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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Roosevelt Lake
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Paddle boarding on Roosevelt Lake
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Camping site on Roosevelt Lake
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Salado cliff dwellings
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Salado cliff dwellings
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Sabino Canyon
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Mary Taylor
A Slice of Arizona
Arizona trail sign
Story & photos by Mary Taylor
Arizona is a large enough state that it would take a lot of your time if you are exploring it in a recreational vehicle. And when you add activities like hiking, kayaking, biking, or looking for artifacts you'll soon discover that you just don't have enough time to do it all.
One approach is to break Arizona into sections where you can stop and focus on the beauty of a specific area. Then you can choose whether you want to immerse yourself in the dusty work of finding old pottery chards, hiking through rugged canyons, feeling the serenity that comes from gently paddling across a glassy lake or simply sitting back in your chair and enjoying the view from your campsite.
Arizona can be partitioned in many ways—but here's an arbitrary slice that delivers the need to be outdoors and to discover in a very personal way what it is like to feel the ground under your feet, to pick up pottery chards or to see how people lived over 800 years ago.
This arbitrary slice is about 217 km (135 m) long. It's a diagonal section that runs north-northwest between Tucson and stops short of Payson. You could drive it in a single day, but the best way is to take a week or two.
Start with these Three Areas:
If you want to begin with natural beauty and hiking, try the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area nestled in the foothills of the southern Catalina Mountains near Tucson. In the winter the canyon will be green with saguaro cactus, palo verde trees dotting the hills and Mexican blue oaks filling the canyons along Sabino Creek which is fed by melted snow from Mt. Lemmon. The whole Sabino area offers a stark contrast to the dry desert terrain that it overlooks.
There are several hiking trails in and around Sabino and Bear Canyons with the Blacketts Ridge Trail being one of the steepest with a 550 m (1,800 ft) gain. If you are more interested in sightseeing, you can hop on the tram for a narrated ride up the canyon road. Of course, picnicking, cycling and wildlife viewing are other ways to fill your time. The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists offer an interpretation program called Walks, Hikes, and Demos with programs for all ages.
Be sure to drive a smaller vehicle to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area as there is no on-site RV parking or camping. Don't bother bringing Fido either, since dogs are not permitted.
Your second stop would be Catalina State Park which is about 20 miles north of Tucson via Oracle Road. The campground has two major loops, plus the Ringtail Loop which is more like overflow parking. The two larger loops offer electricity and showers. And if you are hauling a horse trailer, there is also an equestrian centre. After settling in you can take advantage of several gentle hiking trails or the Romero Ruins Interpretive Trail, a well-presented former Hohokam Indian settlement from 500 AD to 1450 AD. Depending on when you are there, you might be fording or rock hopping Sutherland Wash to take advantage of trails and the historical site. The trailhead which has adequate parking is just down the road from the campground and leads to longer and more challenging trails such as the Sutherland Trail, 50-Year Trail and eventually the Mt. Lemmon Trail. Some of the trails in this area are open to horses and mountain bikes.
Moving northward along this 217 km (135 mi) diagonal you will find the third area that offers the chance to hike, fish, boat or explore historical sites. It is the small section of the 3 million-acre Tonto National Forest which contains the Theodore Roosevelt Lake and the cliff dwellings of the Tonto National Monument and is located only about 130 km (80 mi) northeast of Phoenix and 48 km (30 mi) north of Globe.
Historically the Salt River flowed through this valley providing the Hohokam Indians the water they needed for their numerous large villages and related farming. The Hohokam, who were accomplished farmers, craftsmen, and traders, originally settled about 1,000 years ago but then vanished sometime in the 1400's. During that time they had created several hundred miles of irrigation ditches to better disperse the water. Several new cultures arose after the Hohokam with the best known being the Salado of Tonto Basin. After generations of drought, warfare and floods the Salado also left. Their descendants are the Pima, Hopi, and Zuni tribes.
