Eco-friendly fun in Lake Havasu City

In a desert city where fun is measured in decibels and horsepower, the existence of a supremely lush and silent estuary might strike the unwary traveler as extremely odd, if not unlikely.

For Lake Havasu City, however, the presence of the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge adds a much-needed second dimension to this one-dimensional boater’s paradise 200 miles northwest of Phoenix.

[Editor's Note: A longer version of this story will appear in the August edition of PHOENIX magazine, which goes on sale July 24.]

Situated about 23 miles southeast of the city’s outskirts, the refuge is a massive stand of towering cottonwood and willow trees standing shoulder in the sand. One look from the top of a nearby rock outcropping shows a spread so thick that it’s more tropical rain forest than riparian habitat.

The refuge is comprises 6,100 acres. A ribbon of water connects it to the lake, feeds the native fauna and provides a handy cooling device for the woods.

During a recent hike, for example, the ambient temperature during my drive into Lake Havasu City hovered around 100 degrees. But 3.5 miles off the highway and a half-mile into the refuge, the temperature drops at least 10 degrees. The humidity is shuffled along on breezes for a swamp-cooling effect while the tree canopy shades the sand and keeps it cool (thus, there’s no reflective heat here like the Phoenix ‘heat island’ effect).

Stan Culling, who helps manage the refuge for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, touts its virtues: three top-notch fishing facilities, kayak access and some of the best birding in the Southwest, according to Ebird.org, which tracks birding “hotspots” nationwide.

For example, Culling says, careful and quiet birders can catch a glimpse of yellow-billed koo koos here — a species that is almost endangered but flourishes here because of the protective canopy.

“This is one of the last remaining stands of cottonwood-willow forests on the lower Colorado,” Culling says. “It’s a big deal out here.”

The refuge was named after a missionary-turned-explorer. Bill Williams reportedly left St. Louis for Arizona in the early 1800s to convert the local Native Americans. He later became a trapper and never went back, wandering the West until death. Legend has it he is buried in an unmarked grave on a mountain near Williams, Arizona, that also bears his name.

DIRECTIONS FROM PHOENIX: Drive past Parker toward Lake Havasu City on Highway 95. Pass a small subdivision called Hillcrest Bay, and watch for an upcoming stretch lined with a guardrail. Make a right on an unnamed dirt road. This is the refuge’s posted entry. Continue 3.2 miles to the cul-de-sac at the end and park at the trailhead.

INFORMATION: (928) 667-4144 or USFWS refuge headquarters .

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>>Email the editor at aklaw@zoniereport.com.