10 Best Lakeside Towns In Arizona
Lake Powell stretches 186 miles behind Glen Canyon Dam, with Page sitting at its southern end below 1,000-foot sandstone cliffs. Lake Mead anchors Meadview at the gateway to Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk. The White Mountains hold Show Low Lake and Fool Hollow Lake at 6,500-foot elevation, where ponderosa pine forests replace the desert. The ten Arizona lakeside towns ahead each pair a different reservoir or high-altitude lake with a working downtown.
Page
Page sits at the southern end of Lake Powell on the Colorado Plateau, 130 miles north of Grand Canyon National Park. The town was founded in 1957 as a construction camp for Glen Canyon Dam and now runs about 7,400 residents. Lake Powell's 1,960 miles of shoreline trace through red sandstone canyons that drop directly into the water. Lake Powell Paddleboards and Kayaks runs tours from Wahweap and Antelope Point marinas. The Glen Canyon Dam Overlook trail is a 0.2-mile sandstone slickrock route that opens to a 360-degree panorama of the lake and the dam about 1,000 feet above the Colorado River.
Ken's Tours Lower Antelope Canyon brings visitors into the sculpted red rock formations 5 miles east of town, with guides who share Navajo Nation cultural context for the canyon. Horseshoe Bend, the 270-degree bend in the Colorado River, sits 5 miles south of town and runs one of the most photographed overlooks in the Southwest.
Bullhead City
Bullhead City sits along the Colorado River opposite Laughlin, Nevada, with about 41,000 residents and direct access to both Lake Mohave upstream and the open Colorado River downstream. Bullhead City Community Park covers 376 acres along the waterfront with a swim area, playground, picnic tables, and BBQ facilities. The on-site boat launch handles direct water access. Laughlin Fishing Guide runs charters for small- and largemouth bass.
Katherine Landing on Lake Mohave runs wakeboarding, scuba diving, water skiing, and kayaking along more than 200 miles of shoreline. Off the water, Scooter's Family Fun Center handles 8 batting cages, two 18-hole miniature golf courses, a go-kart race track, an arcade, and a mini-Indy track.
Prescott
Prescott is the seat of Yavapai County in central Arizona with about 47,000 residents at 5,400 feet elevation. The town runs two public lakes within 5 miles of downtown: 15-acre Goldwater Lake to the south and 380-acre Watson Lake to the north, both stocked for fishing and open to non-motorized boating. Watson Lake's Granite Dells (the eroded Precambrian granite formations along the shoreline) are the local visual signature, with the Peavine and Iron King trails running through the formations for 8 miles of multi-use access.
Downtown Prescott preserves Whiskey Row, the full block of 19th-century saloons and gambling halls along Montezuma Street that once drew miners and outlaws. The 1877 Palace Restaurant and Saloon, the oldest continuously operating bar in Arizona, still pours daily. The Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo each July (claiming the title of the "World's Oldest Rodeo," dating to 1888) runs bareback riding, team roping, and barrel racing.
Show Low
Show Low sits at 6,400 feet in the White Mountains of east-central Arizona with about 12,000 residents and a name that traces to a 19th-century poker game (the town was won and lost on the play "Show low and you win"). Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area covers 150 acres of lake in ponderosa pine and juniper forest, with year-round trout, bass, and walleye fishing. Show Low Lake on the south side of town reaches 6,500 feet elevation with a 100-acre fishing reservoir.
The Show Low Lake Road runs one mile along the shoreline for road-trip access. The Show Low Historical Society Museum holds more than a dozen rooms of photographs, books, and vintage tools tracing Apache, Mormon pioneer, and ranching history.
Pinetop-Lakeside
Pinetop-Lakeside is the merged White Mountains town of about 4,200 residents at 7,200 feet elevation, surrounded by ponderosa pine forests across the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Woodland Lake Park covers a 36-acre lake with grassy picnic areas, quiet fishing spots, and a 1.25-mile loop trail for hikers and bikers. Rainbow Lake, 10 minutes north, handles northern pike, catfish, and bass fishing year-round.
