Trout lakes are scattered across the White Mountains of east-central Arizona, from the pine country around Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside to the high basins near Greer, Big Lake and Alpine. Most sit in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, but the region also includes waters on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, managed by the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and a warmwater state park reservoir near St. Johns. Elevation ranges from about 6,000 feet at Lyman Lake to roughly 9,000 feet around Big Lake.
This is summer and fall country. The Arizona Department of Transportation closes State Route 261 from Eagar to Big Lake and State Route 273 from Sunrise Park to Big Lake each winter, and closes State Route 473 to Hawley Lake earlier, usually in November. Live baitfish are banned throughout AZGFD's Pinetop region in Apache, Navajo and Coconino counties.
Region notes updated October 6, 2026Big Lake is the anchor: a 450-acre lake where the Forest Service lists rainbow, cutthroat, brook and Apache trout as the most sought-after species. Motors are capped at 10 horsepower there and at neighboring Crescent Lake, where part of the west shore closes to all entry from March 1 through August 31 to protect nesting bald eagles. Tunnel and Bunch reservoirs, two of the Greer Lakes, are restricted to a single electric motor, as is Lee Valley Lake, which holds the state hook-and-line record for Arctic grayling.
Becker Lake near Springerville is catch-and-release only for trout, with artificial flies and lures on single barbless hooks, while bass and catfish there have no limit. Luna Lake near Alpine allows motors up to 10 horsepower, closes part of its north shore from January 1 to June 15 for eagles, and still holds the state cutthroat trout record from 1976. Show Low Lake, also a 10-horsepower water, holds the state walleye record, and Reservation Lake produced the state brown trout record, a fish of more than 22 pounds. Lyman Lake State Park is the warmwater outlier: a 1,500-acre reservoir on the Little Colorado River at 6,000 feet with walleye, channel catfish and largemouth bass. It has no boat size restrictions apart from a buoyed no-wake zone at its west end, though low water has closed its ramps at times.
Hawley Lake, at nearly 8,200 feet, is one of the largest and most popular lakes on White Mountain Apache land, open to boating, camping and year-round fishing. Arizona rules do not require a state license on a reservation; instead, the tribe requires non-tribal visitors to buy tribal permits for fishing, boating and camping.
Generally not. ADOT gates State Routes 261 and 273 to Big Lake for the winter, usually around late December or earlier if snow arrives, and reopens them in spring. Check AZ511 before planning a shoulder-season trip.
No state license is required on reservation land, but you do need a White Mountain Apache Tribe fishing permit, plus separate tribal permits if you boat or camp.
No. Under the 2025-2026 regulations, every trout must be released immediately, and only artificial flies and lures with single-pointed barbless hooks are legal there.
Dates are AZGFD stocking weeks, not guaranteed plant days. How this data is sourced