Unhurried in Havasu

Ever since 1964, when developer Robert McCulloch purchased land for a planned community on the east shore of Lake Havasu, this town has become more and more a party-hearty place during much of the year.

Spring-breakers and summer revelers swarm the lake, and boats jam the waters as a relentless sun spikes temperatures as high as 120.

In fall and winter, however, the place is different. Power boaters are few, the sky is cornflower blue and the mercury rises only half as high. As far as my husband, Geoffrey, and I are concerned, it’s the perfect time to visit.

So one Friday last month, we set out to experience Lake Havasu City’s kitschy charms, to canoe down a section of the Colorado River virtually free of noisy motorboats and to see Arizona’s Copper Canyon as the fall foliage turned daffodil yellow. The land’s natural beauty as well as the tourist attractions, no matter how hokey, were more enjoyable in the calmer, less crowded days of the off-season.

“Only in America,” remarked my British-born husband when I proposed a weekend trip to Lake Havasu and its best-known landmark. McCulloch transplanted London Bridge from foggy England to the Arizona desert in the late ‘60s. While a new, stronger bridge handled increased traffic over the River Thames, the old stone structure turned this ho-hum desert community into a tourist magnet.

McCulloch paid almost $2.5 million for the old bridge, built in 1831. He then spent more than twice that amount to have the 10,276 granite blocks, weighing more than 20 million pounds, shipped to Long Beach and trucked to Lake Havasu.

We approached the bridge after a five-hour drive. (From Los Angeles it’s north on Interstate 15, west on Interstate 40, then south on Arizona Highway 95.)

Plenty of motels and hotels serve the town, but we decided the offbeat destination deserved an offbeat lodging: a mobile home at the Islander RV Resort. The property is on Pittsburg Point, a peninsula turned into an island when McCulloch dug a channel so his bridge could stand over water.

Geoffrey, who had crossed London Bridge many times in its original location, remarked that it was never a particularly spectacular structure. Novelty, not beauty, makes it one of Arizona’s most-visited tourist attractions. The span is the picture of practicality: gray, solid, functional. The only whimsical touches are the authentic, green-patina London street lights, cast from melted-down Napoleonic cannons.

We arrived at our mobile home and found similarly utilitarian accommodations: a living area with a couch and television, a tiny bedroom with a queen bed, and a small bathroom. The unit was no larger than a spacious hotel room but did have a large covered patio overlooking a golf course. Another part of its appeal was a full kitchen complete with pots, pans, plates, glasses and silverware, plus a dining area with a table and chairs.

What it didn’t have was housekeeping service, and we had to bring our own bedding.

Though the place was clean and cozy, we were in Lake Havasu, not Beverly Hills, so $157 a night seemed pricey.

To make the most of the home’s amenities, we cooked our own meals. Black storm clouds gathered as Geoffrey fired up the outdoor barbecue. Halfway through cooking, the skies opened; the chicken finished roasting in the oven, and we hoped for better weather Saturday.

The next morning we woke to a blue sky and temperatures in the low 50s. Breathing a sigh of relief, we jumped into our car and drove about 30 miles to Park Moabi Regional Park, just over the border in California.

We rented a canoe at Jerkwater Canoe & Kayak Co., where an employee drove us and our canoe to a spot on the Colorado River at Needles. From here we started 11 miles of paddling back to Park Moabi and our car.

The weather was glorious and the water free of traffic. We glided downriver, the California shore on our right, part of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge on our left. The refuge covers more than 14,000 acres and has an abundance of wildlife, including desert bighorn sheep and marsh birds.

Gangs of coots skittered along the water, and a lone heron peered at us from the bank. Now and then we’d rest our paddles and listen to the silence, broken only by a light breeze. The warm sun blunted a nip in the wind, and I hardly noticed my creaky canoeing muscles.

On a stretch of river that teems with watercraft in the summer, we encountered only three Jet Skiers, two motorboats and some Boy Scouts in canoes. Geoffrey and I considered stopping at a beach for lunch, but returning to Park Moabi seemed the wiser choice as the skies clouded over and winds sent ripples across the water. Three tranquil and thoroughly enjoyable hours after we launched, we were back at the park munching on sandwiches.

That afternoon in Lake Havasu City, we visited the English Village, the shopping area under the bridge. No doubt about it, the town has made the most of its tenuous English connection. A red double-decker bus converted into an ice-cream stand sits next to an English postal box; restaurants and pubs advertise fish and chips; and shops such as Camelot Jewelry and Gifts carry a British theme.

We buzzed through the souvenir stores and contemplated what to do next. Lured by a loudspeaker pitch for a boat ride through Copper Canyon, “the most beautiful spot on Lake Havasu,” we went down to the dock.

Don’t ask me how a flat-bottom, open-sided boat called the Kon Tiki fits into Havasu’s collection of kitsch, but somehow it seemed appropriate. After a brief rundown on the history of the town and the bridge, we motored out on the lake. Billowy clouds hovered above, and lovely golden light bounced off the water.

After a 20-minute ride south, we inched into Copper Canyon, on the California side of the lake. Though small, it was lovely, with reddish rock walls and spots of bright yellow and green foliage. The canyon, which got its name from the copper found in the area, starts as a broad opening and narrows into a space too small for most watercraft, including the Kon Tiki.

The captain explained that one Labor Day, 1,200 boats crammed the canyon. Had we not seen pictures of the scene in a local gift shop, we’d be hard pressed to believe such a thing. On this day, though, with the exception of one Jet Skier, we were alone.

Sunday morning, Geoffrey and I sipped coffee on the mobile-home patio as early golfers teed off. We reviewed the weekend: The mobile home seemed a little expensive, and the town was touristy, as expected. But the sky was dazzlingly blue, the canoe trip had been lovely, and, truth be told, we were reluctant to leave.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Budget for Two

Islander RV Resort,

two nights: $314.15

Canoe trip: 63.15

Picnic lunch: 6.00

Kon Tiki boat tour: 20.00

Lunch, Denny’s: 14.32

Groceries: 23.22

Gas and parking: 59.12

FINAL TAB: $499.96

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Islander RV Resort, 751 Beachcomber Blvd., Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403; telephone (520) 680-2000, fax (520) 855-1261, Internet https://www.islanderrvresort.com. Jerkwater Canoe & Kayak Co., P.O. Box 800, Topock, AZ 86436; tel. (800) 421-7803, Internet https://www.jerkwater.com.