Chevelon Lake

[Hollywood]

Going to try a day trip up there this Sunday. Don't know if I am going to make it due to Cardinals game at 7pm Saturday and the weather but will sure try. I wan't to scout it out for future trips.

 

[BigRedRage]

this might be the only rim lake I have not visited yet.

 

[azmike74]

I love Chevelon. It's a bit more remote than the other rim lakes and the hike is a little more work, but the reward of being away from people is worth it. I really wanted to go last spring when water levels were high, but didn't get a chance.

My friends are I own float tubes that we take to Chevelon, and the fishing is amazing, although when the water is warmer, I personally have less success. Admittedly, I'm not a great fisherman.

 

[Bada0Bing]

this might be the only rim lake I have not visited yet.

Same. My daughter and I were cruising around on my motorcycle and stumbled upon the road you have to hike down. We started hiking, but we got pretty far without seeing the lake and I had no idea how far away it was.

 

[Hollywood]

You cant drive up to the lake? It looks like the road goes to it in a couple spots. Is that wrong?

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[BigRedRage]

You cant drive up to the lake? It looks like the road goes to it in a couple spots. Is that wrong?

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im on maps looking at it and it appears the south roads stop on a hill and you have to hike down as the road does not reach the water. "old rim road" does appear to reach the north end of the lake though.

Maybe there is a road barricade you cant drive through? The website says you have to hike to it too.

If you go check it out, maybe snap a photo of why you cant drive to the lake and post it up when you get home. I am curious.

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[BigRedRage]

this is the 180 "Chevelon ridge road" as you see the red lines, the trails stop and do not go down because the lake is in a canyon.

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[azmike74]

I camp at the northern red line in your post and there is a trail that reaches the water. If you zoom in on Google earth, you can see it head to the northeast between the 180 road and the red line you drew.

Edit: so the red line I camp at is the northern red line in the second picture you posted. (on the south end of the lake)

 

[Bada0Bing]

Yeah the road is blocked and way too rocky for most cars.

 

[Hollywood]

Yeah the road is blocked and way too rocky for most cars.

I think I have established a complete lack on common sense when driving my truck down rough roads.

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[BigRedRage]

I think I have established a complete lack on common sense when driving my truck down rough roads.

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That truck isn't really designed for it so it's not all you

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[Hollywood]

We left after 2pm so we didnt have a whole lot of time up there. The first place we went was the campfround at the northern end of the lake. The road on the map is a service road and gated off so we couldn't drive down to the water and, being short on daylight, we didnt try to hike down.

The other place I wanted to check was the riad that looked like it might get close to the lake on the south west side. But on a whim we headed further north following the sign that said Chevelon Crossing without knowing just what it was. Turns out it is a crossing....go figure. There is a good size bridge that goes over the river that feeds the lake. There is a campground that, I believe is on the water but we didnt drive through to check. I wish I had. There IS a camping spot just past the bridge that is right next to the stream. One right off the road where you can see the water and if you want to lug your stuff down a very small hill you can probably camp right pretty close to the water. The only bad thing is your proximity to the road as you are also pretty close to the bridge. But since this is pretty far back I dont know how much traffic you will get there.

We kept going, looking for a road that I believe went up to the lake on the south east side. We didnt make it because it had been raining and the roads were pretty rutted out. I could have made it in my truck without a problem but in my wifes Durango I didnt want to come back through there in the dark so we turned around. I will have to go back in drier times and with my truck to check it out.

It has been so long since I have been to the rim I forgot how great it is up there....plus since we were there after a rainy weekend and in a Sunday after most people had left it was quiet.

Was dark headed back to Payson and almost hit an elk that decided to meander across the highway on our way back into town.

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[Hollywood]

I only took a couple pics. This is the spot just pass the bridge at Chevelon Crossing and an elk crossing the road somewhere along the way.

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[BigRedRage]

I need to go to the rim myself. The storms up there are amazing. I only went once this year and went to pyeatt draw below the rim, havent been up the rim itself yet and summer is almost gone.

 

[Folster]

I'm going up to the Rim Lakes with a buddy to do some wheeling. He's got a Samurai and I have a Jeep.

We are both bringing trailers and are planning on staying on the east side of Bear Canyon Lake.

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Has any one been to the location or have a better suggestion?

We plan on taking a Saturday drive to the South tip of Chevelon. I've been there once and it was a pretty rough road which will be good.

Does anyone know of any better Jeep trails in the area?

 

[BigRedRage]

I'm going up to the Rim Lakes with a buddy to do some wheeling. He's got a Samurai and I have a Jeep.

