SALT RIVER AND SAGUARO LAKE AGAIN

For those of you that have just started following the blog. We traveled down from Merritt, British Columbia, Canada Jan 2/2014. I have been blogging about all the wonderful trails we have been riding and places we have camped to help pave the road for anyone else coming to Arizona to ride. We are camping at Goldfield Ghost Town just before Lost Dutchman State Park  just off Hwy 88 (Apache Trail) Apache Junction Arizona.  Camping at Goldfield is $15 per night for dry camping horses are extra at $7 each. They have corrals right in the parking area before the campsites. You can ride a different trail everyday in this area. We have been coming to Arizona since 2007 so have ridden many of the trails out the back of Goldfield so this year we have been trailering out thanks to a friend of our Alan Gillman. He has a gooseneck that can fit up to 6 but best with 5. Today's ride took as back for the 3rd time to the Saguaro lake area. Just beautiful here.

Again to get there say from Goldfield Ghost Town head right on Hwy 88 (Apache Trail) until you hit E Lost Dutchman Blvd turn right this road turns into Brown Road, follow it until you get to N Ellsworth just before Hwy 202 again take a right follow the road down it will turn into N User Pass Rd you will come to a stop sign at the Bush Hwy again turn right take this all the way to the E User water parking lot. It is also on the right side just before the road binds North. Once in the parking lot go to the left for trailer parking. There are trails all over the place from here.

There were 20 of us on this ride from our camp

Love this shot Ron got of his horse with Alan , his mule Foxy and dog Pinky

Ron set up his Go Pro Hero 3 camera and I wifi a shot from my iphone so we could get all of us in the shot 

Second shot with the camera from the wifi on my iphone 

Heading out on the trail this is the North Dakota gang 

We ride the Salt river out until be get to the ranch

Just before the Saguaro Lake Ranch 

Saguaro Lake Ranch 

Here are the cute little cottages at the Saguaro Lake Ranch  

You don't have to be a guest at the ranch to rent a horse for a trail ride 

We head up past the ranch until you get to the Dam 

 Just before the Dam you will see a trail going to the left up the hillside. Take this trail all the way up over the lake views. Just before you get to the Bush Hwy you will see a trail to the left follow that and then cross the hwy. 

Start of trail before Dam

This trail climbs up before it evens out for the lake views

Looking down at lake below

More of the trail above the lake

The views 

Wagons Ooh 

Here are a couple shots above the Marina at the lake (North Dakota gang again)

Getting close to where we make a left turn on the trail 

After crossing Bush Hwy 

Once we crossed the hwy we took the sand draw to a trail followed the trail until it forked we took the right fork. (If you take the left fork and stay left you will go down a sand draw and through the tunnels under hwy. once through the tunnels go right and you are back at the parking lot.) We took the right fork this took us on a longer ride up the trail (above picture and picture below) then we came into another sand draw that we followed all the way back to the Salt river. 

Yes a picture of me on Hunter above and below

Going down the sand draw

Beautiful rock formations 

Look me again LOL 

Almost at the River 

Lunch on the Salt River 

Salt River 

Horses were glad to have a rest 

Back on the trail 

 The trail leaving the lunch area is just to the left up the hill along the river side

It is a little bit ledgy( picture of me here).

It is a good trail along the river

There was a guy fishing for trout

Crossed under the bridge going over Salt river

We are just a mile of so from the parking lot

Back at parking lot here is Alan again with his buddies 

Another fabulous ride here in Arizona

Thank you again Alan for trailering us to another great ride