Tag Archives: Recreation

As Arizona’s boating season approaches, prepare with a safety course

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PHOENIX — Spring and summer isn’t far off and Arizona’s waterways will soon be teeming with activity. To make sure you’re ready for another great boating and paddling season, the Arizona Game and Fish Department recommends all water users to take a boating safety course.

The department offers free courses in Phoenix and Lake Havasu City every month to provide water users the information and tips needed to stay safe while on the water. Each year many deaths and injuries on Arizona’s waterways are the result of people who don’t know how to operate a watercraft properly or how to act to avoid placing themselves in danger.

For more information on boating safety or to register for a hands-on or online safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/boating and click “Boating Safety Education.” Below is a list of hands-on boating safety courses scheduled for March:

Arizona Boater Education Course

  • 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. March 19, Apex Arms Facility, Green Building, Lake Havasu City
  • 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. March 19, Arizona Game and Fish Headquarters, Phoenix

Arizona Paddlesports Education Course

  • 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. March 26, Biscuit Tank at Ben Avery Shooting Facility, Phoenix.

Department’s courses include instruction on the basic skills needed to safely operate a boat or personal watercraft, trailering your vessel, navigational rules, buoys, anchoring, legal requirements, boating emergencies, watersports and paddling. In addition, most insurance companies offer a discount on boat or watercraft insurance rates for completing a course.

The department also reminds all watercraft users that boats in Arizona must have a life jacket aboard for every passenger aboard and those 12 years old and younger must wear a life jacket at all times, under state law. Users should also check to make sure a life jacket fits properly by ensuring there is no excess room above the openings of the jacket and that it does not ride up over the chin or face.

For more information on boating in Arizona or to sign up for a safety course, visit www.azgfd.gov/boating.

Kaibab National Forest releases draft decision to add camping corridors

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest has released a draft decision to add camping corridors and make other improvements to the transportation system of the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts.

The project, which was designed to improve travel management on the two districts in response to public and internal feedback, will designate approximately 291 miles of camping corridors that extend 300 feet from either side of the centerline of certain roads; add 14 spur roads to the Tusayan Ranger District; close 9 miles of currently open roads on the two districts; add 24 miles of roads to the districts’ open road system; and establish an adaptive management strategy for making limited changes to the transportation system in the future.

The final Environmental Assessment and draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the South Zone Travel Management Revision Project are available for review on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV.

Unresolved concerns about the final EA and draft DN/FONSI will be addressed through an objection process. In order to file an objection, a person must have previously submitted specific comments regarding the South Zone Travel Management Revision Project. Objections may be filed over a 45-day period. Details about the objection process are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV.

Changes to the transportation system included in the draft decision were all developed based on several years of monitoring following implementation of the Travel Management Rule on the two districts, which included documenting public concerns about recreational access and other issues.

“I believe our local community members and our visitors will be pleased with these changes and will recognize that they are responsive to the concerns we’ve been hearing over recent years,” said Williams District Ranger Danelle D. Harrison. “We took our commitment to listen to public and employee feedback seriously, and this decision is evidence of that continuing commitment. Our goal is to provide motorized recreational opportunities where we can while still providing for the protection of our natural and cultural resources.”

A final decision on the South Zone Travel Management Revision Project is expected in the spring with a new Motor Vehicle Use Map anticipated soon thereafter. Current Motor Vehicle Use Maps for the Kaibab National Forest are available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/kaibab/tmr.

Big Springs Cabin Rentals now available for public use

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Kaibab Forest Service Photograph

Kaibab Forest Service Photograph

FREDONIA — The North Kaibab Ranger District has seven cabins available at Big Springs as part of the Kaibab National Forest’s cabin rental offerings, which are now available as part of the Arizona Cabin Rental “Rooms with a View” program.

Reservations must be made at Recreation.gov, and may be found by searching for “Big Springs Cabin Site, Kaibab National Forest, AZ.” A complete listing of available amenities is available here. The rental rate is $65 per night per cabin. The cabins can be reserved from May 1 to Nov. 30.

The Big Springs cabin site is located approximately 30 miles from Fredonia, Arizona, on Forest Service Road 22, about an hour drive from the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The cabins are about a 35-minute drive from the Rainbow Rim Trail, a winding 18-mile hiking and mountain biking trail on the forest that offers stunning views from five scenic overlooks along the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Individual cabins vary in occupancy from two to four people per cabin and include use of the shared shower house, fully furnished kitchen and dining hall. There are toilets on site but not in the cabins. There are no laundry facilities. Each cabin has two twin-size beds and one full-size bed. Please bring your own linens, towels, and pillows.

See more photos of the Big Springs cabins at Kaibab Cabin Rentals.

Coconino County Parks & Rec Launches “CocoRec”

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Online site offers registration for recreation programs and campsites

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.–— Coconino County Parks & Recreation Department has kicked off its new web-based registration and reservation system “CocoRec.”

CocoRec allows county residents and visitors to view and register for recreation programs and reserve campground sites and stables at Fort Tuthill County Park through the Parks & Recreation website at http://www.coconino.az.gov/parks/.

“Online registration for programs and campsite reservations are eco-friendly,” said County Parks & Recreation Director Judy Weiss, who noted that registrations and reservations could be made 24/7. “You save gas, reduce carbon emissions, save time and paper.  Plus, you have the added convenience of registering anytime wherever you are with internet access.”

To view a catalog of available programs, campsites and stables visit the Parks & Recreation website and click the link to CocoRec. Before registering for any programs or reserving a campsite, or stable, individuals and families must establish an account by setting up a login and password.

Spring recreation programs include geocaching, navigating the outdoors and camping clinics for the less experienced camper. A list of summer offerings will soon be available as Parks & Recreation moves forward with year round recreation offerings.