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Can anyone tell me a good place to go backpacking with myself and 5 friends on memorial day weekend? I'm looking for a cooler climate near water.

Thanks!

Your just begging for someone to say Montana aren't you . . . . . . . . .

Actually I would suggest the Woods Canyon Lake area. As far as I know, their is nothing to prevent you from camping on the Northside of the lake.

Take a look at the TrailDEX for the Woods Canyon Lake Trail.

Fossil Springs is a great place to go. It is a 4 mile hike down in beautiful red rock country. Once your at the bottom you will come across some springs and some massive swimming holes. The campground has a nine foot deep swimming hole and at the bottom of the dam there is a 30 foot swimming hole. There is a natural arch you can swim under and end up in a little pool of water, which is the easiest way of climbing out of the water. It is so nice down there. I would recommend a 3 day trip down there. The hike itself is hot tho. If you take to Flume trail you can dip your hat in the flume and get wet periodicly on the hike up to the camp. The flume trail is not as pretty tho.

Check fire restrictions before you go.

West Clear creek either upper or lower is always nice. If you access it from the Bullpen area there are several swimming holes. It is redrock area and high desert. There are several access trails to the creek but this is the easiest. There is also the Maxwell Trail. I believe off of Lake Mary road you turn on FS 81 to access the Maxwell and Tramway trail ( you'd need to check out this as I'm not sure). It is at a higher elevation and starts out in the pines. This area I believe is more scenic but does not have as many deep pools. Then of course you could go through from one end to another. There are some awesome although difficult stretches. This is my "tentative" plan for Memorial Day weekend. It's sort of a tradition with out of town friends and it has never been crowded. Have a great time!

If you were planning on doing the West Clear creek via Tramway or Maxwell I believe the current fire up there is in that area. I'm sure the entire area will be closed. I heard this morning that closures will go into effect tomorrow.