About Bear Canyon Lake and Camping Area
A beautiful, narrow, canyon-bound lake, accessible by foot trail only, Bear Canyon Lake is one of several in a series of fishing lakes built by Arizona Game and Fish Department. Despite being several miles down a dirt road and having few amenities, it draws many visitors. The partially developed campground which is set among the mixed conifer, oak and aspen, has only limited amenities. Bear Canyon Lake is a **"Pack it in - Pack it out"**area. There is NO GARBAGE SERVICE. Please be good stewards of the land and leave the area better than how you found it. For purposes of fire restrictions, this campground is considered to be an 'undeveloped' campground. No fires will be permitted when fire restrictions are in effect for the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest. At an elevation of 7,560, Bear Canyon Lake consists of 60 surface acres with a maximum depth of 50 feet. Because of its depth, this lake has…
- Fees: There is no fee to camp.
- Season: April 15
- Managed by: USFS - Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
- Where: 6 mi north of Christopher Creek, AZ · 34.40539, -111.00449
Things to do:
Official page for this camp (fees, closures, booking)
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: May–Sep (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Nov–Mar.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Trails near camp
| Trail | Open to | From camp | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mallard | Hiking | at camp | 0.1 mi |
| Bear Canyon Lake | Horse | 0.1 mi | 1.6 mi |
| Merganser | Hiking | 0.3 mi | 0.2 mi |
| Two-O-Eight | Hiking | 0.9 mi | 0.2 mi |
| General Crook | Horse | 2.2 mi | 57.9 mi |
| See Canyon | Horse | 2.4 mi | 0.2 mi |
Straight-line distance from camp, from Forest Service, BLM, state and OpenStreetMap trail data.
Good to know
AT&T 4G
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way shows rich detail, horizon to horizon.
Class 2 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Dump station: 6.3 mi
Water fill-up: 6.3 mi
Propane: 24.4 mi
Camps nearby
- Promontory Pit Road Campground 2.1 mi
- Forest Road 84 Camping Area 2.2 mi
- Fr 84 Camping Area 2.7 mi
- Forest Road 169 Camping Area 3.3 mi
- Fr 169 Campground 3.3 mi
- Campsite · 7 mi NE of Mead Ranch 4.2 mi