Wenima Four Seasons: Winter
Wenima: skiing and winter sports
Arizona’s premier ski destination, Sunrise Park Resort, is located near 11,400-foot Mt. Baldy and is only a thirty-minute ride from Wenima Valley. The Ski and Recreational area feature ten lifts and two T-Bars, serving 65 trails on a variety of slopes. Ski school and equipment rental, childcare facility and funland area for small children are also available. The Resort also features Three Lodges, several restaurants and a cafeteria.
The complex is owned and operated by the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Nearby is the Sunrise General Store, which features 13 miles of groomed trails for cross-country skiing.
Also included at this recreational area: snowmobile tours, ice fishing, sledding, snowshoeing, and horse-drawn sleigh rides.
Wenima Four Seasons: Winter
Sunrise Ski Area Map
Winter at wenima valley
Winter at wenima valley
Sunrise Ski Area consists of three peaks: Sunrise, Apache, and Cyclone Circle. Forty percent of the Sunrise ski trails are engineered for the novice, and another forty percent are for intermediate skiers. The remaining twenty percent are for advanced and expert skiers.
Winter at wenima valley
Winter at wenima valley
Winter at wenima valley
A blanket of snow is usual in the White Mountains from mid-November until the end of March. Winter activities include alpine skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and sledding. Along with Sunrise Ski Area, the White Mountain area features four Winter Recreation areas.
Wenima Four Seasons: Spring
wenima: Horseback Riding and the backcountry
Horseback riding, once a traditional mode of travel through backcountry terrain, is a recreational pastime for many in the White Mountains of Arizona. Featuring a bounty of trails with diverse ecology, you can experience trail rides through the pine, aspen, and oak tree covered mountains of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. You will also be able to view various varieties of wildlife: deer, elk, antelope, and wild turkey. Many horseback riders are avid photographers.
Spring and fall are best for horse riding in the cooler weather. Venture into the alpine areas for summer rides, which are best in the morning. Watch for storms, especially lightning.
To encourage the implementation of proper horse handling, some horse use etiquette tips are included as follows:
- Riding on trails and not short cutting will reduce erosion problems and unwanted paralleling of trails.
- Refrain from riding in wet conditions or on muddy trails as the weight of the horses badly damages the trail.
- Select camping areas off main trails to prevent overuse of an area and reduce congestion with stock and people.
- Hay and grain for horses must be provided by each rider in order that no infringement be made on grazing rights of local cattle grazing permittees or wildlife.
- Camping spots should be located a minimum of 200 yards from water sources to help prevent water contamination and allow for cattle and wildlife to come in for water.
- When confining horses, do not tie them to live trees for extended periods of time. Us a pole or rope hitch rail and select a site where horses cannot trample tree roots or plants. Rocky ground is best.
- Before breaking camp, be sure you have left your campsite in better condition than you found it. The Pack-it-in/Pack-it-out rule applies.
Wenima Four Seasons: Wildflowers
Wildflowers and seasonal plants
Wildflowers erupt throughout Wenima Valley, the Round Valley, and the White Mountains throughout the spring, summer, and (sometimes) fall. Wenima hosts a variety of sunflowers along with many unique herbs and plants.
Wenima Four Seasons: Biking and Hiking
Wenima: Bike Trails
Wenima: Bike Trails
Wenima: Bike Trails
- Sunrise Bike Trails: On summer weekends, mountain bikers can take the lift up to the top of Sunrise Mountain and ride the trails down. The chairs are fitted with special carriers for the bikes. Mountain bikes, helmets and accessories are available for rent. Sunrise Ski Resort is located 20-minutes from Wenima Valley. You’ll find pine forests with aspens, along with spectacular views. The trails at Sunrise are rugged with lots of rocks, roots and drops.
- Railroad Grade Mountain Bike Trail: This twenty-mile trail used to be a railroad line servicing the logging activities in the area. After its closure, it was converted into a gently graded hiking and mountain biking trail . . . from the signed trailhead, walk along the easy-to-follow trail. The trail stays in the meadow, but you can see the edge of the forest here. Since there are no trees to restrict your views, this is an excellent hike to spot wildlife. There is very little elevation change on this hike, which makes it a good mountain biking trail.
Hiking Trails
Wenima: Bike Trails
Wenima: Bike Trails
- (From the US Forest Service) The Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests have hundreds of miles of trails for hikers. From a smooth path through the deep forest to a challenging ascent towards a breathtaking summit, there are opportunities for all experience levels. Hiking as a means of recreation enjoyment is a modern-day development. Walking used to be the primary mode of transportation for the majority of people in this country, and trails were designed to get from one place to another. These early day trails often went straight uphill because a straight line was the quickest way between two points. Today trails are built to provide a variety of users a chance to experience the unique settings that are offered in a forest environment. It’s the journey as much as the destination that counts. The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests offer almost 1,000 miles of trails across a variety of terrain. These trails are built to different standards depending upon who is the intended user and the difficulty level. Opportunities abound for horseback riding, mountain biking, and hiking. Trails within the wilderness and primitive areas are designed for hikers and horses. Trails outside these areas can include a broad spectrum of users. The Forest has four National Recreation Trails: Eagle, Blue Ridge, Escudilla, and General George Crook.
- Mount Baldy Trail (From Hike Arizona): Start at the East Baldy trailhead located about midway between Sunrise Ski Area and Big Lake on State Road 273. At the sign-in kiosk, the trail divides with the left fork leading directly up the mountain. I usually take the right fork, which is the connector. This is a pleasant three-mile amble through heavy, mixed timber, including some very nice old-growth fir. The elevation stays between 9,400 and 9,600 feet.
Wenima Four Seasons: Fall Foliage
Wenima: Fall Foliage
Fall Foliage Drive Tour (From Travel Awaits)
"Truthfully, every season is gorgeous in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. In the spring and summer, the banks of babbling creeks erupt with wildflowers, and in the winter, the rugged peaks and sloping meadows are blanketed in sparkling white.
But it is perhaps in autumn that the White Mountains are at their brightest. Interspersed with the mountains’ pine and fir trees are lovely stands of white-barked aspens and thickets of Gambel oaks.
In late September and early October, the changing colors of the aspens and oaks alternate with the evergreen pines, creating a striking green-and-gold patchwork landscape.
Fall is also a time of glorious weather in Arizona’s high country. Owing to its altitudes that soar to the 6,500-to-9,000-foot-plus range, the White Mountains are always considerably cooler than the lowland deserts of the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
Average high temperatures in White Mountain communities such as Greer and Show Low are in the 70s and 80s in the summer and in the 60s and 70s in the fall. Prime leaf-peeping typically occurs during the first three weeks of October. The September shoulder season, although it might be too early to see the full range of fall colors, is still a wonderful time to visit the White Mountains.
Encompassing a broad region that takes in the Mogollon Rim communities of Pine and Strawberry in the west and continuing 150 miles east to the towns of Springerville and Eager near the Arizona-New Mexico border, the White Mountains area includes countless scenic stretches of road.
Among the most eye-catching is the 40-mile drive on Highway 260 between the Hon-Dah Resort Casino in Pinetop and Springerville/Eager. For even more spectacular terrain, add in a 20-mile detour southeast on the White Mountains Scenic Drive on Highway 273 toward Big Lake and the area’s ski resort, Sunrise Park Resort. Along the way, you’ll pass by immense meadows speckled with ponderosa pines and Douglas firs and bisected by lovely creeks.
In the fall, expect the meadows to be transitioning from vivid green to mellow yellows and browns and the distant peaks to be changing to gold. Plan to take 3 to 4 hours driving the route and stopping at the various overlooks and trailheads along the way."