Bartlett Lake
— a desert reservoir the saguaro come down to drink.
Not only on a wall.
“A long, narrow Verde River reservoir held back by Bartlett Dam since 1939, in the lower Sonoran desert about 50 miles northeast of Phoenix. Saguaro march down to the waterline. The lake covers around 2,815 acres at full pool, with two marinas, a handful of cove beaches, and good largemouth bass through spring. The Mazatzal Mountains run up the east shore. The road in is paved all the way, and the desert keeps its distance.
Bartlett Lake, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Bartlett Lake sits in the lower Verde River canyon within Tonto National Forest, about 50 miles northeast of Phoenix by way of Cave Creek and the Bartlett Dam Road. The reservoir is held back by Bartlett Dam, a 287-foot multiple-arch structure completed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1939. At full pool the lake covers roughly 2,815 acres and stretches about twelve miles up-canyon. The Mazatzal Mountains form the east shoreline, and the surrounding country is classic lower Sonoran: saguaro, palo verde, ironwood, and bursage on rocky desert slopes.
The Salt River Project operates Bartlett along with Horseshoe Reservoir upstream as part of the Verde River storage system. Spring inflow from snowmelt in the Mogollon Rim country can swing the surface elevation thirty feet or more between dry and wet years. The lake is stocked with largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish, channel catfish, and holds the lower Verde's native Sonora suckers. Bald eagles nest along the upper end through spring, and a seasonal closure protects the breeding territory from late December into June each year.
Bartlett Lake Marina and Rattlesnake Cove are the two main access points, both at the end of paved Bartlett Dam Road off Cave Creek Road. A Tonto Pass is required for day use at most parking and beach sites and is sold at the marina, at Bartlett Flat, and through many Phoenix-area outlets. Boat ramps, rentals, and a floating store operate in every season at the marina. The bald eagle closure in the upper coves runs from late December through June and is signed on the water with buoys.