About Big Lake Recreation Area
If getting completely away from it all and experiencing the outdoors for all it has to offer is your camping ideal then plan your camping vacation in the Big Lake Recreation Area. Big Lake itself is 575 acres, and makes a convenient base for other local lakes like Crescent Lake, Lee Valley Lake and the East and West Forks of the Black River. Choose your site from one of nine campgrounds and experience exceptional hiking and mountain biking trails, wildlife viewing, and trout fishing. Campers have the convenience of paved roads, a dump station and showers, but no electric hookups. Apache Trout, the largest campground can accomodate RVs (max 45 feet) as well as in sections of Grayling Campground. Two campgrounds give tent campers the entire campground all to themselves. A visitor center and naturalist programs offer plenty of knowledge about the area.
- Managed by: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, FS
- Where: 9 mi south of Greer, AZ · 33.87459, -109.41162
Things to do:
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: Jun–Sep (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Nov–Apr.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Trails near camp
| Trail | Open to | From camp | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lake Nature | Hiking | 0.3 mi | 0.4 mi |
| Railroad Grade | Horse | 1.2 mi | 19.2 mi |
| West Fork (Br) | Horse | 1.6 mi | 2.3 mi |
| Overland | Hiking | 1.9 mi | 17.8 mi |
| Thompson Trail | Hiking | 2.6 mi | 2.4 mi |
| West Fork Loop | Hiking | 2.7 mi | 2.3 mi |
Straight-line distance from camp, from Forest Service, BLM, state and OpenStreetMap trail data.
Good to know
No signal at camp
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way casts shadows and the sky is crowded with stars.
Class 1 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Dump station: 0.1 mi
Propane: 19.4 mi
Camps nearby
- Brookchar 0.1 mi
- Grayling 0.1 mi
- Cutthroat 0.4 mi
- Rainbow (Az) 0.5 mi
- Apache Trout Campground 0.5 mi
- Gabaldon Horse Camp 5.7 mi