Take a Road Trip Across the White Mountains

by Roger Naylor and staff
This high country route is Arizona’s ultimate summer getaway. Traveling from Pinetop to Eagar on State Highway 260 serves as the perfect introduction to the White Mountains, Arizona’s summer playground. The gentle paved highway sweeps past sparkling lakes, crosses trout-filled streams, and traverses meadows and forests on the flanks of mighty mountains. It’s deliciously green in the summer and blazes with colorful leaves in the fall.

This is a land of elk and eagles, and twisting mountain roads pressed beneath a sprawling sky. Wolf howls interrupt the silence and wildflowers dance in each summer breeze. Easy side trips lead to the mountain hamlet of Greer, Sunrise Ski Park, which also offers a summer playground of activities, and Big Lake, wrapped in forest and lined with multiple campgrounds. At Big Lake, campers have the convenience of paved roads, showers, a dump station, but no electric hookups. Apache Trout, the largest campground, can accommodate vehicles 45 feet in length.

Located in the heart of the White Mountains, the Hon-Dah Resort Casino sits at 7,200 feet in elevation and is surrounded by tall Ponderosa pines. The Hon-Dah Resort is not only a luxury destination resort, but also a conferences/events hub and the premier entertainment center for the White Mountains region.