Lyman Lake State Park

State Forester Issues Stage II Fire Restrictions

The Arizona State Forester has issued the following Fire Restrictions for all Arizona State Parks:

Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, or wood stove including
fires in developed campgrounds or improved sites is prohibited. Exemptions include persons using
a device solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off. Such devices
can only be used in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable
materials within 3 feet of the device.
Smoking is prohibited unless it is within an enclosed vehicle or building.
Discharging a firearm except while engaged in a lawful hunt pursuant to state, federal, or tribal
laws and regulations is prohibited. The exemption to this is that the discharging of firearms is
allowed on agency designated shooting ranges.
The discharging or using of any kind of fireworks and incendiary devices is prohibited.
The following mechanical and industrial activities are prohibited:
o Operating any internal combustion engine.
o Welding, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.
o Using an explosive.

Fire restrictions remain in effect at this park until further notice. Read Complete Release

Lyman Lake will be OPEN for Summer & Fall Seasons 2013

Lyman Lake State Park will be open during the summer and fall seasons.
Camping & Day Use: Now – November 4.
Day use only: November 5 – December 3.

Reserve your spot (campground RV or tent site, camping cabin, or yurt) from the comfort of your home, anytime of day. Make online reservations Site reservations for this park are also available by calling the Reservation Center at (520) 586-2283. You can call 7 days a week, from 8 am to 5 pm MST. There is a $5 non-refundable reservation fee per site. You may only make camping reservations at this park for the camping season, May 24 - Nov. 4, 2013.

June 1 & 2: Family Campout Program

The new 2013 Arizona Family Campout Program is designed for families that have little or no experience camping. The program will introduce you to the great experiences you can share with your family and inspire you to continue to explore the great outdoors! Please share this information with others. These weekend introductory adventures will take place at the six Arizona State Parks throughout Spring 2013. Parks include Catalina SP (Tucson), Kartchner Caverns SP (Benson), Lost Dutchman SP (Apache Junction), Dead Horse Ranch SP (Cottonwood), and Patagonia Lake SP (Patagonia). Visit our information and registration page at http://azstateparks.com/family for program details including: activities, specific dates at parks, along with a sample schedule, menu, and a list of program sponsors. Each weekend program is limited to 10 families. Registration is first come, first served.

Enjoy water sports and Camping Cabins and Yurts at Lyman Lake State Park. The park will re-open for the summer season in 2013.

Created as an irrigation reservoir by damming the Little Colorado River, Lyman Lake State Park is a 1,200-acre park that encompasses the shoreline of a 1,500-acre reservoir at an elevation of 6,000 feet. It is fed by snowmelt from the slopes of Mount Baldy and Escudilla Mountain, the second and third highest mountains in Arizona. Water is channeled into this river valley from a 790-square-mile watershed extending into New Mexico. Note: There are no boat rentals at this park, but the park does sell gasoline.

Because of its size, Lyman Lake is one of the few bodies of water in northeastern Arizona with no size restrictions on boats. The west end of the lake is buoyed off and restricted as a no wake area (5 mph). This allows the angler a chance at a variety of fish without the proximity of speedboats and water-skiers. The fishery consists of walleye, channel catfish and largemouth bass. The large remainder of the lake is open for all other types of water sports.

Lyman Lake really comes into its own during the spring, summer, and fall. Summer days, with temperature highs in the 80's to low 90's, are perfect for fishing, swimming, leisure boating, water-skiing, hiking or just plain relaxing.

Prehistory of the Area: Rattlesnake Point Pueblo & Petroglyph Trail

The central petroglyph is the water serpent. When Hopi ancestors were given a sign to stop and settle in an area, sometimes there would be no water. So these people, through ceremony, would pray to the water serpent underground. The water serpent. whose domain is under the ground. would answer by churning around, which would force water to seep out of the ground. Learn more by downloading the Interpretive Guide below.

Besides providing recreational opportunities, the park offers a glimpse of prehistory of Arizona. Rattlesnake Point Pueblo was a medium-sized village that was home to about 15 families between AD 1325 and 1390. It was one story tall and had between 80 and 90 rooms. The pueblo was built and occupied by the ancestors of the Hopi, and perhaps other, Pueblo Indian groups. The prehistoric inhabitants of the upper Little Colorado River drainage left a rich material record of their time in the valley. The ruined buildings, artifacts, and petroglyphs ("rock art'') provide the scientific evidence that permits archaeologists to understand the area's prehistory. Hopi people see the abandoned houses, broken pottery, and markings on the rocks as a record left by their ancestors during the migrations described in Hopi oral tradition. Scientific archaeology and Hopi oral tradition provide two ways of assigning meaning to the physical record of human occupation of this area.

Science provides a framework for seeking testable answers to an evolving set of questions. For scientific archaeology, these questions concern past human behavior. The artifacts, the architecture, and the petroglyphs that archaeologists study provide the evidence that allows them to answer the questions they pose.

Hopi oral tradition provides, for Hopis, a different way of knowing the past. At Hopi, each dan has a narrative of its own history, from emergence, through migration, to eventual settlement on the Hopi mesas. These dan narratives, passed down in both secular and sacred contexts, together comprise Hopi history. This knowledge of the past is deeply grounded in religion, reinforced through ritual, and made apparent in ruined villages, ancient pottery, and the marks left on the rocks.

To learn more, download an intrepretive guide about Rattlesnake Point Pueblo and the Petroglyph Trail. Download Prehistory Intrepretive Booklet ( 1.8 MB PDF)

Top of Page Park Rules & FAQ

[Skip] Home Find a Park Arizona Map Fee Schedule

Western Region

Northern Region

Eastern Region

Southern Region

Location

Facilities

511 Speed Code

Fees

Lyman Lake State Park

State Forester Issues Stage II Fire Restrictions

Lyman Lake will be OPEN for Summer & Fall Seasons 2013

June 1 & 2: Family Campout Program

Prehistory of the Area: Rattlesnake Point Pueblo & Petroglyph Trail