Everything You Need to Know About The Salt River in Arizona

The Salt River in Arizona is one of the most beautiful parts of the state. It’s miles and miles long and supports numerous landscapes and wildlife and has some of the best recreation in the state. ESPECIALLY in the summer when we all need a way to cool down. I’m here to help you understand the geography of the area, what there is to do, and tips on how to best do it.

Disclaimer: This post has affiliate links, that I do profit from with no expense to you. I appreciate your support!

Facts About The Salt River in Arizona

The Salt River is a NATURAL, not man-made, river in Arizona spanning 200 miles after the Black and White River merge upstream. For those of you who know the road “Rio Salado Parkway” in Tempe, you now know this has to do with The Salt River. The Salado people/culture named it Rio Salado in the beginning. This river separates Native boundaries and still today The Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community keeps its traditions alive.

Surrounding The Salt River in Arizona is a biodiverse FOREST, which makes it special. It is a vital waterway for the valley and a home to many animals, like the famous Salt River Wild Horses. It is also the home to a plethora of recreational activities.

Recreation on The Salt River In Arizona

There is SO MUCH to do in and around The Salt River. I’ve been living in Phoenix for a decade and I’m still experiencing new things. In fact, I only live 15 minutes from The Salt River now. It’s my favorite.

Let’s go through a list of things you can do on or near The Salt River.

• Hike
• Mountain Bike
• River Tubing
• Kayaking and Paddleboarding
• Horseback Riding
• Boating
• Camping
• Photography
• Fishing

If you’re here only for information about Salt River Tubing, Scroll to the bottom.

I’m sure the first thing you think of when you hear RIVER is HIKINg, right? No, haha. You think of all the things you can do ON or IN the water. But there are some stunning hikes near The Salt River that I wanted to go over.

Butcher Jones Trail

(pictured above) The Butcher Jones trail is actually located along Saguaro Lake, which is a reservoir of The Salt River. WOW is the only thing I could say the entire hike. The way the mountains hit the water is just stunning. You need to check this one out. To get here, you need a Tonto Pass and to park at Butcher Jones Recreation Area. Read my full HIKE REVIEW HERE.

EJ Peak

EJ Peak is located just down the road from The Salt River. It’s a short hike, at 2.2 miles and about 700 ft in elevation gain. The best part about this hike is the traffic is LOW. I usually only see 1-2 other people. READ MORE HERE.

Gateway Canyon

(pictured above) Gateway Canyon Trail requires you to go through The Salt River in Arizona. Yes, through it. This is a winter-only hike as the water levels are lower and it’s not as hot. There is no shade on this hike. If you’re up for adventure, READ MORE HERE.

BE PREPARED if you’re going on a water hike. I can help! Check out my locker below!

Saguaro, Ridge, and Granite Trail Loop

This is an amazing loop overlooking The Salt River. In the spring, I find a lot of wildflowers here. It’s short and sweet and the views are great!

This isn’t the most common area for people to camp and lodge, but I will make a few notes for you. This would especially be applicable for people that travel across the country in their car or van.

Camping

The only place I know of that does tent camping near or on The Salt River is Coon Bluff. It’s only open certain times of the years, so keep up to date HERE. Within 20 minutes, you can also camp at Lost Dutchman State Park in front of the Superstition Mountains, and at Canyon Lake.

Backpacking

I mentioned the Butcher Jones Trail prior as one of the best hikes around The Salt River, but you can also backpack on it too. There are some awesome secluded spots right on the water I would suggest checking out! It’s an easy trail and you only need to hike about 2 miles to the sites.

Lodging

If you want to stay overnight INSIDE near the area, I suggest Saguaro Lake Guest Ranch. This area is just past the first Salt River Tubing launch, between Saguaro Lake and The Lower Salt River. It’s an adorable rustic ranch where you can stay, dine, kayak, and horseback ride!

Into boating? Saguaro Lake is the place for you! This lake is full ALL SUMMER LONG with boats- tour boats, speed boats, and pontoon boats. If you have your own boat, you can use The Saguaro Lake Marina to launch. If you want to rent a Pontoon boat, use the link HERE.

The other really cool option is riding the Saguaro Lake Cruise- Dolly Steamboat. The have Narration Cruises and Wine/Beer/Live Music Cruises. So much fun!

Looking for a unique experience? Consider horseback riding. Now, there are Salt River Wild Horses, animals that are protected that you are NOT alllowed to touch. Separately, there are a few ranches around that provide guided horseback rides. The best location near The Salt River is Saguaro Lake Guest Ranch. This is an amazing experience with fantastic scenery and a once-in-a-lifetime excursion.

