East of Mesa
It's just a 20 mile trip east of Mesa on the Apache Trail to the Superstition Mountain area and then on to Canyon Lake. The road is very good out to the mountains and the Lost Dutchman State Park. After that it starts to go up, curve, switchback and take you to a whole other world. I didn't realize how wild the area would be but it's mountainous, rocky, filled with great cactus and uninhabited.
Canyon Lake is one of a series of lakes created by damming the Salt River. It is really beautiful, with a marina and old paddlewheel boat tour. Next time we're here I'd like to rent a pontoon and spend the day on the lake. We had a great lunch sitting on the balcony overlooking the lake...the Big Bum burger really hit the spot.
The state park sites are nice and large, well maintained but did not have electricity as the brochure claims. Boy, if they had electric we'd be out there in a flash. I can just imagine the night sky and the howling coyotes! When we're here at a cooler time we'll stay there for several days. Arizona State parks seem to be consistently well maintained and attractive.