SAWUURA Access Road (FR 238)
SAWUURA is approximately 2 miles from the turnoff onto FR 238.  Drive very slowly and carefully, avoiding or moving anything that might damage your vehicle.  Keep to the left where a small road branches off.  You will cross a normally dry creek bed about 4 times before coming to a cattle gate.  There is a sign there:  NOT A THROUGH ROAD, DEAD END.  If the gate is closed, close it behind you.  There is a second gate (normally locked) and a cattle guard at the entrance to SAWUURA.

Members may camp on the property by notifying a board member prior to the trip and completing and mailing (or delivering) a signed waiver to the SAWUURA secretary.  Each stay is limited to a maximum of 14 days per individual.

BE ADVISED THAT IF YOU ARE VISITING SAWUURA AT A TIME NOT DURING A SCHEDULED EVENT YOU WILL NEED THE COMBINATION FOR THE LOCK ON THE SAWUURA GATE.  For this information call a board member.  Email requests will not be accepted.

Proceed about 0.7 miles to the center of camp.  Park one car length off the road, or if the grass is dry, park on the road until your engine has cooled to avoid igniting the grass.

Driving Time:
Estimated 3.5 to 4 hours from Phoenix, Prescott, or Tucson and about 2.5 hours from Flagstaff.


YOUNG, ARIZONA

Although the SAWUURA property is located in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness and provides a sense of seclusion and serenity, the small community of Young, Arizona is only a short drive (20 to 30 minutes) to the north.  Young is located in what is know as “The Pleasant Valley,” an extensive bowl of natural grasslands situated below the Mogollon Rim and north of the plateau of the Sierra Anchas.  The western fringe of these grassland is visible from the heights on the north side of the SAWUURA property.  Young was settled by ranchers in the late 1870’s and is the site of the fabled “Pleasant Valley War,” otherwise known at the Graham-Tewksbury Feud, a deadly struggle in the best (or worst) tradition of the Old West, a struggle between cattle and sheep interests over whom would control access to the rich grasslands of the valley.

Today Young is quiet.  The climate is mild all year with a winter low of 21 degrees and a summer high of 90 degrees.  Young is still in ranch country, but is becoming primarily a retirement and second home community.  Limited services are available:  a small store, two restaurants (including “The Antlers” bar and restaurant well known to SAWUURA veterans), a motel and several other businesses that provide accommodations. For more information on Young, go to www.youngaz.com.  The current weather in Young can be found at weather.com.


TONTO NATIONAL FOREST

At 5500 feet SAWUURA is located in what is known as the Transition Area, approximately 20 miles south of Mogollon Rim country.  As you drive into Young on S.R 288 from SAWUURA the great wall of the rim can be seen stretching from the southeast to the northwest.  Both in the rim country and in the wilderness areas immediately to the south of SAWUURA, the Tonto National Forest of which the Sierra Ancha  Wilderness is a  part, offers numerous recreational activities including hiking, trailriding, and fishing.  For detailed information go to www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/, home page of the Tonto National Forest.

The Pleasant Valley Ranger Station is located in Young just south of Highway 288 on Forest Road #63.
The address is: