The creek is a year round flowing wonder. It is fed by natural springs. The Preserve is in a valley and most of the lots are either next to the creek or can see and hear the creek.

To give you a better feel for the surrounding area, here is a portion of a geological survey map. For the full map contact your local map store and ask for the “Oxbow Mountain Quadrangle – Arizona-Gila Co. – 7.5 Minute Series (Topographical)”

As you can see, near the upper right corner you ford the creek when coming from the Payson/Heber direction. If you continue off the bottom of the map you will enter Young in about 12 miles. The areas in green are forested land that includes the Ponderosa Pines, Aligator Juniper, Manzanita, and Scrub Oak. You’ll also spot some high plains cactus in the meadows from time to time.

As you can see, the general altitude for the Preserve is 5,500 feet. This gives the creek four seasons. It is very rare to have over a few inches of snow in the winter or get much over 100 degrees in the summer. Although it gets warm in the summer, the mornings and evenings cool down to very comfortable temperatures. And in the winter it can get below freezing at night, yet by afternoon you might expect it to be in the mid 50′s

If you like nature but not to extremes, this is a great area.