Like exploring the scenery by bike? Let me just say, you’re a bad a$$. MTB is intense. I chicken out even on easy trails. But it is really cool and it’s a fun way to be outside, get exercise, and cover more ground than hiking. Go you! There is a large area specific to mountain bikers called HAWES. The nonprofit Hawes Trail Alliance (click HERE), protects and builds these areas. This area is surrounded by the beauty of The Salt River.

Personally, fishing isn’t my favorite way to get outdoors, but I can appreciate why it is for some people! Visit THIS PAGE for recommended gear and updates with water flow and the type of fish available. Below I included a google map with suggested fishing locations! So many fishing options near and in the Salt River in Arizona.

Like to take photos? Whether you have a professional camera and tripod, or you’re an ameatur hobbist like me, want professional family photos done, if you like to drone, or even take nice Instagrammable photos on your iPhone, this is applicable to you!

I’ve spent years hiking, paddling, walking, driving, and just living around The Salt River, so I feel like by now I know the best photo spots. This is not all-inclusive, but these are my favorites.

View my photography gear on my AMAZON STOREFRONT.

Coon Bluff

The top of Coon Bluff (100 ft climb from the parking lot) is STUNNING. Especially at sunset, and during a full moon rise. I’ve been here in the middle of summer for moon rise, and during other cooler parts of the year. Read more on my post HERE if you’re interested.

Water Users Recreation Site

The Water Users Recreation Site is amazing too. Yes, this is where kayaks and SUPs and tubes launch during the warmer months. During sunrise or sunset, despite time of the year, this area is NOT too busy. You can either walk down to the river, or stand on the cliff at the edge of the parking lot. I’ve seen a lady painting here before too.

If you like to drone, YOU CAN drone here. This spot is gorgeous. I’ve done family photos here before.

Butcher Jones Trail

The Butcher Jones Trail along Saguaro Lake is beautiful. This trail is 5.8 mi RT, but you do NOT have to do the whole thing! We only did 4 mi total. All of it is beautiful, just depends on how much time you have. My favorite photo spot was at 1.3 mi. Below I marked the location and direction of the photo. This spot of the Butcher Jones Trail is STUNNING. The towering mountains hitting the calm waters. The layers. Ahhh. Highly recommend making it to here at least. Read my FULL TRAIL REVIEW HERE.

Gear For Butcher Jones Trail

BACKPACK:  BUDGET ($50) OR SPLURGE ($100).

SHOES: BUDGET ($50-80) OR SPLURGE ($200).

HIKING STICKS: BUDGET ($30)

TRIPOD: BUDGET ($21)

EJ Peak

EJ Peak is within a few minutes of Salt River Tubing. It overlooks the whole region and is one of my favorite hikes and it is beautiful. Short and sweet. Read my FULL TRAIL REVIEW HERE.

I will go into this in more detail with my TUBING section, because you tube, kayak, and paddle in the same section, BUT I wanted to make mention of kayaking and paddling at Saguaro Lake. 

If you have your own yaks/paddleboards, you can launch out of the Marina or Butcher Jones. There are so many beautiful areas to go out and see. Be aware, by the Marina there will be more wake.

If you don’t have your own, you can go on an excursion with Saguaro Lake Ranch (see link below)

SALT RIVER TUBING

When I think Salt River in Arizona, I think Salt River Tubing. It’s Arizona’s Natural Lazy River. My family and I call it “Hillbilly Rapids,” haha. If you have gone, you understand. It’s a blast. We go on the river multiple times every summer. There is so much to know about Salt River Tubing from where to get tubes, whether you go on your own or with the company there, where to park, where to rent kayaks or SUP if you like that, what to bring, etc. Let’s delve in.

Decide How You Want to Float

Do you want to float on a tube? Paddleboard? Kayak? All are acceptable on The Salt River. How big of a group are you going with? Rental or bring your own? There is a lot to consider. I honestly prefer a paddleboard (we have two of our own), unless I’m going with a large group, then I will tube. I love that you can sit, stand, lay, or kneel on a paddleboard, and you have a paddle when you need to control where you are going. But all of these options are amazing for their own reasons!

Rental Options

TUBES – Rent from Salt River Tubing. They are the company that has land down by the river and are governed by Tonto National Forest. The only one with shuttles. They run from April/May-October each year. Side note- you can go down the river yourself whatever time of year you want if the water levels are high enough. It’s about $25 per person to rent a tube and ride the shuttle. It can add up if you have a group! They also have cooler tubes for rent as well.

SUP – Rent from No Snow. They are located near Power and the 202- very close to the river. Amazing small company. I’ve gotten gear from them. $40 per person.

