Around Town: Bartlett Lake

Before temperatures hit the triple digits, we wanted to explore some of the water recreation near the Phoenix area. Many newcomers to the desert are shocked to hear that there are multiple options for getting on a boat in the desert - Lake Pleasant, Lake Roosevelt, Canyon Lake, Saguaro Lake, Lake Bartlett - just to name a few. For this trip, we were looking for remote camping and Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP)... and you can't beat the price of National Forest camping (free)!

Despite some difficulty navigating the roads of Tonto National Forest, we found a secluded campsite under the cover of darkness. We pulled into a car camping spot and set up a tent on soft sand, within earshot of a gurgling stream.

The next morning, we broke camp and headed down the road toward Bartlett Lake.

We were outfitted with our SUP gear, and hit the water!

A few hours gave us enough time to tour the perimeter, beach up opposite the marina, and have a little fun in the wake of a few motor boats. We took turns using our GoPro to capture photos and video hands-free.

A quick Wikipedia search revealed that Bartlett Lake is technically a reservoir, which was created by damming the Verde River in the late 1930s. It's neighbor to the north is the Horseshoe Reservoir, also on Tonto National Forest land.

For those new to SUP, we decided to demonstrate the surprisingly stable nature of these boards:

We were pleasantly surprised by how empty the lake and marina were, despite it being Memorial Day weekend! Our theory is that most folks head to more well-known spots like Lake Pleasant. Bartlett Lake boasts that it is "Arizona's Best Kept Secret," and we'll have to agree!