Wet Beaver Wilderness is a 6,155-acre (2,491 ha) wilderness area located in the Coconino National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona.Wet Beaver Wilderness
– Coconino National Forest Wet Beaver Creek is a perennial stream with one major tributary, Dry Beaver Creek. The confluence of the two is at McGuireville, Arizona. Beaver Creek flows past Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle before joining the Verde River near Camp Verde, Arizona.Wet Beaver Wilderness
– Wilderness.net

Wildlife

The year-round waters in the Wet Beaver Wilderness attract large numbers of wildlife, including

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

, deer,

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, mountain lion, and a variety of smaller mammals, reptiles, and birds.

Trails

The main trailhead to reach the Wet Beaver Wilderness, the Bell Trail, is located approximately east of the

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

exit from I-17, near the Beaver Creek Ranger Station. The Bell Trail is a historic stock trail, which follows Beaver Creek upstream for about before climbing steeply up to the Mogollon Rim at the southern edge of the

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...

. The only other trail in the Wilderness is the Apache Maid Trail.

Recreation

Common recreational activities in the Wet Beaver Wilderness include hiking, horseback riding, fishing (about 12 fishable miles), swimming, wildlife watching, and photography. The popular Beaver Creek campground, located outside the Wilderness at the creek crossing just below the ranger station, is operated by the US Forest Service and requires a fee. Overnight camping is prohibited by Forest Order between the parking area at the west end of the canyon, near the old Forest Service Ranger Station and the Campground, and continuing upstream (east) to a signed point approximately one-quarter mile upstream from where the Bell Trail (FT #13) crosses Wet Beaver Creek. This closure has been established to reduce the impact the area has received in recent years.

Fish species

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

* Smallmouth bass * Bullfrogs

References

*
Coconino National Forest Red Rock Ranger District

Wildlife

Trails

Recreation

Fish species

See also

References

External links