Roper Lake State Park, AZ

Eagar, AZ

 

    Here's a shot of Roper Lake at dusk on Sunday 12 March. It's a small (30 acre) lake near Safford in eastern Arizona. Because it's a state park you'll find it on the Arizona State Parks website. [See Links below.]

 

    Panning left, most of the lake is in this view. The lights in the distance more or less at the base of the southern end of the Gila Mountains may be from the small settlement of Sanchez.
    Safford's and Thatcher's lights are not visible in this photo since they are on the other side of bluffs and in a flat area along the San Simon River.

    Monday morning I took this snapshot of the Pinaleno Mountains to the west of Safford. The highest peak is Mt. Graham [elev: 10,200']; and that's also the name of the county where Safford is located. (The choice of Graham was a break with the tradition of naming the counties after Indian tribes; see Links below.)

 

 

Some Additional Information on Roper Lake. Roper Lake not only has a hot springs but it also has a natural stone hot tub. When I drove by it there was a sign with some restrictions, but I don't remember many of them other than "No Pets." [Who wants to soak with Fido or Fluffy, anyway?]
    In addition to largemouth bass and trout, which are planted in the lake, Dankworth Pond (about 3 mi south of Roper Lake) contains both of those species as well as crappie, bluegills, and catfish. In fact, the pond started life as a catfish farm.
    Finally, as with many Arizona State Parks, you can reserve a site for a fee of $5 (+ the camping fees, which is c$25).
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Links:

• Roper Lake web pages on Arizona Stat Park website
• History of Graham County
• Wikipedia article on Safford, AZ

Su 11 Mar Actual Route: Sagebrush RV Park - Roper Lake State Park

M 12 Mar Actual Route: Roper Lake State Park - Safford - Clinton - dry-camp 8 mi past Morenci

T 13 Mar Actual Route: dry-camp 8 mi past Morenci - Hannagan Mdw - Alpine - Eagar - Bear Paw RV Park

W 14 Mar Actual Route: Bear Paw RV Park - Eagar - Springerville - St Johns - Moon Meadows RV Park

Th 15 Mar Actual Route: St Johns Library - Holbrook - OK RV Park

F 16 Mar Actual Route: OK RV Park - Winslow - Homolovi State Park

Sa 17 Mar Route: Homolovi SP - Holbrook - Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG

Su 18 Mar Route: Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG

M 19 Mar Actual Route: Crystal Forest Gift Shop CG - Holbrook - Chambers - Sanders - Chambers

T 20 Mar Route: Chambers - Houck - Gallup - Red Rock State Park

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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.