Mary Ann and I went to the Verde River on October 18. We stopped at three recreation sites, which are all close together: Needle Rock Recreation Site, Verde River Recreation Site, and Box Bar Recreation Site. Needle Rock is about 50 minutes from home, and we got there at about 7:45, and left at about 2:00.
This was our first trip to the area. We heard about it when we saw an article about Cambodian families fishing for fresh water clams at Needle Rock. Fresh water clams in Arizona – who knew? The clams are an invasive species, but do well here, and are good to eat. A link to the article is here.
We went to Needle Rock first. It’s very well developed, with paved roads, a large parking area, and two restrooms. However, we couldn’t access the river easily. We had to bushwhack to get to the it. Once there, we spent quite a bit of time hiking along the river. There were a lot of Belted Kingfishers (approximately 6), but we weren’t able to get a good photograph. Same with the Osprey.
Next we went to the Verde River Recreation Site. It was a short distance up the road (about 5 minutes). According to the map, this is where Needle Rock is (no, it’s not at the Needle Rock Recreation Site!). This site had great access to the river, but not a lot of hiking trails.
Then we went to the Box Bar Recreation Site, which was about a 15 minute drive. We liked this area the best. It had a nice trail along the river. We had a surprise just before we left. A Townsend’s Solitaire flew up right next to us, and hung around for some nice shots.
It was a great spot, and we will go back!
One Comment
Keeping it Simple is my way …with retirement, you too are like that wild horse, playing without bounds in Nature. Thank you for sharing