Area South of Horseshoe Dam

Horseshoe Dam sits on the Verde River about 58 miles northeast of Phoenix, inside Tonto National Forest, upstream of Bartlett Lake. This entry covers the ground south of the dam, within the same national forest. Arizona's national forests — including Tonto — allow personal, non-commercial rock and mineral collecting by hand tools without a permit, part of over 12 million acres of Arizona BLM and Forest Service land open to that kind of casual collecting. Agate is the material tagged to this spot; petrified wood is separately documented turning up in the broader area south of Horseshoe Dam and the nearby Yuma Mine. This is general desert-wash and hillside collecting country, not a mapped, developed site — go in with realistic expectations and a Forest Service map.

From Carefree, AZ: take Cave Creek Road to Bartlett Road, turn right and go 6 miles to Forest Road 205, then continue about 11 miles (partly unpaved) to Horseshoe Reservoir. The area south of the dam is reached from the same general approach, within Tonto National Forest.

Surface collecting in desert washes and hillsides, hand tools only — Arizona's national forests permit this for personal, non-commercial use without a permit. No specific dig method or season beyond general desert-collecting practice (cooler months, avoid summer heat, watch for flash-flood risk in washes) is documented for this exact spot.

This area is managed by Tonto National Forest (USFS). General USFS Arizona rules allow hand-tool, personal-use rock and mineral collecting without a permit; confirm current rules for the specific district via the Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/tonto/recreation. There's no cell service in much of this area, and flash flooding in desert washes is a real hazard — check weather before heading into any wash.