Salt River

The Salt River is best known for its lower stretches, near Mesa, where folks from Phoenix bust out their inner tubes and seek out wild horses—and a good, free-floating time. Further north is to find class III and IV rapids—and several whitewater outfitters. The catch is that the water doesn’t flow heavily enough for consistent, yearly adventure. If the season’s open (in early spring) and you nab a spot, you've hit the Arizona adventure jackpot.

• A recreational day pass is required to get on the water. They can be purchased on-site.

• If you’re tubing on your own, there are six recreation sites with parking lots: Water Users, Blue Point, Goldfield, Coon Bluff, Phon D Sutton, and Granite Reef.

• If you’re looking for wild horses, test your luck at Saguaro Lake, Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area, Granite Reef Recreation Area, and Coon Bluff recreation areas.

All the Lower Salt River’s recreation areas—the ones best for tubing and catching views of wild horses—lie along the N Bush Highway, northeast of Mesa, Arizona. If you’re rafting, your tour likely begins about a 40-minute drive north of Globe, Arizona, further east and much closer to the Salt River Canyon.

To raft the Salt River, you’ll need to go with a guide—it’s a highly remote area—who will let you know exactly when to come (sometime in early spring). If you’re tubing, May–September is the high season; the earlier you go in that window, the faster the river flows.

The origins of the Salt River’s wild horses are a bit of a mystery, though it’s thought their ancestors were brought here by 16th-century explorers. The horses appear to have some Spanish Colonial or Iberian breeding, but over the years, they’ve intermixed with domestic horses, making today’s horses specific to the Salt River area.