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We discovered this weekend that Coconino NF has decommissioned the campground at Kinnikinick Lake and converted the area to Day Use Only. The main campground loop has been blocked off, and the loop road and sites have been tilled up. Picnic tables have been relocated out to some of the outer sites for day use. The restroom is closed.

Signage indicates they are still prohibiting dispersed camping within a mile of the former campground (measured linearly along adjacent roads). We drove east past the dam and found a very nice site on the south side of Morton Lake, just past the "no camping next 1 mile" sign. High clearance needed to get there, may not be passable in wet conditions.

Day use with no restroom......smart.

First of all, calling Morton a "lake" is really stretching the definition of the term. ;)

Secondly, I've contacted the FS seeking a forest order explaining this closure. My search thusfar has found no information about it. In fact, the NF website still lists it as an active campground:

Main Campground Page

Kinnikinick Detail Page

Per http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsint ... Campground

Reservations: No reservations. This day-use area is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Fees To be determined. As of the 2013 season, Kinnikinick Campground will become a DAY-USE only area. Camping in the area is limited to at least 1 mile away from this developed day-use area.

@paulhubbard
A concessionaire-operated day-use area with vault toilets! Some things just don't add up!

But I would add that if they remove the toilets, is it really considered a "developed" area anymore? Are there two amenities?

chumley wrote:Some things just don't add up!

Pretty soon they'll ban camping within a mile of any puddle that might allow for a squirrel (sorry Te-Wa) to get a drink...

I received a response from the FS today. The decommissioning of the campground at Kinnikinick Lake was put in place in 2010 under a ruling that increased the size of the Pinegrove Campground near Lake Mary. It was basically a financial decision, shifting forest resources from an old, lesser-used site at Kinnikinick, to the newer, larger, more-frequently-used site at Pinegrove.

You can read all about it in this link, or the attachment.

I will add that the current MVUM does not appear to align with the ruling. The MVUM indicates that the area near Kinnikinick is in a 300-foot camping zone, while the ruling states that the existing roads past the old campground would be closed and revegetated. On-site signage also prohibits camping where the map permits it.

Of course the 300-foot camping zone near the lake would likely be in violation of Arizona State law anyway (sarcastically addressed by Paul above) ... it is already illegal to camp within 1/4 mile of the lake. See A.R.S. §17-308

chumley wrote:it is already illegal to camp within 1/4 mile of the lake. See A.R.S. §17-308

Here is the text of that statute: "It is unlawful for a person to camp within one-fourth mile of a natural water hole containing water or a man-made watering facility containing water in such a place that wildlife or domestic stock will be denied access to the only reasonably available water."

That's about as clear as mud... Isn't Kinnikinick large enough that a campsite or two would only displace the 'wildlife or domestic stock' to a different spot on the lake, as opposed to 'denying access'?

Does that mean camping on the shores of Lake Powell is illegal since there are cattle that come down to drink on some of the beaches? (not that I would want to camp on those beaches anyways...)

:SB: :STP:

I agree the law leaves a lot open to interpretation. I don't personally think that camping by the lake would deny anything access, but if everybody decided to camp by the lake, then access might be denied. You be the judge.
(And hope whatever on-duty official that day also agrees with you!)