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Phoenix Day Trips: Lower Salt River

If you’re looking for a Phoenix day trip, then this 3-4 hour journey on the Lower Salt River just might be the ticket.

Located in the Tonto National Forest, roughly 30-miles east of Phoenix, the Lower Salt River Recreation Area is a popular destination for kayaking, tubing, and swimming.

If you don’t feel like getting wet, there are ample spots to get out of your car to view the stunning riparian scenery.

Besides stunning scenery, keep your eyes open for eagles and the wild horses that roam this area.

I shot this photo from the Water Users Recreation Site.

You should know that this is a very popular area, so we recommend an early start to beat the young folks looking to float on the Salt River.

Stops Along the Way

Coming from the north on Bush Highway, you will first encounter the Saguaro Lake Recreation Site with the following access points:

• Saguaro Del Norte Rec Site
• Butcher Jones Rec Site

Further south, you will encounter six river access points:

• Water Users Rec Site
• Blue Point Rec Site
• Goldfield Rec Site
• Coon Bluff Rec Site
• Phon D Sutton Rec Site
• Granite Reef Rec Site

All of these sites have picnic areas, restrooms, hiking trails, and access to the river.  If you plan to get out of your car to explore, you will need a Tonto Pass which you can purchase in many of these recreational sites.

When we made our journey, we were fortunate to catch a wild mustang feeding on the river on the lush grasses just below the surface of the water.  We found this horse at the Granite Reef Recreational Site.

Bummed, I was, that I didn’t bring along my good camera to get a better photo than what my iPhone was capable of capturing.  BUT, we’ll be back. 🙂

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