Yeah, more info please...

i read somehwere today on the web that said pretty much all of az is closed to offroading, dont know if its true or not, and i cant find the page i saw it on. it had something to do with the wildfires in az.

Almost all of the national forrests and parks in AZ were closed because of the fires but many of them are starting to open now. Most of the land around Yuma was not included in the closures. However the two state parks in Yuma (Neither of which offer any riding opportunities) are in danger of closure along with most of the other AZ state parks because of budgetary problems.

Jason, Thanks! Do you have the names of any of these places so I can check out info on the web.

Most of them don't even have real names that I know of. And the locals have so many names that just about every family/group has their own name for each place. Areas like "The beach", "Bruce's Church", "$#!t Creek", "Rat Patrol" and others.

Some of the areas are in fairly hot dispute. "Jackrabbit Pass" or "Rat Patrol" which is an area behind the Border Patrol station in Yuma which is DOI land but controlled by the city for instance. The city is allowed to keep the land as long as they use it for some form of recreation. The area is a great in-town riding place with some fun little jumps and quite a few trails and a few open areas. Well a year or two ago one of the local eco groups decided that even though riding was perfectally legal there that it wasn't acceptable. When the city and DOI told them to pound dirt when they tried to get riding outlawed they responded by building a berm to try and keep people out of this public area!

With the river areas though the biggest problems are all the squatters who live down there and keep trashing the places

Castle Rock is a good time. I went to my last two years of high school in Scottsdale and went to castle rock all the time. If my memory serves me right it about an hour north on Pima road from Scottsdale. We used to hang out on an island that you would have to cross the river twice to get to. The trails run right though the river I've gone up river and crossed appox. 6 times on the same trail. it does get sketchy though need horsepower and at least 33's. You can also ride without crossing the river there's washes, desert, and some big smooth rocks to ride. There is also camp sights. It's been about 15 years so hopefully it's not a No Fun Zone now. Good luck.

Havasu Landing which is on the California side of Havasu has some fun riding and of coarse the lake is right there. Just beware of the mid-day temps reaching 105-120 degrees.
Dont take your paddles though!

rustbucketracing: What HS did you go to? We f'n ruled "Castle Rock" back in HS!!!!! That post brought back some memories. Remember the rope swing and all the naked drunk chicks ahhhh.. the good ole' days.

I graduated Horizon in 89'...That makes me 31 now. argggh.

I went there about 1 year ago and it was all the same... I had a 1980 blazer w/ a 6" lift w/ 44's and a brand new crate 350... What a good time...Tore the shizzle out of the river bottom

I'll get back to you guys w/ more info on how to get there tomorrow... It's almost quittin' time...heading down to Casa Grande tonight to ride Motogrande..

Late...

5thgearpinned, I was suposed(sp) to graduate from coronado in "87". I guess I spent to much time at castle rock or the river bottom. I used to drive a 73 blazer (puke yellow) with pink B.A. stickers in the side windows. It had 36's and was always muddy from the water hole. I'm sure you know where the water hole was. As for this post the river bottom is closed, but I'll bet you can still mud bog at the water hole.

5tgearpinned, I do remember the rope swing, and those were our naked girls. crossed the river twice to get there right? We used to bring out plywood and jump. I seem to remember that we ruled the place?

Yep...that's the place!! BTW your girls sure seemed to like me-n-my-boys..LOL

Alright, here's direction to Castle Rock on the Verde River:

Take Pima Road North (Loop 101) to Dynamite. Turn Right. Dynamite turns into Rio Verde Dr. Take Rio Verde all the way down to Forest Rd (Forest road is the back way to Fountain Hills). Turn left onto the dirt road. They have a pay station there now. (p.s. Don't pay ) Follow the dirt road all the way down to the river...Dat be it. When I was ther about a year ago they had signs that said don't cross river....Well after watching about 20 trucks going back and forth, we charged it. You cross the river once...follow the right side of the bank down a ways..then there is a big river crossing (about 500 ft across..3-4ft. deep) it's super fun.

If anyone goes let me know how it was. Enjoy.

Is the rope swing still there? Don't know what BTW is, but I hope you fun with our girls. There were more where they came from. Do you remember us bringing out plywood and a bike jump?

ECHO Lodge campground, Parker Strip on the Calif side has easy access to dunes and off roading & boating. The Rangers are now very cool and glad to see ya.

Wild Burros everywhere,you can feed them carrots. Watch out for them around blind turns and hills, don't let your dog approach them. They don't often stay in the same place. Like I said, they are everywhere.

A ride/drive up bar and grill, the Del Rio, is easy access and about a 15 minute trex. Open Fri, Sat Sun 7 am to 10 pm. Swamp cooled and reasonable prices. A'holes have been permanently 86'd.

BuckSkin campground on the Ariz side has easy access to off roading areas too. Plus no hassle from the authorities if you ride your quad/buggy on the shoulder or in town on the street. Legal in La Paz County if you have some sort of current registration on your ride from ANYPLACE.

Loaded conceiled carry is OK if it's in a backpack or fanny type. Always check it in at any Ariz Bar you may visit (State/local petty ordinances).

An interesting adventure is to visit Kenny's solar bar. Excellent quad/buggy/fwd drive that starts behind the Buckskin Market. Follow the trail through painted desert about 45 min to this interesting swamp cooled, friendly bar/grill at the nowhere that everything is a million miles from.

Kennys is closed July and August, open on weekends only the other months.

A must see for any serious off roader. Enquire at the market for directions,, take water, and top off your fuel.

Beautiful place and excellent scenery. The road to Kennys is also accessable from Ciennega Springs RD. (unimproved and can at times be for off roaders only), just North of the town of Parker.

[ 08-18-2002, 06:51 AM: Message edited by: trailer park cassanova ]

BTW= by the way

Yes is remember ya rustbucket!

Stay cool.

Late