Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer for most of the country. Here in the Arizona desert, it started with our first 100 degree day. This year it was early, too early, way back on April 10th. Memorial Day for many desert dwellers means heading to the lake or up in altitude to the cool pines of Northern Arizona.
We don’t mess with our five local lakes on such a busy weekend. We opt for the jackets at night in the cool pines of Happy Jack or nearby Mormon Lake. Not all of Arizona is hot desert with saguaro cacti as far as the eye can see. We have 3.3 million acres of forest with beautiful pine and aspen trees. Here’s a hot fact: all those acres of forest mean Arizona is the 6th largest forest in the continental US. Who knew.
We are lucky in that we can camp in nice campgrounds or find a shady spot in the woods along the many forest service roads. Except for right now. We had a very dry winter followed by an even drier spring so fire restrictions have been in place for a while. That didn’t stop one stupid person on April 29th who not only had an illegal campfire but also didn’t put it out. 17,000 acres and 33 homes later, that section of forest has been ruined. Still without any measurable rain and a windy forecast ahead, many sections of the forest are completely closed. It’s so sad, yet 100% preventable.
The drive up the mountain is a pretty one. We take State Highway 87 northeast out of the valley and up to Payson. If you turn right in Payson, Highway 260 will take you up on the Mogollon Rim to Woods Canyon Lake, Forest Lakes, Show Low and more mountain towns. If you stay straight on 87 you’ll climb up on the rim just past the cute neighboring towns of Pine and Strawberry.
Dry camping in the forest is one of those simple pleasures. It’s always two and sometimes three families and we find a shady spot just off the dirt road. We look for a spot with an already established campfire ring. After setting up camp, the kids would head out and search for animals and treasures. Treasures were many times bones, our budding archaeologists.
The last several years we’ve opted for a developed campground. We either stay at Happy Jack Lodge or Mormon Lake Campground, both off Lake Mary Road.
Driving north on Lake Mary Road, you’ll get to Happy Jack Lodge first. For years it was a campground without a lot of shade and a few cabins all fronted by a giant lodge building that housed a steak house. They recently carved spaces among the tall pines at the back of the original section. I love these new sites. You really are camping in the forest, but with the luxury of full hook ups. What could be better. They’ve also left a section of campsites as dry sites, if you want to camp in the woods but have a guaranteed spot. Our first time camping here was in the fall of 2002, in the middle of deer season. Our side was closed but the other side of Lake Mary Road was open to hunters so we stayed away. We brought up our dirt bikes and rode out into the forest behind the campground in what is now the new section. It was a good winter and we went back up a couple of days before Christmas for an overnight in one of their cabins. Even though the campground is open year round, we were the only ones there. We brought sleds and the kids sledded down the hill, built snowmen and had snowball fights for hours. We had so much fun.
Mormon Lake Lodge and Campground is further up Lake Mary Road and is situated on the mostly dry Mormon Lake. We’ve camped there several times dating back to 2003. You can fish in their stocked pond, go for a horseback ride during the summer into the forest, watch the annual rodeo every Memorial Day or just hang out.
Both places serve as great launching points for trail rides in our Jeep or RZR. We are lucky to have miles and miles of forest service roads to explore in many parts of the state. Exploring in this part of Northern Arizona is my favorite. The smell of pine trees permeates the air in many spots, especially after a rain. Forest service roads on the east side of State Route 87 crisscross the landscape and many of them will intersect with FR300, the Rim Trail. FR300 will take you all the way east toward Woods Canyon Lake. It’s appropriately called the Rim Trail because a large stretch of it runs right along the edge of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mo-ge-yawn). There are lots of places to stop for lunch with amazing views of the forest below. There are many great photo opportunities along the rim, postcard worthy spots I might add.
A fun destination is the Moqui Lookout Tower. It’s situated a little east of State Route 87. To get there, take FR751 to 751B or you can take the scenic route around the Blue Ridge Reservoir. It’s manned daily and you can climb the stairs for a chat with the staff at the top. It’s a great view of the forest from the platform and worth a trip.
There are also ample places to camp along this trail. Camping along the edge of the rim is popular. We have one spot that is our favorite and it will remain a secret. There is enough room for four families to camp and is close to a giant meadow where we tiptoe to at dusk to watch for deer. It’s affectionately called “the bear spot” because we had a little bear encounter while camping there one time. It was morning and a big breakfast was underway. Mark and Bill were outside cooking bacon while Deb and I prepped the rest. I was inside cracking a couple dozen eggs and missed the whole thing. A small cinnamon bear was moving across from right to left many yards away from camp but completely in sight. Corinne told her dad there was a bear. Mark came running into the motor home asking for a camera because there was a bear out there. What??? I looked out the RV door just in time to see it disappear behind a far away tree. It looked like he was on the dirt road we’d ridden on the day before and also saw a young couple setting up their tent. Thankfully they were long gone when we went to check on them. That is an event that gets talked about a lot. “Remember that time Corinne saw the bear…”
Anyone who has spent time camping, hiking or trail riding in the Arizona mountains will extol their beauty. I hope our long dry spell will end soon with many robust summer thunderstorms and quench the thirst of our forest. I’d hate for prolonged forest closures and idiot started fires to ruin the fun and beauty for us all.
It is pretty there, have stayed at a happy shack and mormon lake.
Two of our favorites as well 🙂