SUP & KAYAK – Rent from AZ Kayaks. Also very close to the river. $30-50 per day based on what you get.

Bring Your Own Gear

TUBES – It’s $20 to buy a tube. It’s $25-30 to rent one. If you plan on going more than once in your life, it’s totally worth it to buy a tube! I’ve tried multiple and THIS TUBE FROM AMAZON is my favorite. Love the mesh in the seat, the material is comfortable to sit on with a swimsuit and I like the back/head rest. It has a rope around it to tie to your buddies, but I’ll talk about that in a bit. Consider buying an INFLATABLE PUMP TOO.

KAYAK & SUP – It’s an investment for sure. Just depends on how much you’ll use them on whether you should get a KAYAK or SUP. Out of the two, I 100% prefer SUP because you can stand, sit, kneel, or lay down. Sometimes kayak’s hurt my hip flexors and back. Inflatable is great too because it will fit in any car and is much easier to store. SUP is my favorite way to enjoy the Salt River in Arizona.

Decide Your Start and Stop Point

As far as I know, you can’t use the Salt River Tubing shuttle with your own gear. I don’t see the point of bringing your gear but still paying for the fee to use the bus, personally. FYI, you do need a 7$ a day Tonto Pass, but you can buy these within the parking lots (or get an America The Beautiful Annual National Park Pass).

I created a diagram for you to help you understand.

It’s very important to figure out parking AND how long you will be on the water. You do need two cars when floating The Salt River, becuase you cannot go backwards (at least before number 3 below). Let’s say it’s just my husband and I. We drive separate. He parks his car at the LOWER location, and brings his key. Then we drive my car up to the STARTING position. I also bring my key while floating. We float down to where his car is. Then when we are done, he drives me to go pick up my car at the STARTING position. It takes some extra time, but that is how you have to do it. We have had to give people rides before back to their car because they didn’t understand this.

You can only tube between number ONE and THREE. You can SUP or Kayak from ONE to SIX. Most people will float the river from ONE to TWO, TWO to THREE, or ONE to THREE. I put approximate times above. When I float, I like to go from ONE to THREE (Water Users Parking Lot to Goldfield Parking Lot). Goldfield Parking Lot is right behind the Salt River Tubing rental building. ONE to TWO feels too short to me. People love to hang out at TWO (Pebble Beach) and set up shade and relax, whether they tube or not.

KEEP IN MIND, it’s hot. When I was new, my dad and I used the company and floated ONE to THREE and got completely roasted- worst sunburn of my life. You need to know how long you will be on the river.

If you can’t (or don’t want to) bring two cars, you can KAYAK or SUP ONLY from locations FOUR, FIVE, and SIX. The river isn’t as fast here, which enables you to go DOWN and UP the river. It’s a great thing to do for sunset too. It’s much more quiet down here.

Things To Bring With You

I’ve made mistakes with things I didn’t bring and wish I did, or things I did bring and wish I didn’t. So let me help you out!

ROPE – To tie your tubes together if you’re going in a group. It is much more fun!!

WIDE BRIMMED HAT – Not worth it to get sunburn!

WATERPROOF PHONE CASE – So you can still take photos and videos. I’ve tested this numerous times. SO CHEAP TOO.

DRY SACK– For your keys, camera, small towel, whatever else you want!

COOLER – You’d rather have TOO many drinks than too little. AND DON’T LITTER. This one has a strap I attach to my paddle board, but should float too. Light!

WATER SHOES – Always good to protect your feet. TEVA are my fav.

Tips From A Local

YOUR PUP can come! Mine does. They may be anxious in the beginning. Always have a life jacket.

If it’s your first time, use the Salt River Tubing company. It’s a good experience!

If you’re paddling, YOU NEED A RIVER FIN (No Snow will have one). Bigger fins you use on the lake will crack in narrow parts of the river.

Memorial Day and Labor Day and Fourth of July are the most popular days. You can go then, but go early (like 7am or earlier). After that, it’s hard to even get parking and cops will make you leave.

It’s always fun, but better in a group of 4+. Find friends!

Don’t be one of those idiots that floats down the rapids section with a mattress or some shiiit. 

Respect the SALT RIVER HORSES. I usually see them every time I float the river. Don’t go near them or touch them.

Final Thoughts About The Salt River

I love The Salt River so much. I spend time here ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. Enjoy it. I want to share this so you and your friends and your family can enjoy it too. Just respect it, that’s all I ask.

Have More Time? Explore the Area!

Check out these other hikes in the Superstitions and beyond!

Flat Iron- A Bucket List Hike

Gateway Canyon- A Salt River Hike

Black Top Mesa- A Nice Long Stroll

An Overall Favorite- Weaver’s Needle