Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apache Falls - upstream limit of boating White Mountain Apache Tribe closure | Regulation section limit | 33.79844, -110.50066 | Tribal rules close the Salt to boating above Apache Falls, which the Tonto National Forest permit page places a quarter mile above the Highway 60 bridge. Marker set that distance up the mapped centreline; no coordinate is published. |
| 2 | US 60 / AZ 77 bridge, Salt River Canyon Globe-Show Low Highway | Bridge crossing | 33.79784, -110.50424 | The float starts here. The permit put-in is First Campground on Apache Road 1, river right just downstream of the bridge; no coordinate is published for the campground and OSM does not carry it. |
| 3 | Salt River Canyon Rest Area ADOT - restrooms and drinking water | Point of interest | 33.79726, -110.50281 | Highway rest area at the put-in bridge, on the canyon rim road. Last reliable water and toilets before a four- or five-day canyon trip; there is no cell service below here. |
| 4 | Second Campground Apache Road 1 - tribal land | Campsite | 33.82668, -110.54582 | Riverside campground about 5.7 river miles below the put-in, on the White Mountain Apache bank. A tribal permit covers this reach in addition to the Forest Service boater permit. |
| 5 | Cibecue Crossing Ford on Reservation Road | Access / boat ramp | 33.83813, -110.55617 | Where the tribal Reservation Road fords the Salt, just below the Cibecue Creek mouth. A vehicle touch-point rather than a ramp, and on permit-only White Mountain Apache land. |
| 6 | Hoodoo Access Unpaved track - tribal land | Access / boat ramp | 33.83548, -110.58282 | OSM maps this as a track running down to the river rather than a developed ramp. Reaching it crosses White Mountain Apache land, so it is a permit road, not a public put-in. |
| 7 | Salt Bank Campground River right - tribal land | Campsite | 33.83175, -110.59530 | Riverside campground on the reach that passes the Salt Banks mineral springs. The springs themselves sit on White Mountain Apache land and are not a public stop. |
| 8 | Lower limit of the White Mountain Apache permit reach About 29 river miles below the put-in | Regulation section limit | 33.69770, -110.74433 | The Tonto National Forest permit page puts the tribal stretch at roughly 29 miles downstream of First Campground. Marker set at that distance along the mapped centreline; the tribe publishes no coordinate. |
| 9 | The Maze Rapid Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.69227, -110.74539 | Head of the canyon's busiest mile. The Forest Service calls the run a solid Class III-IV overall, with a few rapids approaching Class V at low water. |
| 10 | Quartzite Rapids Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.67763, -110.75548 | Second of the five named drops mapped in the Maze reach, inside about half a river mile of each other. |
| 11 | Corkscrew Rapid Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.67816, -110.75724 | Mapped within metres of Lower Corral; the two read as one continuous drop on the water. |
| 12 | Lower Corral Rapid Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.67810, -110.75717 | Mapped within metres of Corkscrew; the two read as one continuous drop on the water. |
| 13 | The Sleeper Rapid Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.67977, -110.75872 | Last of the named drops in the Maze reach before the river swings past Jump Off Canyon. |
| 14 | Jump Off Canyon Side canyon mouth | Point of interest | 33.68222, -110.76498 | GNIS locality at a side-canyon mouth. There are no trails in the Salt River Canyon Wilderness, but the Forest Service notes the side canyons make the best layover walks. |
| 15 | Cliff Hanger Rapid Named rapid - GNIS | Dam / hazard | 33.67005, -110.78067 | The last rapid OSM carries a name for, about 2.4 river miles below the Maze cluster. |
| 16 | Bumble Bridge (AZ 288) Globe-Young Highway | Bridge crossing | 33.61943, -110.92176 | The take-out bridge. The permitted run ends 52.3 river miles below First Campground, river left just downstream of this crossing. |
| 17 | USGS 09498500 - Salt River near Roosevelt USGS streamgage at the take-out | USGS gauge | 33.61917, -110.92208 | The gauge at the AZ 288 bridge. Boaters also watch 09497500 Salt River near Chrysotile at the put-in; this sheet maps one gauge, the water page's own. |
| 18 | Salt River Rafter Boat Ramp Tonto NF - concrete ramp, FR 3778 | Access / boat ramp | 33.61936, -110.92277 | The take-out for the Salt River Canyon Wilderness run, river left just below the AZ 288 bridge. Motors are prohibited in the wilderness upstream. |
| 19 | Raftzer Take-Out Dispersed USFS dispersed site | Campsite | 33.61877, -110.92831 | Dispersed Forest Service camping beside the take-out road - the usual de-rig or last-night spot. Four other dispersed sites lie further out along FR 3396 and FR 396. |
Gauge: USGS 09498500 — SALT RIVER NEAR ROOSEVELT, AZ. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass
Regulations: www.azgfd.com/fishing-2/licenses-and-regulations/
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Highway 60 Bridge near Carrizo: the standard put-in for the canyon float.
Salt Banks: tribal land access; a permit from the White Mountain Apache Tribe is required.
Horseshoe Bend and Gleason Flat: mid-canyon camps reachable only by boat.
Roosevelt Lake: the takeout at the bottom of the canyon, near the gauge.
Lower Salt River Recreation Area, Mesa: year-round road-accessible water below the lakes.
Permits are required for the Upper Salt; check current tribal and Forest Service rules.
March through May: the float season, dictated entirely by snowmelt.
April: usually the best combination of flow, weather and fishing.
June through October: the upper canyon is too low to float; the lower river below Roosevelt still fishes.
November through February: winter trout stocking on the Lower Salt near Phoenix.