TRAVEL : Lake Pleasant Regional Park and Scorpion Bay Marina in Arizona

All photos are copyrighted Worldwide by LoloMarie and FollmerFotos 2012. Above, Lake Pleasant.

Lake Pleasant is an artificial lake in the middle of the Sonoran Desert in Morristown, Arizona. The original lake was created in 1927 by the Waddell Dam.

In 1973, the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct began with a new dam and tripled the surface area of the lake. Due to some droughts, the lake took till 2005 to reach full capacity.

The lake is a huge draw for boating, scuba diving, house boats, water skiing, jet skiing, archery, camping, fishing, all sorts of water activities. The area is filled to capacity on days like Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The park around the lake is 23,000 acres of desert so be sure to wear shoes unless you are on the beach! You will need to protect your feet, ankles, and legs when hiking from Cactus.

There is a small visitors center near the newest dam that has a deck for visitors to look out upon the lake and dam. The visitors center has the usual tourist trinkets, t-shirts, keychains, books, some food and a few stuffed birds.

View from the deck on the back of the visitors center of the damn.

If you want a really great place to eat, stop at the Scorpion Bay Marina and go to Dillion's. It sits on the dock, right in the water and you can eat right outside by the waters edge. It is some work getting there, either you walk down a long, step flight of metal stairs of take the motorized cage! I opt for the cage for the trip back up to the parking lot. Once at the bottom of the steps, you walk a boardwalk to Dillion's. The food at Dillion's is moderately priced and delicious, well worth the trip! Parking in the lot above is free with park entrance fee which is currently $6 per car. The park fees vary by vehicles, use as if you are camping, bringing in a boat, hiking, via bike, etc. Annual passes and coupon books are available for purchase.

Above, long stairway to get to Dillion's, below the caged ride already at the bottom of stairs. You can also see from recent drought that the lake level is once again low.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park
41835 N. Castle Hot Springs Rd.
Morristown, AZ 85342
1 (928) 501-1710

Park Hours
Day-Use Entry (non-camping): 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily / Camping: available 24 hours, 365 days a year (camping pass and/or reservation required)

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