Campground Overview:
The Mittry Lake Wildlife Area includes about 600 acres of water surface and 2400 acres of marsh or upland. A wide variety of vegetative and wildlife species can be found here, with a scenic backdrop of three mountain ranges. Numerous serpentine waterways connect to main lake body and make exploring by boat a unique experience. This area is jointly managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Campsites:
Take AZ Highway 95 east 7 miles from Yuma, AZ. Turn north on Avenue 7E, go north 9 1/2 miles to pavement end. Continue on and Mittry Lake begins approximately 1/2 mile past end of pavement.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Dispersed |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Yuma |
Fishing: |
Colorado River |
Campground Website: |
Mittry Lake Wildlife Area |
Campground Map: |
N/A |
Reservations: |
First-come, first-served basis |
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Imperial National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 to protect wetlands along the Colorado River. The 25,768-acre refuge protects 30 miles of wildlife habitat along the lower Colorado River. In 1938, Imperial Dam was completed on the river north of Yuma, Arizona. The waters stored behind the dam formed numerous backwaters and marsh areas along the edges of the river. These wetlands provided excellent resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for a variety of migratory birds and other wildlife. Serving as a boundary between Arizona and California, this portion of the river includes the last un-channelized section before its waters enter Mexico. The river and its associated backwater lakes and wetlands are a green oasis and a significant contrast with the surrounding desert mountains.
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife following a 1936 campaign by the Arizona Boy Scouts. Major Frederick R. Burnham, a frontiersman turned conservationist, observed that populations of bighorn sheep were sharply declining and appealed to the Boy Scouts to take up the cause. For two years, more than 10,000 boy Scouts and their leaders campaigned to protect bighorn sheep through a “save the bighorns” poster contest, talks, and dramatizations on the radio and at school assemblies. As a result of the campaign, land was set aside for the establishment of Kofa Game Range (as the refuge was originally known).
Colorado River State Historic Park is located on a portion of the grounds of the old U.S. Army Quartermaster Depot (QMD) established in 1864. This site is significant in the history of the Arizona Territory. The purpose of the Park is to protect its historic structures and interpret the diverse history of the site.
Sitting on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River, three miles west of the confluence of the Colorado and the historic Gila River, are the remains of Arizona’s famous Territorial Prison, and a short distance west are the surviving buildings that served as a part of the Yuma Quartermaster’s Depot. Hernando de Alarcon, who accompanied Coronado on his search for the Seven Cities of Cibola, passed this site in 1540. Padre Kino saw the present location of the Prison and the Quartermaster’s Depot in 1683, and Padre Graces established a mission directly across the river and was later killed there by the Indians in 1781.
Yuma began to experience the American westward surge when countless immigrants crossed by ferry from Yuma on their way to the California gold fields in 1849. In 1850, a military post was established at Yuma, and when rich placer gold strikes on the Colorado River precipitated a gold rush in 1858, Yuma experienced a boom. In 1871 Yuma incorporated and became the county seat of Yuma County.
Nearby Campgrounds:
Campground full or want to see what’s around? Try one of these campgrounds located nearby