We are both bringing trailers and are planning on staying on the east side of Bear Canyon Lake.

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Has any one been to the location or have a better suggestion?

We plan on taking a Saturday drive to the South tip of Chevelon. I've been there once and it was a pretty rough road which will be good.

Does anyone know of any better Jeep trails in the area?

So, there are very few jeep trails up on the Rim. I know a good spot a little bit northeast of your pin in the photo that I camp at a lot but the jeeping is so easy that I wouldnt even call it jeeping. If I can drive any vehicle on the trail, it cannot be a jeep trail

The best technical wheeling I have found in rim country is off of houston mesa drive, just before water wheel. It is called "Pyeatt draw" road. You take Pyeatt draw road for a few miles and the was comes up on the right. It is a gnarly, big boulder, bad ass wheeling trail. I have photos of it up in the "official camping thread" if you feel like digging through that. Most videos of Pyeatt draw wheeling will only show the big ass waterfall at the end that you need a buggy to climb up but there is so much mroe to the trail than that.

Maybe post up on some jeep club pages on facebook and etc and see if anyone else will be at Pyeatt that weekend.

FYI when googling it, people often call it payette draw or payete draw and etc.

maps and etc at this link: http://azoffroading.com/arizona-trails/pyeatt-draw/

Video preview of most of the trail:

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I cant go up north this weekend or I would offer to tag along. I love me some wheelin! There are a few obstacles to avoid, especially if your tires are under 35". Youll know them when you see them.

here is a gif of my buddy wheeling a rock in the wash: https://goo.gl/photos/HEf3gKvTJqqcJS649

Me in the wash:

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[Folster]

So, there are very few jeep trails up on the Rim. I know a good spot a little bit northeast of your pin in the photo that I camp at a lot but the jeeping is so easy that I wouldnt even call it jeeping. If I can drive any vehicle on the trail, it cannot be a jeep trail

The best technical wheeling I have found in rim country is off of houston mesa drive, just before water wheel. It is called "Pyeatt draw" road. You take Pyeatt draw road for a few miles and the was comes up on the right. It is a gnarly, big boulder, bad ass wheeling trail. I have photos of it up in the "official camping thread" if you feel like digging through that. Most videos of Pyeatt draw wheeling will only show the big ass waterfall at the end that you need a buggy to climb up but there is so much mroe to the trail than that.

Maybe post up on some jeep club pages on facebook and etc and see if anyone else will be at Pyeatt that weekend.

FYI when googling it, people often call it payette draw or payete draw and etc.

maps and etc at this link: http://azoffroading.com/arizona-trails/pyeatt-draw/

Video preview of most of the trail:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I cant go up north this weekend or I would offer to tag along. I love me some wheelin! There are a few obstacles to avoid, especially if your tires are under 35". Youll know them when you see them.

here is a gif of my buddy wheeling a rock in the wash: https://goo.gl/photos/HEf3gKvTJqqcJS649

Me in the wash:

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Nice XJ! I have an 01 TJ, running 33's with a 4" suspension lift.

We both have young kids so we won't be able to get too crazy. There's gotta be some good wheeling up there. There are so many forest roads and off shoots.

We took the back way up to CK w/o the kids back in March. We had a great time. We stayed the night in CK and took Senator highway to Prescott the next day.

 

[BigRedRage]

Nice XJ! I have an 01 TJ, running 33's with a 4" suspension lift.

We both have young kids so we won't be able to get too crazy. There's gotta be some good wheeling up there. There are so many forest roads and off shoots.

We took the back way up to CK w/o the kids back in March. We had a great time. We stayed the night in CK and took Senator highway to Prescott the next day.

thats a great run, always a ton of fun. We skipped the annual jeep run this year to CK and did mexico instead.

I wheel with the young kids, if its too crazy, I just have them get out But I dont get too crazy unless I have certain people with me who could fix a broken axle shaft with duct tape and plastic bags. Those guys are crucial.

You can find a little wheelin maybe, Just not long trails and etc but I am sure you'll find some boulders and whatnot. If you go north toward the power line cleared out area, there is some fun quad trails I took my jeep on just north of where you plan to camp on the south side of the power lines.

Have a good trip!

Two images below, first one the x is where I camp, the circle is where I found some trails. I didnt explore a ton though, there might be plenty more.

The second image is a zoom in of the campsite. Its a very large, open area. Its right before the cattle guard on that road.

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[Hollywood]

I do not think you will be happy around Chevelon. Those were some of the smoothest dirt roads I have ever been on.....of course I didn't go to far down any of the side roads.