Saguaro Lake: Tonto Pass, marina, parking and a ride there

A Saguaro Lake day with Scottsdale Sprinters starts with the Forest Service’s own rules, the stop the group wants and a rider count. VIP groups lead with the Maybach Jet Sprinter and the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter; pontoon crews ride a Limo Party Sprinter or the party bus; families take the Executive Sprinter or the mini coach. This guide uses only published facts, from the Tonto National Forest, the marina and the cruise company, and turns the day into a written pickup, drop-off and ride home.

Last updated: September 26, 2026

Do you need a Tonto Pass for Saguaro Lake, and who pays it?

Yes: the Forest Service charges a Tonto Pass per vehicle per day at Saguaro Lake’s picnic sites, shorelines and boat launches, cheaper bought ahead from a Forest Service office or retail vendor than at the on-site fee machine; launching a motorized boat adds a watercraft sticker, and the pass is not part of a chauffeured fare. Saguaro Lake is in the Tonto National Forest, and the Forest Service runs its recreation sites. Its own lake page lists the day-use fee for the picnic sites, and a higher one for the boat launches, which adds the watercraft sticker. Each is charged per vehicle per day. The same fee costs more at the Tonto Fee Machine on site than as a Tonto Daily Pass bought in advance, so buying ahead is the cheaper habit. The Tonto Daily Pass is a self-validating hangtag: scratch off the date and time on arrival, and it expires 24 hours later. The Forest Service sells it at its offices, including the Mesa Ranger Station, which sells passes on weekdays only, and through retail vendors around the Valley. The annual Tonto Discovery Pass is honored too, but it is valid only for the occupants of a single private, non-commercial vehicle. With a chauffeured ride, tell the reservations team which marina, beach or launch the group wants. The team confirms the access point and anything charged at it before the day, and it stays outside our hourly fare, as the boat and the cruise do.

Where do you park and get dropped off at Saguaro Lake?

Drivers park in the marina’s lot or at the Forest Service day-use sites, Butcher Jones and Saguaro del Norte, and on summer weekends and holidays the lots fill early; a chauffeured group is dropped at the marina, the beach or the launch it confirms, and the vehicle waits for the ride home. Saguaro Lake Marina, at 14011 North Bush Highway, is a commercial operation, not a Forest Service site, and it is where the rentals, the restaurant and the Desert Belle cruise are. Butcher Jones Day Use Area has mesquite shade, a nature trail and a gently sloping beach, and the Forest Service calls it one of the most-visited sites in the whole forest. Saguaro del Norte has 38 picnic units and the motorized boat launch. The Forest Service is plain about the crowds. At Butcher Jones, parking can reach capacity on weekends and holidays through the summer, so it asks visitors to arrive early or have a second destination in mind. On most weekends and holidays from April to October, the lake itself reaches its boating capacity early in the day and more boats are not let in; once boat parking is full, vehicles towing boats are turned away at the entrance. A chauffeured ride takes the parking question off the table: nobody hunts for a space, and nobody who has been on the water all day drives home. The group picks the stop, the chauffeur unloads there, and the vehicle waits nearby for the agreed time.

How do you get to Saguaro Lake from Scottsdale or Phoenix?

By road, Saguaro Lake is reached from State Route 87, the Beeline Highway: the Forest Service’s directions from Mesa are 27 miles north on SR 87 to Bush Highway, Forest Road 204, then right for 4 miles to the lake, which sits at 1,500 feet in the Tonto National Forest. From Scottsdale and Phoenix, the route reaches SR 87 and turns onto Bush Highway for the last stretch to the lake. The Forest Service puts Butcher Jones at 31 miles northeast of Mesa, reached from SR 87 by Bush Highway and then Forest Road 166. Saguaro Lake Marina sits on Bush Highway itself. It is a desert-highway drive out of the Valley, which is the case for a vehicle that stays with the group. After a day of sun and water, the ride home is the part nobody in the group should be driving.

Can you rent a boat at Saguaro Lake Marina?

Yes: Saguaro Lake Marina, a commercial operation on Bush Highway, rents pontoons, tritoons, a deck boat and a double-decker with a slide, and its Lakeshore Landing Restaurant serves outdoor meals on the shore; boats are booked with the marina, not with us, and we drive the crew there and home. The marina lists its own rental fleet: pontoons, a tritoon, a deck boat and a double-decker with a slide. Rates, hours and booking are the marina’s, on its website or by phone at (480) 986-5546, so this guide prints none of them. Bringing your own boat means the launch at Saguaro del Norte, the watercraft sticker on the pass, and the summer-weekend capacity limit. The lake has its own rules on the water: travel is counter-clockwise, the east end is no-wake, the bay in front of Butcher Jones and Saguaro del Norte is closed to motorized watercraft, and motors louder than 82 decibels are prohibited. For a pontoon crew, the usual shape is a morning pickup, the drop-off at the marina with the coolers and the bags, a day on the water and a pickup at the dock before dark. The Pontoon Day package on this page is built on it.

What is the Desert Belle, and is Saguaro Lake good for families?