In the late 1800's settlers had a similar need for water and were eager to dam a narrow canyon in the Salt River Valley to store snowmelt and rainwater. The signing of the National Reclamation Act of 1902 created federal funding for water projects in the West. In 1905 the Tonto National Forest was established to protect the watersheds of the Salt and Verde Rivers. All this enabled the building of the dam, and by 1911 it was completed and named for Theodore Roosevelt, the president who had signed the bill.
Today this 35 km (22 mi) lake (when at its fullest) is a popular recreation area with camping, picnic areas, numerous boat launches, and hiking trails.
There are several campgrounds in this section of the Tonto National Forest (Cholla, Grapevine Point, Schoolhouse Point, and Windy Hill). If you are a fan of dispersed camping, popular areas are the Horse Pasture Recreation Area toward the northern section of the lake, Bachelor Cove or Cholla Bay. Or you can simply find a dirt road and camp most anywhere along the lake's shoreline. As the Southwestern states have been in the midst of a multi-year drought don't expect high waterlines.In fact, you may find some of the concrete boat launches ending well above the waterline. Typically, the various dirt roads have become the new launching spots.
Roosevelt Lake has good fishing for bass, catfish, sunfish, and flathead. Kayaking, paddle boarding, and water skiing all provide excuses for accidental submersion in the water on a hot summer day.
The Arizona Trail (not to be confused with the Apache Trail Road) is the hiking trail that crosses Arizona north to south. The Vineyard Trail that serves as a short section of the Arizona Trail, is an 8 km (5 mi) maintained hiking trail along the lake, which starts just west of the dam and climbs the cactus-covered hills. It provides excellent views of the Salt River Valley and the Apache Trail. On one segment of this trail, we found numerous pottery shards and remnants of Indian habitation from long ago. The jumbled rocks which had once formed walls in their villages are scattered over mutliple hilltops. Naturally, given this is a National Monument, there can be no gathering of archeological artifacts.
A highlight of the Roosevelt Lake area is the cliff dwelling sites in the Tonto National Monument. These Salado sites date from the 1200's and are accessible by visiting the Monument Visitor Center near Windy Hill Campground. The site nearest the Center can be reached by a relatively short trail and is open daily to all visitors. There is also a guided tour of the larger site which requires a mile and a half uphill hike. The sophistication of the design and construction of the upper site is surprising if you haven't already explored the numerous cliff dwelling sites in the Southwest. Both sites are free, but it is necessary to sign up for the guided tour, which is limited to 16 people.
One More Opportunity
If you are looking for one more experience in this area, you can drive on the narrow, partially paved Highway 88, aka the Apache Trail Road. It is 68 km (42 mi) long and links Apache Junction to Lake Roosevelt. As described by "American Southwest.net" website it is a "steep, winding and mostly unpaved road past magnificent scenery of twisted igneous mountains with dense forests of saguaro and ferocactus and several deep blue lakes." The road's history is fascinating. It started as a migration trail used by the Apaches, then was used for building the Roosevelt Dam, and eventually became a tourist route and renamed the Apache Trail Road. The eastern portion is still not paved, contains narrow sections and sharp turns and isn't recommended for large RVs.
If you do decide to test the road, you should stop at Tortilla Flats for its entertainment value. Some say it began as a stagecoach stop. It did evolve into a 120-person town while the dam was being built, and today has a restaurant/ gift shop, and a small museum in an old schoolhouse, as well as the requisite ice cream for a hot day's drive.
In reality after discovering the amount to be seen and experienced in that mere 217 km (135 mi) you might want to break it into a couple of trips. Of course, if all that action seems like too much, feel free to omit some of the activities and just give yourself time to sit outside your rig with a cold drink and a really good book.
- Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists: www.sabinonaturalists.org
- Sabino Canyon Shuttle Tour Company: 520-749-2327
Catalina State Park: 11570 North Oracle Road, Tucson, Az
- Reservations: 520-586-2283
- https://azstateparks.com/catalina
Tonto National Monument: www.nps.gov/tont