TAVASCI MARSH

TAVASCI MARSH

Clarkdale

Peck's Lake and Tavasci Marsh

This place is for the birds---and the hikers who love them.

Designated an "important birding area" by the Audubon Society, Tavasci Marsh occupies a placid strip of green bounded by Tuzigoot National Monument, Dead Horse Ranch State Park and Verde River Greenway State Natural Area. The 96-acre, spring-fed wetland hosts a colorful cocktail of winged beasts chipping among reeds, roosting, wading or gliding over the waters in feathered flotillas.

Access is via a free parking area near Tuzigoot or at DHSR ($7 fee per vehicle). Both entry

points funnel hikers into a network of trails that wind among enormous cottonwood trees, mesquite forests, cattail choked bogs, sandy flood plains and riverside riparian corridors. Another way to enjoy the site and tag on some educational benefits is to enter through the Tuzigoot monument. There's a $10 fee per person, but you'll get to explore a Sinagua pueblo and learn from visitor center displays and interpretive signs along short, barrier-free walkways. The hiking paths are mostly old dirt roads marked with lathe-style posts. The Tavasci March Trail explores the site's east flank, culminating at a wooden observation deck at Peck's Lake---an oxbow pond that's a remnant of a former channel of the Verde River. The Tuzigoot trails meander west and south along the stream.

It's not necessary to be a birding expert to spot some of the more than 245 species that call the marsh home for all or part of the year. Sightings of Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, Wood Ducks and Osprey are almost a given, but a pair of binoculars (and a substantial dose of patience) will aid in scoping out the more illusive Lesser Nighthawks and Peregrine Falcons.

If you're lucky, you might also spot river otters and beavers where the marsh drains into the Verde River.

LENGTH:

Tavasci Marsh Trail: 0.9 mile one way

Tuzigoot Trails: variable, we hiked 3.6 miles along the loops.

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 3,130' – 3,410'

GETTING THERE:

From Interstate 17 in Camp Verde, go west on State Route 260 to Cottonwood and follow the signs to either Dead Horse Ranch State Park or Tuzigoot National Monument.

INFO:

http://azstateparks.com/Parks/DEHO/

https://www.nps.gov/tuzi/index.htm

MORE PHOTOS:

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TAVASCI MARSH

TAVASCI MARSH Dead Horse Ranch State Park Situated in the backwaters of the upper Verde River, Tavasci Marsh is a bird watcher’s paradise. Herons, egrets, finches, wrens and flycatchers flourish in the profuse vegetation and aren’t shy about spreading their wings. The hike passes through a healthy mesquite bosque—one of the most rare ecosystems in the world—ending at a wooden observation deck with a viewing bench at the edge of the wetlands. Here, river otters cut through pond water like oiled torpedoes accompanied by a boisterous avian soundtrack. LENGTH: 3 miles round-trip RATING: easy elevation gain: 50 feet ELEVATION GAIN: 3,350’ – 3,300’ GETTING THERE: From Phoenix, go north on Interstate 17 to Camp Verde (exit 287) and take Highway 260 west to Cottonwood. Turn left on Main Street (89A toward Clarksdale) and continue to 10th Street. Turn right on 10th St. and proceed over the Verde River Bridge to the park entrance. From the park entrance, follow the main road to Flycatcher Road (2nd road on the left) where there’s a “Tavasci Marsh” sign. Follow this road less than a mile to the signed parking area.