Beaver Creek Watershed

Tour of the Beaver Creek Watershed

This is a virtual, guided tour of the experimental sites on the Beaver Creek Watershed. Below is the main tour, which begins and ends in Flagstaff, with links to six optional side trips to experimental watershed units. The map is available to the right of the text below or as a separate page, follow the descriptions for the main tour to visit the watershed and learn about the experiments in watershed management performed there and their results. If you are planning to actually drive this tour, please read these instructions and cautions.

Main Tour

The main tour begins as you head south on I-17 from Flagstaff. Note your mileage as you cross or leave I-40. Look to the right as you pass Kelly Canyon, 10 miles south of Flagstaff. Here, molten basalt flowed across the landscape many years ago. As it cooled, it formed the layer of black rocks you see on top of the red soil. Drive 19.7 miles from Flagstaff to the Schnebly Hill Interchange, where you may exit east and visit watersheds 16 and 17 on Side Trip A. Much of the countryside enroute to this interchange is covered by volcanic basalt.

Continue south from the Schnebly Hill Interchange on I-17. Travel 13.6 miles to the Stoneman Lake Interchange, watching for the following features on the way.

After passing Woods Canyon overpass, look left to see parts of the Woods Canyon experimental watershed unit, a principal research applications site.

At a point 7.8 miles south of the Schnebly Hill Interchange, you will pass a viewpoint on the right overlooking the Verde Valley. This overlook is situated on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, a long line of cliffs and rugged hills angling across much of Arizona from northwest to southeast. All water from the Beaver Creek area drains into the Verde River, which eventually joins the Salt River. Both rivers supply reservoirs which store water for the Phoenix area. Here, you leave the ponderosa pine forest that covers 20 percent of the Salt-Verde Basin, and enter the pinyon-juniper woodland that spreads over 25 percent of the Basin. The rest of the Basin is occupied by mixed conifer forests at the highest elevations and chaparral and desert shrub plant communities at the lowest elevations.

Exit I-17 at the Stoneman Lake Interchange and travel east 6.8 miles on the Stoneman Lake Road (Forest Road 213) to its junction with Forest Road 229. At this point, if you are interested in visiting only Watersheds 8 and 9, continue 5.2 miles to the left on Road 213 to its junction with Road 239 to take Side Trip F. Otherwise, turn right on Road 229 to continue along the main tour loop, and drive 1.9 miles to its junction with Road 644. Enroute, you will pass through several areas where the trees have been cleared away by cabling (see Pinyon-Juniper Treatments and Results).

At the junction with Road 644, you may turn right to see the experimental pinyon-juniper treatments on Side Trip B.

The group of buildings on your right just past the junction of Roads 229 and 644 is known as Watershed Camp. This camp was originally built to serve crews who constructed stream gages on the 44 Beaver Creek experimental and control watersheds. Now, it is used by personnel who maintain the many structures and instruments.

From the junction of Roads 229 and 644, continue south 0.9 miles on Road 229 to its junction with Road 229F on your left, where Side Trip C begins.

Continue south on Road 229 for 2.2 miles to the junction of Roads 229 and 230. At this point, the main route turns left on Road 230. If you wish to visit the Apache Maid Fire Lookout, proceed right on Road 229, which becomes Side Trip D.

Upon leaving Road 229, proceed east 2.3 miles on Road 230 to its junction with Road 230C. Here, you may elect to turn left for Side Trip E.

Continue east on Road 230 for 0.6 miles, which will bring you to Stop 10 at Watershed 12. To your left you can see the tremendous growth of oaks on the once-cleared watershed.

Continue 0.5 miles along Road 230 to Stop 11 on your left. You are now on Watershed 14. At Stop 11, walk 100 yards along the spur road beyond the sign to see an example of a gaging station used to measure water flow from one of the 24 small watersheds (see Getting the Project Rolling).

Continue 4.8 miles from Stop 11 on Road 230 to its junction with Road 213. For the first 2.3 miles you are still driving through Watershed 14, until you pass a weather station on the right. This is an excellent area to see big game.

When you reach Road 213, you may turn left to reach Side Trip F or Stoneman Lake (see map) or to return to I-17. Or, you may turn right to follow the main route back to Flagstaff via Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3).

From the junction of Roads 230 and 213, continue east 0.4 miles to Forest Highway 3, the Lake Mary Road. Turn left and drive 37 miles to Flagstaff to complete the tour. Along the way you will pass Mormon Lake, the largest natural lake in Arizona, followed by upper and lower Lake Mary, two finger lakes which provide part of Flagstaff's water supply.

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19 March 2001