Saferide Adventures runs guided ATV tours through Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, the largest ponderosa pine forest in North America at 2 million acres. Families gather at White Mountain Family Fun Park for an 18-hole mini golf course, arcades, a laser maze, and go-kart tracks.
Springerville
Springerville sits at 7,000 feet in the White Mountains' Round Valley, surrounded by Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and serving as the gateway to Becker Lake. The 100-acre reservoir is managed by Arizona Game and Fish as a catch-and-release rainbow trout fishery. The adjacent Becker Lake Wildlife Area protects more than a dozen waterfowl species and bald eagles in winter.
Casa Malpais Archeological Park preserves a Mogollon-culture pueblo dating to around 1260 AD. Experienced guides lead tours of the archaeological site, and artifacts recovered there are on display at the Springerville Heritage Center downtown. The complex divides into four museums covering Mogollon antiquities, European antiques, the founding family, and White Mountain history.
Payson
Payson sits in Rim Country at 5,000 feet, 90 minutes northwest of Phoenix on Highway 87, with ponderosa pine forests stretching to the Mogollon Rim escarpment. The town hosts the Payson Rodeo, advertised as the "World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo" (dating to 1884, contested by Prescott's competing claim). The annual rodeo each August fills the Payson Event Center with professional cowboys, a parade, live music, and area food booths.
The Rim Country Museum houses regional historical exhibits, including Tonto Apache artifacts. A replica Zane Grey Cabin highlights the time the Western novelist spent in the area during the 1920s. Green Valley Park covers 43 acres of ponderosa pine forest, picnic areas, and walking trails for community gatherings, with direct access to the three lakes of Green Valley Lake for fly-fishing, boating, and birdwatching.
Safford
Safford is the seat of Graham County in southeast Arizona with about 10,000 residents. Roper Lake State Park, 6 miles south of town, runs a 32-acre lake with a sandy beach for seasonal fishing, boating, and swimming beneath Mount Graham (which rises to 10,724 feet directly to the south). EAC Discovery Park, the educational complex affiliated with Eastern Arizona College, hosts the Mount Graham International Observatory and runs evening viewing sessions through the Large Binocular Telescope (one of the largest optical telescopes in the world).
A 4-mile nature trail network winds through the 120-acre Discovery Park campus for mountain bikers, runners, and hikers. AZ Air Ventures runs hot air balloon tours over the Gila Valley with views of the desert landscapes below.
Parker
Parker is a water-sports destination on the Colorado River, with the 700-foot-wide section called Lake Moovalya (locally "the Parker Strip") drawing boaters and jet-skiers from across the Southwest. Parker Boat Rentals runs jet ski tours on the lake and river. Buckskin Mountain State Park spans 18 miles along the Colorado River between Headgate Dam and Parker Dam, with mountain hiking, fishing, camping, picnic spots, and a boat ramp.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes Museum documents the cultural connection between the river and the Mohave, Hopi, Navajo, and Chemehuevi nations through tribal crafts and artifacts. The La Paz County Fair, held the second weekend of March, covers music, food vendors, craft exhibitions, carnival rides, and a youth livestock show.
Meadview
Meadview is a small desert town in northwest Arizona, the gateway to Grand Canyon West and bordered by Lake Mead. Grapevine Mesa Joshua Trees runs the state's largest Joshua tree forest across 45,000 acres with hiking trails. The town's proximity to Grand Canyon West makes it a natural base for tours to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the horseshoe-shaped glass bridge standing 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on Hualapai tribal land. Lake Mead National Recreation Area sits 5 minutes south of Meadview for fishing, swimming, and boating against a backdrop of mountains and canyons.
The Arizona Lakeside Read
Each of these ten towns pairs water access with a different landscape. Page anchors Lake Powell's red sandstone canyons. Bullhead City and Parker work the Colorado River frontage. Meadview sits at the gateway to Grand Canyon West and the Hualapai Skywalk. Springerville, Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, and Payson layer high-altitude lake fishing onto White Mountains and Mogollon Rim hiking. Prescott runs Watson Lake and the Granite Dells. Safford holds Roper Lake under Mount Graham. Each town runs at its own pace, with a break from Phoenix, Tucson, and the wider desert heat included as standard.
