Ashurst Lake — Attraction in Arizona

The reviews I read of Ashurst had me pretty excited about enjoying a calm, quiet, lakeside campsite. We brought the canoe, arrived around 11:30 and found the place packed. There is a decent 5-7 mile stretch of washboard road to get there, you can get there in a car, it's not like off-roading, but it may rattle some bolts loose! The sites before the actual lake campgrounds were super packed, full of RVs with toys from off-road buggies to dirt bikes. We happened to catch a spot just as one family was beginning to leave. It was a short walk to the water, but not ON the water's edge and many of the sites were not, they were on the other side of the road you drive in on. There were all kinds of campers, from the casual tent and a few supplies kinda campers to people with three truck loads and a trailer of everything they could fit in a campsite and set up a full patio and grill.

Once you find a campsite the ranger comes by and you pay them for your spot, $19 for the site, $8 for an additional vehicle on the site, there are 5 of us. We ended up in site 8, which actually had three good tent spots! The firepit is awesome, well surrounded by rocks and there is a solid picnic table included too. It's July and campfires are currently allowed. Site 8 is right by a row of port-a-potty's and bit drinkable water tank.

We canoed and fished in the evening, the people fishing next to us caught 5 fairly small fish from the shore and I never caught a thing. By the time we got back to the tent for the evening there was a fairly constant noise from surrounding campsites, from kids screaming to dogs barking, to the continuous hum of the offered buggies dusting the campsites as they drove in and out.

I think for a campsite as a whole it has everything you need, it's pretty clean, the port-a--potties weren't terrible and were stocked with TP, but it wasn't what I was looking for in terms of secluded, quiet wilderness. Everyone else was a little too close for comfort.

If you forget your firewood, cash (they only accept cash), drinks etc. there is a little country store just by the entrance to the lower- Lake Mary entrance day-use area. We went down there for cash...

Beautiful. Peaceful. Amazing. We loved every single second up here while we camped, kayaked, went off-roading on a trail. The kids loved it. We didn't seem to have a problem with mosquitos or bug bites (well 1 person out of 10 got attacked) but we burnt a small citronella candle on a table near the middle of our camping area.

Please bring trash bags and take everything you bring with you DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND. This place is beautiful, please help keep it that way.

There are wild animals, so be aware of that. We could hear howling and I heard crunching foot steps in the middle of the night while everyone was in their tents but nothing was harmed or taken - but we also made sure to put everything away before we went to sleep.

If you're someone who is going to need stuff you'll have to bring it/make it; tables, camp fire pits, wood, flat rock free / brush free clean area for tent/sleeping, ect. As I'm sure you've already assumed, there's no bathrooms or anything like that either.

If you're driving from the valley, we went up Ellsworth through strawberry ect. And it was beautiful and wasn't that bad of a drive 2.5 hr from Mesa. On the way back, we followed GPS and went the "fast" way on lake Mary road (I think that's what it was called) to the freeway. Do NOT do that.. it was the worst idea. Took forever, over an hour longer since it was under construction part way and most of it was a rocky dirt road which would have been fine if we were prepared for it but by the time we were ready to go home, we just wanted it to be fast and easy per GPS promised and that was not...

Visited Labor Day 2018. Quiet, breezy, clean. Three of the main requirements. The hosts keep the area relatively clean. Great for large Raptor watching, other large birds and pike fishing. I did catch a medium sized Brown trout. I guess the pike are not eating everything.

Hiking, kayaking, trail riding nearby, mud (If that's your thing), beautiful views.

If you plan to camp and fish, I recommend camping in the national forest just a min down the road. Trails are open to most vehicles. High clearance vehicles are recommended. We saw plenty of families struggling to escape the mud and rocks after the unforseen rain and hail storm at 6:00 am.

The deer flies are relentless in the summer months, although they were not biting, the buzzing was annoying. They were not at all bothersome on the water, mostly near the swampy shore and restrooms.

The campsites were small and not accommodating for our roof top rigs and quads. This area prohibits atv use, unless street legal. Large trailers will fit, but plan to park your rig somewhere else. For $18 per night, I'd hope for larger spots. We opted out and headed to the woods.

Lastly, we arrived Thursday with hardly anyone present and NO TRAFFIC, and departed when the crowds...