Staying in Pinetop-Lakeside

Pinetop-Lakeside is the town most people mean when they say "the White Mountains." It sits at about 6,800 feet in the pines, about three hours from Phoenix and the East Valley, and it's built around lakes, trails and cabins. Readers of Cabin Life magazine once voted it America's best cabin region, and honestly, that tracks.

Our place, Grumpy Toads Getaway, is on the Lakeside end of town. It backs a seasonal creek and is steps from a private community pond and Rainbow Lake.

Pinetop vs. Lakeside

The two merged into one town in 1984. Locals still talk about them separately: Pinetop is the eastern end, Lakeside is the western end and is named for its lakes. Highway 260 runs through both, so nothing in town is far from anything else.

The lakes

Rainbow Lake

This is the one right by Grumpy Toads. It's a shallow lake (about 14 feet at its deepest) that Arizona Game and Fish stocks with rainbow trout in spring and early summer. It also holds bass, catfish, bluegill and sunfish. Most of the shoreline is private, with a small public boat landing on the northwest side. Motors are capped at 10 horsepower, so it stays quiet. Kayaks are included with the cabin. See our fishing guide for licenses and seasons.

Woodland Lake Park

The town calls this park its centerpiece. There's a lake for paddling and fishing (electric motors only), a walking track, trails for hiking, biking and horses, sports courts, and ramadas you can reserve for a group lunch.

Scott Reservoir

A Forest Service day-use lake just off Porter Mountain Road, with a boat ramp and electric-motor-only rules. Camping there is closed through February 2029, but day use is fine.

Trails

The White Mountain Trail System has more than 200 miles of non-motorized trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, built by the Forest Service with a local volunteer group called TRACKS. Trails are marked with reflective markers about every quarter mile. In winter, the same trails turn into cross-country ski and snowshoe routes.

Seasons

• Summer: average July highs in the low 80s, roughly 25 degrees cooler than Phoenix. This is why half the Valley drives up here.
• Fall: crisp mornings and changing color, quieter than summer.
• Winter: real snow, about 70 inches a year on average. January highs are in the mid-40s. See our winter guide.
• Spring: trout stocking starts, and the lakes wake up.

Common questions

Nearby: Show Low · Greer · Winter in the White Mountains · Fishing guide · Golf