Mogollon Rim
| Share or Bookmark: |
Note: Lots of snow makes access to all rim lakes difficult except by cross country skis, snow shoes or snowmobile, and you will probably encounter this ice cover as well. Contact the US Forest Service’s Black Mesa Ranger District office at (928) 535-7300 for up to date information about road conditions.
CHEVELON LAKE —The lake is ice-covered. Check ice thickness before venturing out on the lake. Forest roads from the south are closed. Forest road 169 north is snow packed to Forest road 169B and Forest road 169B to the lake is snow packed and inaccessible to vehicles, except snowmobiles due to a recent snow storm.
BEAR CANYON LAKE — The lake is ice-covered. Check ice thickness before venturing out on the lake. The lake is inaccessible by motor vehicle, except snowmobiles. Forest Road 300 is closed.
BLACK CANYON LAKE — The lake is ice-covered. Check ice thickness before venturing out on the lake. The lake is inaccessible by vehicle, except for snowmobiles. Forest Road 300 is closed.
WILLOW SPRINGS LAKE — The lake is ice-covered. Check ice thickness before venturing out on the lake. The lake is inaccessible by vehicle, except for snowmobiles. Forest Road 149 is closed.
WOODS CANYON LAKE — The lake is ice-covered. Check ice thickness before venturing out on the lake. The lake is inaccessible by vehicle, except for snowmobiles. Forest Road 300 is closed. The store is still closed for winter.
In the past, it seams like forest road 300 (rim lakes) opens about april 15th. Do you know if they are on track for the same time this year?
the road to lower canyon creek and the colcord side of the Young rd are set to open on April 1 (those roads are closed form Dec. 15- mar. 31)
the 300 should be the same i think, that is unless they are still unpasable. Last friday there was still patches of 6″-24″ of snow on the road. we will only see when they open i would call the blue ridge ranger district or the one out of Heber (black mesa i believe)
It is too soon to tell. We actually have superb snow pack this year with lots of deep drifts. While this bodes well for a great fishing season in the high country, it could take some time before the snow melts and the lakes along the Rim Road are accessible.
On the other hand, unseasonably warm weather or a warm rain could change the equation rapidly.
Rory
I think FR 149 to Willow Springs lake will open up earlier than that because of the warmer weather that they have been having. I have been keeping an eye on the forest lakes snow stick web cam, there is only 3 inches of snow left out of almost 3 feet. The snow is patchy. Keep your fingers crossed that we don’t get a late snow dumper. If the weather keeps up, I think FR 300 will be open around april 1st, probabaly at the latest Good friday !!!!!!! Can’t wait to get the boat on the water and catch some nice carryover trout !!!
The roads to Black Canyon lake are now open if anyone is looking to go fishing in the Rim area.
Jonathan – don’t know where you got your information from but Black Canyon is not open. The gate is still locked.
Hey S.P.
Black mesa ranger station said that the back route from heber to black canyon lake was open last week. So I guess Jonathon was half right !!
The road on the east side of Willow Springs Lake is open and the fishing was decent this past weekend. The lake is not frozen over and there are large patches of snow that are melting fast.
Black canyon is open from the back side going from Heber. Jonathan was right.
the main gate to willow springs lake is now open to the boat launch as of this morning. it is a COLD one up here these past few days (right now outside it is about 30 deg F and there is about a 10-15 mph wind on top of that so about 10 deg F with wind chill). so dont forget your coats if you head up towards the rim.
Went to Willow Springs on Friday,April 10th. No problem getting a limit of holdovers,all pink inside. Powerbait worked best. Had one on a spinner but he shook off.Cold and windy.
I have heard that the Woods Canyon Lake Campground is closed for Construction, can anyone confirm?
The Black Mesa Ranger Station says they have no campground closures at this time. The campgrounds at Woods Canyon Lake should be open. There is one campground closure that I am aware of on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Hoyer Campground at the Greer Lakes is closed due to construction of a new restroom facility.
According to recreation.gov (I had to call them). The campground called “woods canyon lake” is closed indefinitely for construction.
Robert: Double check with the Forest Service, but I believe the campground they are talking about is near the dam, and there are plenty of others in the area (although they fill up fast during holiday weekends). I saw a sign saying as such when I was up there fishing recently.