Lakeside, AZ

Lakeside is an unincorporated mountain community in Navajo County in the White Mountains region of eastern Arizona, often grouped with neighboring Pinetop to form the Pinetop-Lakeside area. Together the two communities are home to roughly 7,000 residents, giving the town a small, easygoing resort feel that draws both second-home owners and visitors. Lakeside is best known as a four-season gateway to outdoor recreation in the surrounding national forest, and it sits roughly 170 miles northeast of Phoenix, an easy three-hour drive that brings a steady flow of weekenders escaping the desert heat in summer and returning for the snow in winter.

Just minutes from the heart of Lakeside, Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area wraps a 94-acre reservoir in ponderosa pine country, offering camping, fishing, paddleboarding, and short hiking trails only a few minutes' drive from town. The day-use areas and small beach make it a popular anchor for families who want a mountain lake experience without a long drive.

Surrounding Lakeside on all sides, the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest spreads across more than two million acres of pine forest, meadow, and high-country lakes. Outdoor enthusiasts can reach well-known spots like Big Lake, Hawley Lake, and the Escudilla Wilderness in well under an hour, and the forest's trail network offers everything from short interpretive walks to multi-day backpacking routes.

In winter, Sunrise Park Resort, located on the neighboring Fort Apache Indian Reservation, transforms the area into a downhill skiing destination, with ski lifts, ski school, and a tubing park roughly 35 miles east of Lakeside. In summer the same resort shifts to mountain biking, scenic chairlift rides, and an outdoor concert series, making it a year-round draw rather than a strictly seasonal one.

Back in the Pinetop-Lakeside area, the White Mountain Nature Center offers a gentle introduction to the local ecology with indoor exhibits and a network of short, easy trails through a ponderosa pine woodland, all within a few minutes of most area lodging.

For short-term-rental owners, Lakeside's appeal is straightforward: a small, photogenic mountain town with genuine four-season appeal, a built-in weekend audience from Phoenix and Tucson, and a remarkable range of nearby outdoor experiences that fill the calendar from the first snowfall to the peak of summer wildflower season.