Wide Open Spaces and Big Sky
Photo: rock hopping. My kids say it’s fun to jump back and forth on these two big rocks that are essentially cliffs with more jagged rocks on the ground. I just sort of hold my breath while they do this sort of thing (and make sure the medical kit is stocked).
Getting There: It took about 3 hours from Tempe. From Tempe, we went up I-17 to Munds Park Exit (about 15 miles south of Flagstaff) and then went east on Mormon Lake Rd. (FR 240) toward Mormon Lake. That becomes dirt soon after the town of Munds Park and eventually tees at Mormon Lake. Take a left, go around the lake and then take another left on Lake Mary Rd. Go about 3 miles and then take a right on Ashurst Lake Rd, which dumps you right at the lake. Of course, you can also take I-17 up to Flagstaff and head south on Lake Mary Rd, aproaching it from the other direction.
Before I left I called the ranger up there and asked if it would be faster to go through Flagstaff or take the Munds Park dirt road. He said that, to Ashurst Lake, it’s a toss up. Well, let me tell you, take the dirt road. It is a beautiful drive. We saw tons of cows (always a hit with the city folk), calves, and some deer (extra special since Bambi is big in our house right now). I had no trouble in my low-clearance vehicle.
Campground Rating: 7/10
What I liked the most: beautiful Ashurst Lake was right there, with very pretty vistas. The terrain/environment felt spacious and open because…it was! I really got the feeling of the vastness of the sky and nature because there are not a lot trees in the campground (compared to other places) to obscure the view. It made for excellent star gazing at night. The camp host, Ron and his dog, Buddy, were very nice and accommodating. He even had ice for sale!
Shortcomings: The lake was not really swim/play friendly due to the rocky shore. Also, there was a rather steep bank to reach the water. And, even though our site was as close as any got to the lake, I was still not comfortable letting the kids go down to the water alone. This is not because of the water itself—the campsite was close enough for me to see them. It was because of the big rocks that had to be negotiated in order to reach the water. I was afraid that one of them would fall and do worse than a scrape or bruise.
Another shortcoming is that the campground and surrounding area was quite exposed to the elements—not a whole lot of shade. While there are dirt roads going into the forest from the campground into the woods, you have to crawl through barbed wire fences to follow them. There aren’t any trails near the campground, which meant, for us, that we sort of just stayed around the lake.
Lastly, the drinking water “faucet” was a bit of a hike. It’s in a huge tank—one for the entire campground. From my site, it was about a 5-10 minute walk (depending on various kid factors), which does not sound bad until the water bag is full and weighs about 500 pounds. So, you either have to drive or use your son’s oversized Tonka dump truck to haul the water.
Favorite site: we stayed at #40 and I think it’s one of the best. It has two big ponderosa pines that keep much of the site shady all day long and a great, unobstructed view of the lake.
Photo: nice spot for “rest time” (yeah, right). This is the typical scenery at Forked Pine CG. We heard cows mooing all day long. We had fun mooing back.
Just a note about Mormon Lake as I saw it in August 2007 from the road. What lake? Where’s the water? It’s been replaced by a lovely meadow and something like a swamp. As a water person, I would have been very disappointed to come up there to camp near a lake and not find any water. Make sure to call the ranger up there and ask about conditions if you are hoping for water in Mormon Lake. (Mormon Lake ranger district office: 928-774-1147)
Photo: home base. All in all, a pretty sweet place.
Just another note: When you get to Ashurst Lake there is a campground of the same name immediately to your right. This one is also pretty, but the vegetation is different. It seems dominated by stubby trees such as juniper and pinyon pine. There’s more shade there, perhaps (the claustrophobic kind), but Forked Pine feels more open and scenic to me.
Good website for more info: http://camparizona.com/Campsites/FlagstaffCampsites/Ashurst%20Lake.htm
A few more photos…
Forked Pine Campground photos were taken in August 2007
The long view. You can get an idea of the shoreline in this shot. You can just see our grey and blue tent in the background. The cement platform the kids are playing on is an old boat launch driveway. (just a little bit of rusty metal–not bad…)
The lonely table: many campsites were like this at Forked Pine CG, but not all of them.
Volvo’s lookin’ good. I don’t know about your car, but ours likes a little action now and then. Our campsite had a lot of shade thanks to the two big ponderosas. (Don’t you just love to say that word?)
