Bartlett Lake

Bartlett Lake, located 48 miles from downtown Phoenix and 17 miles northeast of Carefree, Arizona, is a popular recreation area in the Tonto National Forest. After wet winters, the Bartlett Lake area often has fine displays of spring wildflowers. The facilities at Bartlett Lake are managed by the Forest Service. It's part of the Tonto National Forest and therefore needs a Tonto Forest Pass ($6) per day, whether you are just visiting or camping over night. (But there's no additional charge to camp.)

Bartlett Lake is a reservoir that was formed by the damming of the Verde River in the state of Arizona. It is downstream and to the south of Horseshoe Reservoir. Constructed in 1936–39 by the Salt River Project, the Bartlett Dam and reservoir were named for Bill Bartlett, a government surveyor. Bartlett Lake was the first reservoir built on the Verde River.

Driving to Bartlett Lake

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 2/15/2015 Posted: 10/12/2017		Page Views: 1281
Topics: #Places #Arizona #Phoenix #BartlettLake
Beautiful photos of a fantastic Western landscape.

Today we felt like going for a drive, and Keith suggested Bartlett Lake. But this time we focused (literally) on the beauties of the drive there.

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First Time Camping at Bartlett Lake

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 2/22/2015 Posted: 10/12/2017		Page Views: 1815
Topics: #Places #Arizona #Phoenix #BartlettLake #Photography
Lots of photos of the cacti surrounding our on-the-beach campsite.

Impressed by what we'd seen of the place on our drive here a couple of days ago, Keith and I couldn't pack the car fast enough for our first camping trip on the beach.

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Cold Camping at Bartlett Lake Flats

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 11/6/2015		Page Views: 2117
Topics: #BartlettLake #CentralArizona #Arizona #Camping
All the photos from a beautiful but cold 24 hours at Bartlett Lake.

Keith and I intended to start a 2-night camping trip at Bartlett Lake Flats, two days ago. But it was actually raining over the entire Greater Phoenix area. So we left yesterday morning, instead, despite the cool temperature. The clear skies and bright sun fooled us into thinking it would be warm enough to enjoy Bartlett Lake. I even brought a towel in case it was warm enough for swimming.

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High Water at Bartlett Lake

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 8/23/2017		Page Views: 1115
Topics: #Places #Arizona #BartlettLake
Photos from a day trip to the lake.

This month has been a bit busy with home stuff for camping. But that didn't stop Keith and I from making a day trip with Keith's brother, Chris, and my son, John—and our dog, Ella—to the lake, where we found the recent monsoon rains had brought the water level much higher than we'd ever before seen it.

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