Hittin the Bell Trail

bakpackin1 · Post by **bakpackin1** » Feb 11 2007 1:26 pm

Going up around the Camp Verde area this weekend and me and my buddy are going to be hiking/camping around the Bell Trail area.

Just wondering if theres anything special to pay attention to up there, neither of us have hit this paticular trail before.

Any specific do's/don'ts? Anything in paticular to keep an eye out for?

te_wa · Post by **te_wa** » Feb 11 2007 1:36 pm

bell crossing is a great place to camp. you might end up picking up some trash left behind- ive heard concerns about vehicle safety- make sure to check out the "diving board" and other jumping spots- may be too cold for a swim, but there are smallmouth and rainbow in the creek. its very well travelled and easy to follow, but totally exposed. wear a hat. peace.

bakpackin1 · Post by **bakpackin1** » Feb 11 2007 1:46 pm

Ah I always hate coming up to trashy spots, it irritates me when people just leave their trash sitting around and don't care.

Yeah it'll probally be a little to nipply for a swim, but we are still bringing the fishing poles

And thanks for that hat advice, are the camping spots covered by an trees? Or is it all in the open?

Thanks for the quick reply

Desertroux · Post by **Desertroux** » Feb 13 2007 9:25 pm

Most of them are pretty open. I usually set up camp on the rock ledges. There is a nice beach but if it rains you are chancing a flash flood. I would not recommend it at this time of year. There is also a fairly large site at the top west side of bell crossing. It backs up to the cliff wall and gives you some much needed shade from the afternoon sun.

As Mike said, its easy to follow and usually very traveled on the weekends. Still definitely worth the trip.

backtraildude · Post by **backtraildude** » Feb 14 2007 2:29 pm

is the trail head really that bad?

te_wa · Post by **te_wa** » Feb 14 2007 3:25 pm

i dont want to scare ya off, i heard someone on this site say there is broken auto glass apparently from burglary. i dont buy it, but it may have happened.
one thing for sure, the local kids may use this area for hangin out in the summer.

another alternative in the area which in MHO is a nicer hike, better campsites, is the West clear creek area near Bull Pen. But Wet Beaver is a definate 2nd place. you can go upstream as far as you want and most likely wont see anyone past bell crossing.

bakpackin1 · Post by **bakpackin1** » Feb 14 2007 5:05 pm

Awesome guys, I appreciate the replys alot.

I think we are still going to take Bell Trail this weekend, but in two weeks we may take a look at doing West Clear Creek.

As for the broken glass, oh well it could happen anywhere right? Can't let something like that scare ya off.

The weather is also looking good for us, the lows are in the low 40's and the highs are in the mid 60's. Theres a chance of showers on sunday afternoon, but we should be out by sunday morning.

and what do you guys mean by "hangout" spot?