Blue Point Recreation Area

Take the hike to the chimney, you won’t regret it.

Peaceful place to spend the morning and get your mind cleaned and washed by the streaming water.

Nice place to go cool off on a hot desert day. The river was cruising today.

Great place to launch a kayak or paddle board but make sure you have a ride back to your car. Paddling & floating is best done this far up river during times when the Dam is releasing water. The dam can begin releasing enough water as early as March and can run through October. During the winter months, you can paddle from Phon D Sutton to Granite Reef because the Verde River dumps in the LSR at Phon D so water levels are typically high enough for paddling all year. During the summer weekends and holidays, Blue Point gets extremely crowded. This parking lot is on the smaller side so it fills up very quickly. A Tonto National Forest pass is required to park here. America The Beautiful passes are also accepted here. You can get Tonto Forest passes at various gas stations, sporting good stores, Mesa forest ranger, or even in the parking lot. The Salt River Tubing company launches near here so be advised of extra bus and people traffic in the area - especially on weekends and holidays! There are wild horses along the Lower Salt River and sometimes they are hanging around Blue Point. This area attracts many picnickers and sometimes they crowd the shores so much that it makes it difficult for kayakers and paddle boards to launch. Litter is a huge problem at Blue Point. Thankfully, there are a few river lovers who volunteer their time to pick up the litter. The Forest Service doesn't seem to do much to prevent the littering. I think they should have signs with litter fines posted to remind people. And during busy periods, I think rangers should patrol the shores to ensure that people don't leave their trash. I see them patrolling the parking lots but never the shores.

The Salt River is running higher and faster today. There's a nice fishing area off the parking lot. Plenty of tables under cover and bathrooms. We love this area!