LAKE HAVASU, Lake Havasu City, AZ

LAKE HAVASU, AZ

RUN BY: Bureau of Land Management (US Dept of Interior)

LOCATION: Just north of Lake Havasu City, AZ

UTILITIES: NONE

COST: NONE

OUR RATING (1-5): III - 4

NOTES: This BLM area is in a lovely canyon high above the Colorado River and Lake Havasu in northwestern Arizona. We had been told about this place by another nomad and decided to stop. It wasn't originally in our plans when we started out that morning. Coming through 24 Palms, CA I missed my turn to Mojave Reserve. We decided just to go on to Lake Havasu. We are glad we did. A warning: just after you enter the BLM land there are times when you are not supposed to camp close to the entrance because of the big horn mating activity. The problem is that the marking isn't particularly clear. We ended up being one of three who spent the night where BLM didn't want us. The host told us that Verizon is poor in parts of the canyon. We thought the front of the canyon was beautiful but there are those who believe that it is nicer farther up the canyon. It has the usual BLM 14 day limit. There are no generator rules so you might end up near a noisy generator.

Environment: desert. Very open and without shade.

Amenities: NONE.

Dump & Water: You will have to go into Lake Havasu City for dump and fresh water.

Phone Service: Verizon is spotty in parts of the canyon.

Location: Heading north on AZ-95, just north of the Lake Havasu City airport turn right (east) onto a dirt road. About a mile back in the canyon you will be on BLM land where you can camp.

Proximity to shopping: Lake Havasu City is close by.

Camping Population: The campers will be quite varied. ATV is popular and common.

Sites: No designated sites. Simple dispersed camping.

=======================================================================

RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service