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Burnt Corral - Roosevelt and Apache Lakes...

Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Explorer III
My bride and I Just returned from a quickie, 3 day 2 night trip to the Burnt Corral CG to celebrate her 73rd birthday. It is located 5 miles south of the Roosevelt Dam and about 10 miles north of the largest section of Apache Lake. From the Roosevelt dam the first 5 miles is a challenging stretch of dirt road. Lots of places where only one vehicle can pass through and there are often sheer drops several hundred feet straight down to the water.

The max vehicle {total} length is 40' and that is pushing it given the poor "road" {for lack of a better term}. Keep in mind this "road" is constantly climbing and dropping with some of the steepest sections coinciding with the the narrow one lane portions. If you are going downhill and meet another vehicle coming where it is one lane you will have to back up until they can get past. This can get be a serious challenge especially if your are towing but the vehicle traveling uphill has the right of way.



It is 14 miles from the dam to the Apache Lake Marina and the good news is this stretch is being paved. We rode it last year in our Rzr SXS and the 14 miles took an hour and a half. The ride is spectacular {and more than a little hairy/scary} so we are looking forward to the completion of the paving though that is probably not going to happen anytime soon.

The BC CG is fairly primitive and frankly a little long in the tooth it has Vault toilets, dumpsters with number of water spigots scattered throughout the 79 sites, about a third of which are right on the water. There is a nice concrete boat ramp with plenty of parking for trailers. The good news/bad news is the water after mid October is too cold to enjoy but during the summer months is delightful but the air temps are often well into triple digit range. You can run your generators 24/7 during May - September to keep the AC going but it won't be nearly enough.

We had one amazing thrill while sitting in our site as a pair of F-16 fighters buzzed the river/CG 100 feet off the deck at about 500 mph. They continued downstream playing fast and loose with the narrow canyon walls only to return 15 minutes later for a second run...Wow! It was amazing but they dropped in on us so quickly I could not get any pics...

We got a great site right on the river/lake but as we were on a curve I elected to put out the Triangles for good measure:





The best of Burnt Corral for us is that it is just 55 miles from our home in Payson making for a 75 minute trip including the 5 miles of dirt "road". It's not for the feint of heart or long of rig but if you get the weather right it is an amazing, albeit somewhat primitive CG that is worth your time.

Sites can be reserved and many were but then we arrived on a Friday at noon. You pay your fees at the machine out at the entrance {it takes credit cards}. Be sure and bring firewood as the only trees are smallish Mesquites which you cannot cut and firewood is not sold in the CG.

:B
8 REPLIES 8

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
We camp and ride a lot near China Lake Naval Air Base outside of Ridgecrest, CA and the best time of year for us to get "visits" from the fliers is the week between Christmas and New Years. We don't know for a fact, but we assume that some of the pilots have to cram to get in their final flight hours for the year, because it's always busiest that week.

It's fun how playful they are and how they intentionally buzz our camps and buzz us on our trail rides. Of course this "play" probably involves them pretending we're bad guys in the desert and possibly targeting us, but we've never been bombed (yet).

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch โ€ข 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") โ€ข <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Explorer III
"We had one amazing thrill while sitting in our site as a pair of F-16 fighters buzzed the river/CG 100 feet off the deck at about 500 mph. They continued downstream playing fast and loose with the narrow canyon walls only to return 15 minutes later for a second run...Wow! It was amazing but they dropped in on us so quickly I could not get any pics..."


I need to correct my earlier post {see above}...
A trip to the internet correctly identifies what buzzed us... It was a pair of F-18's and they were smokin!

:S

Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Explorer III
We left the Rzr home for this trip. When towing, our 24'Class C grows to 38' and there are just too many narrow, tight sections where that could become a problem. Last year we camped at the Windy Hill CG which is just a couple of miles south of the dam.

We rode the Rzr up to the dam and then south the full 14 miles to the Apache Lake Marina and it
was an awesome ride. I saw a couple of large UTV's {4 seaters} at Burnt Corral this trip but with their long trailers it had to be a challenge getting them in and out.

As noted above the road conditions can vary a lot... and not always in a good way based upon the recent weather. In preparation for the paving most of the road has been recently graded and there were still lots of washboard sections which are never fun.

Here are a couple of pics I took last year on the Rzr ride:





:C

Fizz
Explorer
Explorer
We travelled that route once and loved it. We tried again two years later and had to turn back. The road was so rough it made for a terrible ride, no enjoyment at all. It all comes down to time of year and previous weather. This was in the same GMC 4x4 pickup truck.

AllegroD
Nomad
Nomad
Nice!

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
Did you take the RZR there? How are the trails?

2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. B&W RVK3600 hitch โ€ข 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") โ€ข <\br >Toys:

  • 18 Can Am Maverick x3
  • 05 Yamaha WR450
  • 07 Honda CRF250X
  • 05 Honda CRF230
  • 06 Honda CRF230

cptqueeg
Explorer II
Explorer II
Outstanding!!!
2024 Chev 3500 CCLB Diesel
Four Wheel Camper Granby Shell

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
been there . just a great place. but I,m 2500 miles away in the cold snow of ohio. thanks for the dream.