The Desert Belle is a tour boat that has cruised Saguaro Lake since 1964, on 80-minute narrated cruises past canyon walls and desert wildlife, with live-music cruises on weekends; with the Butcher Jones beach and picnic sites on the same lake, it makes Saguaro Lake a family day as much as a boat party. The Forest Service’s own lake page points visitors to the Desert Belle for tour-boat trips. The cruise company describes an air-conditioned boat and a narration of the lake’s history, geology and wildlife by its captain. Tickets, times and seasons are the company’s own, so book them first and give us the departure time. For families, the day usually pairs the cruise with the shore: the gently sloping beach at Butcher Jones, where motorized boats are kept out of the swimming area by buoys, or a picnic at Saguaro del Norte. The Executive Sprinter carries the chairs, the cooler and the beach bags in the back, and nobody has to leave early to beat the parking.

What does a Saguaro Lake day cost with a chauffeur?

A Saguaro Lake day is billed by the hour at each vehicle’s published rate, from pickup to drop-off, with its minimum hours: the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter is $250/hr and seats 15, the Executive Black Sprinter is $145/hr; the pass, the boat and the cruise are not included, and prices are before tax. Split across the group, the hourly rate becomes a per-person figure. 15 riders in the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter for 7 hours is about $117 each before tax. 13 riders sharing the Limo Party Sprinter (12-13 Pax) for 8 hours at $175/hr is about $108 each. That is arithmetic on the published rates, not a flat lake fare. The hours run from the pickup at your door to the drop-off at home, and the vehicle waits at the lake in between, so the day is one booking, not two transfers. The ready-made packages on this page are priced the same way, with the extras they carry, and show the total before anyone books. Not in the fare: the Tonto Pass or any fee at the stop the group picks, the boat rental, the Desert Belle tickets, and food and drinks at the lake.

Which vehicle fits a Saguaro Lake group?

VIP groups lead with the Maybach Jet Sprinter, then the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter, our pick for the lake, the Maybach Shuttle Sprinter and the Suburban; pontoon crews ride a Limo Party Sprinter or the 28-seat party bus; families and reunions take the Executive Black Sprinter, the white Executive Sprinter or the Executive Mini Coach (29 Pax). The table uses current published names, seated capacities, hourly rates and minimums, in three groups. VIP: the Maybach Jet Sprinter, the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter, the Maybach Shuttle Sprinter and the Luxury SUV (Suburban). Pontoon crews: the Limo Party Sprinter (12-13 Pax), the Limo Party Sprinter (16 Pax) and the Party Bus (28 Pax). Families and reunions: the Executive Black Sprinter, the Executive White Sprinter and the Executive Mini Coach (29 Pax). A VIP party larger than the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter rides in two vehicles, one booking each for the same day and times: the Ultra Luxury Party Sprinter with the Maybach Jet Sprinter seats 24, and with the Luxury SUV (Suburban) it seats 21. Count the gear as well as the people. A lake day brings coolers, towels, chairs and dry bags, and the vehicles with room in the back (the Executive Sprinters, the larger Limo Sprinter and the party bus) carry it without taking seats.

When is the best time to go to Saguaro Lake?

Saguaro Lake is open year round; from April to October most weekends and holidays reach the lake’s boating capacity early in the day, and the Butcher Jones lot fills on summer weekends, so summer groups go early or on a weekday, and the cooler months are the quieter ones on the water. The Forest Service lists the lake as open in every season. Summer is when it is busiest: a group that wants a rental pontoon on a July Saturday should book the boat well ahead and plan an early pickup, and a group bringing its own boat should expect a wait or a turn-away once the lake is full. For a quieter day, the Forest Service points to the upper, east end of the lake for more seclusion, and weekdays are calmer everywhere. Lake levels change daily with irrigation demand and power generation, so rocks and obstacles can sit near the surface; that is a boat operator’s concern, not a passenger’s, but it is one more reason to book the boat with the marina’s own guidance.

What are the rules at Saguaro Lake?

The Forest Service’s main rules for visitors: glass containers are not permitted, there is no trash service, so everything packed in is packed out, the day-use sites are day use only with no overnight camping, pets must be on a leash, and motorized boats stay out of the swimming area at Butcher Jones. Glass is the rule that catches groups out, so pack drinks in cans and plastic. With no trash pickup, bring bags for the rubbish and take it home; the vehicle has room for it. Butcher Jones and Saguaro del Norte are day-use only, with no overnight camping and, at Butcher Jones, no trailers. Group events at the lake, fishing tournaments included, need a permit from the Mesa Ranger District. A private group’s day out with its own boat or a rental is not that, but a larger organised event should call the district first.

How far ahead should a Saguaro Lake ride be booked?

Book the boat or the cruise first, then the ride: availability varies by day and vehicle, so no fixed lead time applies, and summer weekends go first; send the date, the rider count, the pickup address and the stop at the lake, and the reservations team confirms what is open. The first request needs the date, the hotel, rental or home, a likely passenger count, the marina, beach or launch, and the pickup time the boat or cruise needs. A group does not need every name to begin. It does need to say which group is riding: VIP guests, a pontoon crew, or a family or reunion. During the final 48 hours, confirm addresses, phone numbers, the boat or cruise time, and who is carrying the Tonto Pass if the stop needs one. Reach the reservations team at (623) 986-6339 or reservations@scottsdalesprinters.com. A ride booking never includes a boat, a cruise ticket or a pass.