOATING SEASONS 2 considered out of date and possibly incorrect. The author and publisher of Paddling Arizona claims no responsibil- HOV/ TO USE THIS BOOK 3 ity for any actions that might be embarked upon through the use of this book. Any decision that you, the reader, makes to climb, swim, walk, sit, RESPECT 5 stand, sleep, eat, or drink is entirely your own. As a living creature on this DC planet, you are burdened with the responsibility to take care of yourself. FLATV/ATER RIVE 7 Any trouble you get into, before or after reading this book, is entirely Black Canyon B your problem, and nobody else's. lrilo amount of guidance, either from a Lower Colorado 12 guidebook or otherwise, can replace personal judgment. Colorado River @ Yum 16 Glen Canvon 20 Topock Gorge 24 Lower Salt River 28 Gila River (Kelvin rr rnl 32 DESERT LAKES 37 Lake Powell 38 Lake Mead 42 Copyright @ 2015 by Tyler llilliams McHood Park Lake 46 Lake Pleasant 4B Horseshoe Reservoi 50 Published by Funhog Press Bartlett Lake--- www.funhogpress.com 52 Roosevelt Lake 54 Apache Lake All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way 56 Canyon Lake 58 This includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized posting on the world Saguaro Lake 60 wide web or internet. \fiitten permission from the author is needed for Tempe Town 62 any use other than brief quotations in reviews. San Carlos Reservoir 64 Topock Marsh 66 tsBN 978-0-96649 1 9-9-9 Bill \lilliams River Mouth 68 Martinez Lake 70 Edited by Lìsa Gelczis Mittry Lake 72 Designed by Mary \lilliams, www.marywilliamsdesign.com Patagonia Lake 74 Cover photos by Tyler \)üilliams Pena Blanca Lake 76 Photos by Tyler V/illiams, Lisa Gelczis, Eli Butler, Pete Traylor vl vll HIGH COUNTRY LAKES 79 Lower Verde (Horseshoe - Salt River) 174 Kaibab Lake 80 Sycamore Creek (Butterfly Canyon) 175 Dogtown Reservoir 82 \íest Clear Creek (Wilderness) 176 Lake Mary 84 V/est Clear Creek (Lower) 177 Ashurst Lake 86 Fossil Creek 178 Kinnickinnick Lake 88 Agua Fria River 182 't86 Stoneman Lake 90 Black Canyon Blue Ridge Reservoir 92 Poland Creek 186 Knoll Lake 94 Turkey Creek 187 \loods Canyon Lake 96 East Verde (Hwy 87 - Doll Baby) 188 llillow Springs Lake 98 East Verde (Lower \íilderness) 189 Prescott Pine-Tree Lakes (Goldwater, Lynx) 100 East Verde (Park er Huck) 192 Prescott Granite Lakes (\üillow, llatson) 102 Elison Creek 192 Fools Hollow Lake 104 Christopher Creek 194 Rainbow Lake 106 Tonto Creek (Hellsgate) 198 Lyman Lake 108 Tonto Creek (Lower) 202 Carnero Lake 110 Tonto Creek (Headwaters) 206 Greer Lakes (Bunch, River, Tunnel) 112 Salome Creek 207 Big Lake 114 Salt River (Daily) 208 Luna Lake 116 Salt River (lfildernesg 212 Reservation Lake 118 Upper Black River 216 Parker Canyon Lake 120 Upper Little Colorado 218 Trout Creek 220 \IH ITE\íATER RIVERS I NTRODUCTION 123 Chevelon Creek 221 Little Colorado River (LCR Gorge E Grand Falls) 136 East Clear Creek 222 Chinle Creek 140 llillow Creek 223 Paria River 141 San Francisco River 224 Oak Creek (lndian Gardens run) 142 Blue River 226 Oak Creek (upper reaches) 146 Gila Box 228 Oak Creek (Sedona - Red Rock Crossing) 148 Eagle Creek 230 Sycamore Canyon 151 Burro Creek 232 Oak Creek (lower reaches) 152 Santa Maria (Hwy 93 run) 236 Dry Creek 153 Santa Maria (Lower) 238 Munds Canyon 154 Santa Maria (Upper Box) 240 Pumphouse V'/ash 156 Bill \üilliams River 243 ìüet Beaver Creek 157 Virgin River 1 244 Beaver Creek 158 lloods Canyon 160 Rattlesnake Canyon 160 Verde River (llhite Bridge - Beasley Flat) 162 Verde River (Beasley Flat - Gap Creek or Childt 164 Verde River (Childs - Horseshoe - \flilderness) 168 Upper Verde River (Perkinsville - Sycamore Canyon) 172 Hell Canyon 173 lntroduction lntroduction 1 lntroduction awareness of water issues than the average American. Still, I hope Paddling Arízona will make some difference by building a constituency of water- "Paddling in Arizona?" I have heard this skeptical response innumerable valuing people. lf one less driveway is wastefully washed with a water hose, times during the creation of this book. I must admit that l, too, have tem- or one less sprinkler is left running in the rain, l'll feel less guilt with the pered my enthusiasm for this project when given the dubious prospects of publication of Paddling Arizona. selling a paddling guide for a desert region. This is partly why it has taken Yes, guilt. lt's not a healthy emotion, but one that is inherent in several years for this book to go from concept to fruition. the work of a guidebook writer, at least this guidebook writer. Prior to Originally, Paddling Arizona was proposed as purely a whitewater the publication of this book, many waterways of Arizona were virtually guide, an idea which my wife, Lisa, claims to have proposed. The origins unknown. For me and the few locals who made the effort to seek out of this project remains a matter of domestic banter in our household, but these hidden locales, Arizona was our secret stash. Now the secret is out. in any case "that Arizona paddling book" as we've vaguely referred to it Although I doubt Arizona is ever going to become a paddling Mecca, has been a handy excuse for both of us to go boating for many years now. traffic at put-ins and launch ramps will no doubt increase with this guide. Alas, we both realized that the book tentatively titled Arizona Ríyers- Those of us who are discouraged at the exposure of our backyard play- Brown Water, U/hite Knuckles would be a true labor of love with little sales grounds might find solace in this: There's still more out there. potential. The book's scope was thus expanded to cover Southwestern It has taken years of research to complete Paddling ArÞona, and I rivers including New Mexico, Utah, and portions of Colorado. Thorough still haven't paddled everything on my list. Finally, though, I had to say research for this large area proved daunting, however, and good guides "enoughl" This title's time had finally come. I hope you can share in the already existed for those locales outside of Arizona, Prudently, the book fruits of my fun. went to the back burner. The idea of including lakes and flatwater routes in the guide emerged Acknowledgements slowly. I bought a touring boat. I began to explore flatwater locales. I saw huge potential. I began to write things down. My name might be on the title of this book. but there are many others Recreational lake paddling and touring opened a whole new world for who have contributed. me that was ripe with beauty and adventure.