Stewart Mountain Dam | Saguaro Lake | Salt River | Four Peaks | Arizona | kayaks | scenic | drone

This video was shot on Sunday, March 26th, 2023. The weather was perfect on this day with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s, however the authorities had closed many of the recreational area parking lots along Bush Highway and the Salt River to prevent people from getting too close to the river due to the rising water levels.
Closures at the time of filming of this video included the Granite Reef Recreational Area, Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area, and Coon Bluff Recreation Area.
The parking and recreational area closures along Bush Highway did not stop the crowds from coming out though. We saw lots of people pulled over on the side of the road, taking pictures of the flowers blooming, as well as fishing, horseback riding, and kayaking at the recreational locations that remained open.
Water Users Recreation Site, Blue Point Recreation Area, Pebble Beach Recreation Area, and Sheep's Crossing Recreation Site remained open and accessible, and we staged from a couple of these different sites while filming this drone video.
Recent rains and a heavy snowmelt due to a more active than usual winter snow season have resulted in all of the reservoirs along both the Verde River and Salt River watersheds to become filled to capacity. This has forced Salt River Project, the entity responsible for operation of all of the dams and lakes along both of these watershed systems, to release water from numerous dams along both systems to ensure the integrity and safety of the dams, and the customers they serve.
This video starts out with a shot of the spectacular cliffs along the Salt River to the south, and downstream of Stewart Mountain Dam. Following next are shots of Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake with Four Peaks off in the distant background. Next are some more shots of the spectacular cliffs along the Salt River, as well as the river itself and recreational activities that include fishing, horseback riding, and kayaking.
Drone: DJI Mini 3 Pro | DJI Mini 2
Drone Operations: FAA Part 107 certified Remote Pilot
Music licensed by Artlist.io
Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro
#dronevideo #arizona #landscape

[@Truth-Be-Told-USA]

Great professional quality video

[@keithbrightwellaerialprod]

Amazing video! Very well done!!

[@chriswedgworth]

Very nice 👍

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Thank you, Chris. ❤️

[@terrancestodolka4829]

Truly show how important water is to life...

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Terrance, indeed. ❤

[@dorianmclean6755]

Beautiful overview...many thx !

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Dorian, thank you. 🙂

[@RvDavy]

Cool production

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

RV Davy, thank you. ❤

[@krish5529]

Superb!

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Thank you. 🙂

[@CopperStateAerialPhotography]

Excellent work, Matt! Superb flying and stunning footage. Outstanding editing! This is one of my favorite places to fly. There is always something new to film. 😁👍🏻

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Thank you for the kind words. ❤

[@desertexplorations]

Very cool, you've really stepped up your game here. Congrats.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Thank you. ❤

[@cD-vg5go]

R.I.P. Phon D. Sutton jr.

[@precisionaerialsolutions]

Popular vid!

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Yes sir.

[@Moondoggy1941]

Great video and music, I have sub'd.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Jim, thank you for subbing. ❤

[@PatrickJenkins1976]

Very nicely done. Good work with the Mini3 pro. I need to slow down my Cinema speed more.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Thank you for the kind words, Patrick. ❤️

[@dragonslayer5838]

Just discovered your channel! Awesome work! Excellent production! I'm definitely looking forward to other videos. Would like to see The Grand Canyon and Monument Valley!

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Dragon Slayer, thank you. I would love to film the Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley. Unfortunately though, there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to be allowed to do that. Grand Canyon National Park is a huge no-fly zone designated by the FAA. Monument Valley "might" be a little easier to fly, although I have never tried. I believe authorization from the Navajo Nation Indian Tribe would be required. I will definitely be producing more of these types of scenic videos though, so please subscribe, and stay tuned. Thanks for watching. ❤

[@Moondoggy1941]

Description is nice, video is nice, but having a map would be nice as well.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Jim, this was actually the first video I thought about adding a map for, but then I opted not to. Your suggestion is duly noted though, and I may add maps in future videos. Thank you for watching. ❤🙂

[@ayson364]

you should do a video down the river from saguaro to granite reef

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Ayson, I have actually thought about doing something like that. As it is right now, I already have a lot of footage from different visits to that area, on differing dates, where I could probably splice something together that goes the entire length from SMD to GRD.

[@JoeVideoed]

Cool vid. Nice to see rivers actually being rivers again in AZ. Also loved the music. What did you use for it?

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Joseph, I use artlist.io for all of my music and sound effects.

[@JoeVideoed]

@@mattsarizonaaerials OK, that helps a bit, though I was hoping for titles. TY anyway.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

@@JoeVideoed Here you go...SOURWAH - Life's Like A Movie, Ardie Son - Currents, Oliver Michael - Sunscape

[@JoeVideoed]

@@mattsarizonaaerials TYSVM. Specifics help me know which 1s I can pinpoint for future listening.

[@jaypaquette5982]

How many feet did Stewart dam go up,just wondering.

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Hello, Jay. I'll refer you to the Salt River Project Watershed Connection webpage for specific information about the lakes and their levels. streamflow.watershedconnection.com/Dwr

[@rudylovato2759]

HEY WERE IS ALL OF THE FLOODING. We were all going to die of thirst then burn up and cook. then we were going to drown like rats in the rains and flooding and melting snow. Don't you tell me i built this ARK for nothing. And catching all of them darn animals two by two. I want my global warming and climate change.

[@keithbrightwellaerialprod]

Amazing video! Very well done!!

[@mattsarizonaaerials]

Keith, thank you for the kind comments. ❤