About this place
This stretch of the Gila River runs alongside State Route 77, between the town of Winkelman and Globe, in Gila County.
Tucson is about 70 miles south and Phoenix about 100 miles northwest.
Roughly five river miles of it are public land open for recreation.
Two lightly developed sites give you access from the highway down to the water.
People come for wildlife watching, picnicking, camping, fishing and floating small craft through a scenic Sonoran Desert canyon.
The Shores and Christmas sites each have a road in off the highway, gravel parking, toilets and primitive picnic and camping units.
The sites go first come, first served. The camping is primitive. You get parking and a fire ring.
Bring your own table, your own cooking stove and anything else you want to sit on or under.
These are not suitable for a large motorhome or an RV trailer. The clearance is narrow and there is nowhere to turn.
The riverside strip and the canyon above it hold a good deal of wildlife: resident birds and migrating ones, small mammals, reptiles and insects.
The sites are largely natural habitat, so some of that wildlife can be a hazard. Rattlesnakes, for one.
The fish here are warm water species. Channel catfish and carp, with some large flathead catfish and largemouth bass.
You can put a boat in at Christmas or Shores and take out downriver at the Town of Winkelman River Park.
The flow is controlled by releases from the Coolidge Dam, for irrigation over in the Casa Grande and Coolidge area.
From May through October it is usually right for small craft, meaning inflatable kayaks, canoes and tubes. That is when the flow is over 300 cubic feet per second at the gage below Coolidge Dam.
Floaters need to read this part. At 600 cubic feet per second or more the river may be running bankfull.
The current gets fast, steering gets extremely hard, and you may not be able to get around what is in front of you.
What is in front of you can be a tight turn, or a bend you cannot see around. It can be a pile of debris, a branch hanging over the water, or a fallen tree right across the channel.
The banks carry dense vegetation and the ground beside them is steep. There is also a fence across the river, upstream between the Christmas and Shores sites.
For lodging, food, fuel and everything else, the nearby towns are Winkelman, Kearny, Superior, Mammoth and Globe.
The nearest medical care is the Cobre Valley Community Hospital in Globe, and the Oro Valley Hospital in Oro Valley.
The Town of Winkelman runs a river park with water, toilets and space for motorhome and RV camping. That park is the take-out for anyone floating down from the Shores site.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Gravel parking off the highway. Too narrow for a large motorhome or an RV trailer
- Toilet
- Yes, at both the Shores and Christmas sites
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Rules and restrictions
- Target shooting and fireworks are not allowed.
- Keep vehicles on the designated roads and parking areas.
- The Gila River crosses private land and Arizona State Trust land. Do not stop on private land without permission.
- To use State Trust land you need a permit from the Arizona State Land Department.
- Hunting or fishing here needs a valid Arizona Game and Fish Department license.
Getting there
The Gila River recreation area runs along the Gila River and Arizona State Route 77, between the Town of Winkelman and Globe, in Gila County. It is about 70 miles north of Tucson and 100 miles southeast of Phoenix. From Winkelman, take SR 77 east. The entrance road for the Shores Recreation Site is at milepost 141.4, and the Christmas Recreation Site is at milepost 144.6.
Coordinates 33.060375, -110.72265
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.
- Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Directions
- Picketpost Mountain Directions
- Mount Lemmon Directions
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Directions
- Mount Turnbull Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Dripping Springs, AZ Directions
- Kearny, AZ Directions
Kearny is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.