East Verde River - A Day Trip
Updated: Apr 11, 2021
As the childhood home and summer recreation spot for Pin Drop Travel Trailer Founder, Tim Elinski, and the location of the Elinski nuptials in 2012, the East Verde River just outside Payson, Arizona continues to be an ongoing destination for our family.
Day Trip
Late in 2019, we visited East Verde River, a short day trip from our hometown of Cottonwood, Arizona, by way of highway 260. Located in Tonto National Forest, access to the main crossing and the river is easy through the developed East Verde Community. We opted for a less traveled path to a destination Tim calls the "Third Crossing." Access to this spot is via a dirt road, one lane mostly, that you find about 1 mile heading east on Highway 260 past the East Verde Estates entrance.
Dirt Access
Once you hit dirt, it's a scenic drive, common in this area of the Rim, oak, pine and sycamore trees, large rocks and boulders, small canyons, grazing cattle, and dry washes that are the pathways for water reaching for the Verde following a heavy rain. It doesn't take long for the highway noise to disappear and the only sounds left are the birds, the breeze and, eventually, the wet and dripping sounds of the flowing river.
River Bliss
It was a perfect fall day in Arizona, warm enough to take your shoes off and wade in the river. Our kiddos built a sand castle and moat, with little Frida dog snooping along the banks of the river. We pulled our chairs out and cracked open some tasty libations while taking in the stunning view.
Pin Drop Makes it Better
Having the Pin Drop Travel Trailer - Fina Roma model along makes an off road detour like this so much better. We had 9 gallons of fresh water, a full kitchen to make snacks, the awning for shade, a bed for napping, and some extra comforts that relieve anxiety when you travel with small children. This tear drop style camper trailer makes for a lightweight and easy addition to a day trip or extended campout. It requires little effort to tag along, and has minimum impact for camping in unmarked, national forest boon docking.
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