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Hello, we had our annual "Man Camp" guys getaway scheduled for the weekend of June 10th. We are coming from Phoenix and there are 5 of us. We were originally going to do our usual easy hike up Horton Trail and camp by the stream, but fire restrictions are in effect. It looks like the Coconino Forest has no restrictions, so we're probably going to need to go somewhere over there. The problem is I'm having a hard time finding a hike that fits. Here are the requirements:

1: We just have normal 2WD sedans, so it needs to be car friendly to the trail head

2: The hike from the car to wherever we end up camping needs to be between 1 to 5 miles

3: We have a water filter and plan to filter our water after arriving so it needs to be close to running water

4: We need to be able to have a fire.

We were looking at some of the Fossil Creek trails, but I see that you have to be 1/4 mile from the stream to have a fire. I've camped in the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon before, but I think that is about 8 miles each way and probably a bit too far for a couple of the guys.

Any ideas or suggestions?

West Clear Creek Trail #17, Babe Haught Tr to Knoll Lake, anywhere out in the White Mountains! (KP Creek)

Wow a forest in Arizona without fire restrictions on Memorial Day weekend

Go to Horton and forget the fire in anticipation of less people

as azpride said, plus Parsons/Sycamore is a good one too
here are most of your options

I would also plan on there being fire restrictions on the Coconino (and probably the rest of the state) by the weekend of June 10th. All of the forests had restrictions in place a few weeks ago, but a cold, wet storm allowed them to lift the restrictions for a little bit. With dry, hot weather on the horizon, the weekend of the 10th would be a definite question in my mind as to restrictions. Keep an eye on http://www.publiclands.org/firenews/AZ.php for updates

azpride wrote: Babe Haught Tr to Knoll Lake

I was thinking of doing this one soon. Maybe bring a pole and do some fishing. Now is it pronounced Babe HOT?

I was looking at Kinder Crossing. The pictures look amazing. Are there quite a few spots around there with fire rings?

I would say there are TWO spots at Kinder Crossing where you can camp in reasonable seclusion from the other site. The one site is quite large however (about the size of 2-3 plots of Tempe house property) of flat, open land adjacent to the creek and I believe that there are several secondary fire rings, but you will definitely be within view and even earshot of anybody else who may be camping there. This area will also tend to receive at least a couple dozen daytrippers on the weekend, so solitude is not likely.

As for fishing, there are several pools that are quite deep, but I've never fished there. The creek was nearly overrun with crawdads last time I was there. A friend and I grabbed about 30 and brought them back to camp for dinner. Didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. But at least they're not in that creek anymore. (Invasive species... kill 'em all if you can!)

Oh, and the lower part of the road to the trailhead is absolutely not sedan friendly. So you may have an extra 1/4 mile hike than planned.

Another option you might consider is Chevelon Canyon. There's a campground at the trailhead, but as you hike upstream there are a couple of viable camp spots, including a nice one at Durfee Crossing.

http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=782

Went up West Clear Creek last week, nice hike with several good campsites along the way. But fire restrictions were in place already.

I was at WCC trail 17 just 2 days ago. The ranger at the trailhead confirmed there were no fire restrictions.

Possible confusion with Wet Beaver Creek just a few miles north of WCC where there's a permanent fire ban? It's also possible that the signs from when restrictions were implemented in early May had not been taken down. Unless you are 100% certain that a posted sign is incorrect, always obey the sign.

Hmmmmm....... Im not questioning or doubting your findings about WCC #17, just confused. On 5/18 I stopped in at Ranger station in Camp Verde and they told me No Fires, There was also signs posted for no fires at Bull Pen. Sounds like Rangers are confused also.

I know recent storms lifted the fire bans that were in effect in Coconino (and other national forests). I don't remember how long ago those storms were... Maybe since 5/18?

Coconino entered restriction on May 6th, and after rain and snow May 18-19, the restrictions were lifted on May 20th. So that explains everything!

OK, yep splains the confusion.

Im in the same boat now Was planning a hike at Chevelon Canyon during the same week (been planning for a couple weeks now) until i heard this today.... http://www.wmicentral.com/news/fire-on- ... 03286.html .Now im tyring to figure out a similar hike for next weekend. Any ideas? Anyone here hiked Canyon Creek before?

Chumley, you have a link...trying to find out when/where the fire restrictions are changing.

Besides the individual land agencies, this seems to be the official go-to-clearinghouse for the most up-to-date info:
http://www.publiclands.org/firenews/AZ.php

Well, it looks like fire restrictions for the whole state now. I guess we're going without a fire (which I've never done). That opens up a lot for us, but I still like what I've seen from Kinder Crossing. Are we allowed to camp where ever if we're not going to have a fire, or do we need to camp at a (now unusable) fire ring?

You can always camp wherever, as long as there are no signs prohibiting it. Of course, you should take care to "leave no trace" if you're camping in a new area. Since there's a couple of established "sites" down there, there are some conveniences near the fire rings, including some nice flintstone "chairs" and a "table" or two.