74 Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Arizona

Drift Fence Lake Campground is definitely a “be self-contained” campground. It’s a long way back if you forget anything here. The 16 acre lake itself is small but beautiful. Surrounded by Ponderosa and aspens. It is one of the iconic location for a trip and also there are so many other opportunities too.

Eagle Creek is a 58.5-mile-long river located 50 miles northwest of Clifton, Arizona, United States, at the base of the White Mountain Range. It is a tributary of the Gila River.

Earl Park Lake is a lake located in Apache County on the White Mountains Apache Indian Reservation in the White Mountains of Arizona. The lake is a reservoir on Earl Creek formed by Earl Park Dam with a surface area of 47 acres. Fish varieties found include brook, rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout.

Emerald Cove is a beautiful, secluded cove on the Colorado River, a few kilometers downstream from the Hoover Dam. This area is known for its clear greenish-blue waters. Emerald Cove gets its name from the beautiful green water that is created by the sun reflecting off the white silt that lines the bottom of the cove.

This is a public lake located in Navajo County, Arizona, near the city of Show Low. The lake is operated by the Arizona State Parks Department, and consists of 150 acres, with an average depth of 23 feet together with a variety of fish species. Many campsites have a view of the 150 acre lake and wildlife islands.

Fossil Creek is a Wild and Scenic River that can be accessed via Fossil Creek Road near Gila County's community of Strawberry, Arizona. It is one of only two streams in Arizona included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The creek and its riparian corridor provide habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna, some listed as endangered or otherwise imperiled. Its former power-plant complex is listed as a National Historic District.

This is a perennial stream accessed by forest roads near the community of Camp Verde in the U.S. state of Arizona. Primary access is from Forest Road 708 off Arizona State Route 260 east of Camp Verde. A tributary of the Verde River, Fossil Creek flows from its headwaters on the Mogollon Rim to meet the larger stream near the former Childs Power Plant.

Frye Mesa Reservoir is an excellent place to camp out for a night or spend a day escaping the southern Arizona heat. This Reservoir contains both Apache and Gila trout, making it one of the only places to legally catch Gila trout in Arizona. Frye Mesa offers spectacular views of the Gila River Valley below and the rocky peak above.

Goldwater Lake is a reservoir formed by a dam on Bannon Creek, located south of Prescott in North Central Arizona. This lake is maintained by the City of Prescott Parks and Recreation department. The park has facilities for picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking, volleyball, and horseshoes.

Green Valley Lake is a reservoir connected to two smaller lakes in Green Valley Park. These lakes were constructed from 1993 to 1996 for ground water recharge.Green Valley Lake attracts visitors seeking clean air, blue skies, crystal-clear water, and the serenity and calm beauty of a quiet forested community.

Greer Lakes is a fishing and scenic destination in Arizona. It is an iconic destination for a day trip and also there are so many things to see and feel and also fishing is possible here. There are paths in and around the lakes that would appeal to day hikers, photographers, and mountain bikers.

Harshaw Creek is a stream in the Patagonia Mountains of Santa Cruz County, Arizona, named after David Tecumseh Harshaw, who settled along its banks in the mid-1870s. Much of Harshaw Creek is located within the Coronado National Forest and is available for recreational use. Several ranches are also located alongside the creek, although cattle grazing is limited. The creek and its tributaries were the center of extensive gold and silver mining activity beginning at the end of the 19th century.

This 260 acre lake is located on the White Mountains Apache Indian Reservation near Pinetop Lakeside in Arizona's White Mountains. It is surrounded by high mountain peaks covered with thick forests of spruce, pine and aspen.Ice fishing is popular in the winter when the lake freezes over. The lake is a remnant of Pliocene volcanism on the Mogollon Rim but it has been artificially extended as a reservoir for downstream irrigation plus trout and ice fishing.

Horseshoe Bend is where the Colorado River makes a giant sweeping horseshoe shaped bend in the canyon. It is accessible via hiking a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round trip from a parking area just off U.S. Route 89 within southwestern Page.

Horseshoe Cienega Lake is a lake in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona. It is the one of the area's most popular fishing lakes due to its productivity and convenience to the main highway State Route 260. The lake is in Apache County. As the lake is on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, permits must be acquired in nearby Hon-Dah for all activities at the lake including fishing, camping and hiking.

Hulsey Lake is a lake near Escudilla Peak in the Apache National Forest, Arizona. It is located at 8,620 feet (2,630 m) on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. It is an impoundment of Hulsey Creek, a tributary of Nutrioso Creek. Due to snow and ice, the lake is usually inaccessible from November to mid-April.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. national recreation area in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Grand Canyon National Park to just north of the cities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona. It includes all of the eponymous Lake Mead as well as the smaller Lake Mohave – reservoirs on the river created by Hoover Dam and Davis Dam.

Lake of the Woods is a census-designated place in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The population was 4,094 at the 2010 census.

Lake Takalai is a reservoir in Arizona and has an elevation of 817 metres. It is situated nearby to Elgo Dam, and northeast of Sevenmile Wash. It is one of the iconic attraction in this area and also there are so many things to see and do.

Lee Valley Lake is Arizona's highest elevation reservoir, situated at 9,420 feet in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests near Mount Baldy. It is located approximately 35 miles from Pinetop-Lakeside, connected by Arizona highways 260 and 273 and forest road 113. Access is restricted in the winter when roads are closed due to snow, generally December to early April.