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The Salt River is a large river in Arizona that stretches through Maricopa and Gila county. It is a popular location to visit for many locals looking to cool off during the summer months. People generally will utilize the river and surrounding areas for tubing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, and camping. Considering how rare it is to find large bodies of water here, it is also common to find many animals nearby. Because of the water supply and local vegetation this is by far one of the best places to spot wild horses. Oftentimes during the early mornings and evenings you will see herds of horses grazing along the riverbed and wading through the river. There are also nearby lakes that also offer desert landscapes and more opportunities for socializing and boating as well. Along the way via Bush Highway you can also find several trails to hike and use for OHVs or mountain biking with views of the Red Mountains and Four Peaks in the distance. There are several places to stop along the way that are free as well as designated recreation areas but be aware of costs associated with day-use permits. Overall, this is a great place to come by and cool off or just admire the stark contrast of water with the surrounding desert landscape! - @wanderingwithustwo…
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Date of experience: July 2020
2 Helpful votes
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The river and dessert scenery are beautiful. Easy to walk because there’s no underbrush. Took a while, but we found the wild mustangs grazing. Remember to buy your park pass before you leave the city!
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Date of experience: January 2020
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We love to go visit at Coon Bluff, some cool quick hikes next to the river, plenty of places to cross or play.
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Date of experience: March 2018
1 Helpful vote
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The Salt River runs through the Tonto National Forest and is one of my favorite spots in Arizona! There are multiple recreation areas where you can stop (buy a Tonto Pass so you don't get a ticket) and then hike along the river. I've been fortunate enough to see the wild horses there on many occasions, as well as some bald eagles and coyotes. It's an amazing area that is peaceful and really allows you to connect to nature.…
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Date of experience: April 2018
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lanniandeisi wrote a review Jan. 2018
Washington DC, District of Columbia148 contributions25 helpful votes
We spent our last day in Phoenix during our vacation to drive along salt river in Lower Tonto National Forest. The river shore and its recreation area are beautiful and peaceful especially Cone bluff and Butcher Jones recreation site. It was our right decision to take our lunch along for picnic. Beside the peaceful salt river, Our main highlight is "Wild Horses". We were seeking for them from every spot the people report about seeing wild horses but we could not find them until we arrive the Butcher Jones recreation site (our last spot we marked for wild horses) at dusk. Fortunately, we finally found them there briefly before they ran back to the bushes due to a noisy family who also allowed their kid to approach quite close to the horses. The kid spoke very loudly in order to greet the horses and to get their attention. I thought I could not have chance to see them anymore as the sky turned to be darker and darker. Luckily, when this noisy family left, the big herd of horses came back to the lake again from both left and right sides of the recreation site. They run and play to each other on the water while some tourists started shoot the photos by using their mobile phone with flash (although they stood so far from the horses, how did they expect to have any good photos. Normally, flash, noise, as well as approaching animals too close, made the wild animals nervous and might be more aggressive). Luckily, One of the observers requested these thoughtless tourists to stop using the flash. We enjoyed observing the horses playing, drinking and running around for a while before they run back to the forest. I really felt like they did their engore to the patient audiences (like us). The wild horses are so lively, beautiful and really admirable. Important: Tonto national forest allows the interagency card holders e.g. annual pass of national park to enter only picnic site. If you want to visit more places than only picnic site, you have to buy the pass (es) in advance from either the office of the forest or the retail outlets from the. The information can be found in the forest's official website. Although we enjoyed spending time there but I considered to give 4 stars due to the some noisy tourists here and there. Although they were fe…
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Date of experience: January 2018
4 Helpful votes
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