Canyon Lake is the second of the four Salt River reservoirs stacked up the Apache Trail east of Phoenix, and Acacia is the Forest Service day-use site where most people swim. The site sits on a cove on the west shore, about 14 miles from Apache Junction on AZ 88, with 40 picnic sites under steel ramadas, tables and grills, vault toilets and a beach that slopes gently into the water. There is no potable water, so bring your own. The Palo Verde boat launch shares the entrance road, and the view across the lake is straight into the canyon walls that give the reservoir its name, red volcanic rock rising several hundred feet out of the water.

Access is on a Tonto National Forest daily pass: $8 from a vendor in the valley or $12 from the pay machine on site, or $80 for the annual Tonto pass. The fee is a federal recreation fee, not a private charge. Day use is open year-round, and in the desert that means the swimming season runs from April into October. Summer water temperatures climb into the 80s and the air is often over 105, so shade under a ramada matters. Boat wakes reach into the cove on weekends; the roped area in front of the beach is small and there is no lifeguard.

A closure worth knowing about: the Salt River Project and the Forest Service closed Canyon Lake to all access starting September 8, 2026, and began drawing the lake down on September 16 for a roughly 16-week dam safety inspection of Mormon Flat Dam. Acacia, Palo Verde and the marina are all shut during that window. Check the Tonto National Forest recreation page for the reopening date before driving up the trail.

Paddling is the other reason to come. Canyon Lake is ten miles long and narrow, and once you round the first bend upstream of Acacia the road noise is gone and the walls close in; kayakers day-trip to the side canyons or push all the way toward the base of Horse Mesa Dam. The lake was formed in 1925 by Mormon Flat Dam and is only 950 surface acres, small enough that the wind stays manageable in the morning. Hikers use the Boulder Canyon Trail, which leaves the Apache Trail across from the marina and climbs into the Superstition Wilderness with views back over the lake, and the drive itself, the historic Apache Trail stage road built to haul supplies for Roosevelt Dam, is a destination. The paved section ends at Tortilla Flat a few miles past the lake.