Buckskin Mountain State Park is a state park located along the Colorado River near Parker, AZ. It’s mostly a camping site with space for both RVs and tents. Watersport lovers mainly go to this park as a central base of operations since its very close to Cattail Park, River Island Park and Lake Havasu Park. There’s a small network of hiking trails, but it’s steep and leads into the desert. We ended going on a very hot day and without water we didn’t venture far onto the trails. We did climb Lightning Bolt Trail, which had a very nice view of the campgrounds and the river itself. There was also the Buckskin trail, which is a 1 mile loop with interpretation kiosks and an abandoned mine.

View from Colorado River Shore

Just north of Buckskin is Mesquite Bay North and South, located within the Lake Havasu City limits and is a part of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge system. Both places contain short walking trails lined with Mesquite trees and are of less than a quarter of a mile leading to shaded structures, benches, and fishing docks. Mesquite Bay North also has public restrooms. I was hoping to see a variety of waterfowl, grebes, and swallows. Maybe hear some common yellowthroat and Abert’s towhee songs. Since it was late in the afternoon by the time we got there, the birds were gone and we only caught a glimpse of a single blue heron and a great egret.

For both these areas, I would suggest visiting during the morning, when the temperatures are cooler and the likelihood of catching views of wildlife greater.