Kayaking
Flat water, not a river run
Payson is lake paddling. The town lakes, the Rim lakes, and C.C. Cragin are the places to put a kayak in. The creeks are too small and too rocky to run.
Mornings are the calm hours. Wind builds on the Rim in the afternoon. The water up high is cold even in summer.
- Life jacket
- No gas motors in town
- Mornings are calmer
Monster watch. He has no interest in your picnic unless you leave it. Keep the lid on.
Green Valley Lakes
In town · any car
The main lake is the one to paddle. Flat, close to the parking, and fine for a first kayak or a short evening on the water.
Gas motors are prohibited. Boating is sunrise to sunset. A life jacket is required on board, and anyone 12 or under wears one while the boat is moving. No swimming. The water is treated effluent.
From town. Green Valley Park, 1000 West Country Club Drive, at the west end of Main Street.
Driving directionsWoods Canyon Lake
Best Rim paddle · about 35 miles
A narrow 55-acre lake with a ramp and a store in season. The usual place to kayak, canoe, or row on the Rim.
Rentals, when they are offered, are at the store, and only in season. Confirm before you count on one. Bring your own life jacket either way.
From town. East on Highway 260 to the top of the Rim. Left on Forest Road 300 for about 3 miles, then the signed road to the lake. About an hour when the road is open.
Driving directionsWillow Springs and Bear Canyon
About 25 and 40 miles
Willow Springs is larger and more open, so it gets the wind first. Bear Canyon is narrower and quieter, with a longer dirt approach.
No store at Bear Canyon. Pack water. If the afternoon wind is already up, stay off the open water.
From town. East on Highway 260. Willow Springs is the signed Forest Road 149 spur, about 23 miles out. Bear Canyon continues on Rim Road, Forest Road 300, about 10 miles past the Woods Canyon junction.
Driving directionsC.C. Cragin Reservoir
Blue Ridge · about 60 miles
The Forest Service treats this as a kayak and fishing lake. Steep canyon walls, and very few places to land.
Do not paddle it alone. Low water can close the ramp to trailers, but a kayak can still be carried down. Forest Road 751 closes in winter.
From town. North on Highway 87 past Clint’s Well about 4 miles, then Forest Road 751 about 6 miles. About an hour and a half. A passenger car is usually fine when the gravel is dry.
Driving directions
Ask the Payson Ranger District, (928) 474-7900, whether the Rim roads and Forest Road 751 are open. Woods Canyon Lake photo by Richard N. Horne, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Before you go
- Wear a life jacket. Anyone 12 or under must wear one while the boat is underway. Everyone else needs one on board.
- Rim water is cold. A capsize is a hypothermia problem, not a swim.
- Go in the morning. Wind on Willow Springs and C.C. Cragin can pin a kayak against a cliff.
- The town lakes are closed to swimming and wading. Gas motors are prohibited there.
- Cell service drops on the forest roads. Tell someone which lake you are paddling and when you expect to be back.
