White Mountain Nature Center: Raptor Shows, Hours and Trails

Part of Pinetop-Lakeside, our guide to the town’s lakes, trails, parks and the Nature Center.

The White Mountain Nature Center in Lakeside has free-flying raptor shows at 2:45 p.m. ($5 adults), indoor exhibits, a native tree garden and trails open year-round, next to the Big Springs Environmental Study Area. The store and office open at noon, Tuesday to Saturday in summer and Wednesday to Saturday in winter.

Checked Oct 22, 2026 · Edited by Sam Ridley · Sources · How we check

Visiting

The Raptors

The center’s animal ambassadors include Eurasian eagle-owls, a red-tailed hawk, an American crow, an aplomado falcon, and newer arrivals a bald eagle and a turkey vulture. Its raptor pavilion, built with help from a $250,000 Arizona Office of Tourism grant, houses up to nine birds. The center is not a wildlife rehabilitation group; for injured animals it refers people to Arizona Game and Fish in Pinetop, (928) 367-4281.

The Site

The town says the center sits on 10 acres beside the Big Springs Environmental Study Area, plus 5 acres leased from the town as part of the Mountain Meadow Recreation Complex. The center says it began in 2004, bought its land in 2007 and finished its first phase in 2012.

What We Could Not Verify

• The child ticket price (the center’s pages give $1 for 12 and under, and $1 for ages 2 and up).
• The founding year (town: 2003; center: 2004).

More in Pinetop-Lakeside

Nearby Places and Events

Places nearby

1. 1Pinetop-Lakeside Trailstrails, pin estimated by eyeunder 1 mi
2. 2Pinetop-Lakeside Parks and Libraryparksunder 1 mi
3. 3Rainbow Lakelake1 mi
4. 4Woodland Lake Parkpark1 mi

Events coming up

1. 5Dragon Celebration (library)Lakeside, on now1 mi
2. 6Geek Out: TCG HangoutShow Low, on now9 mi
3. 7High Elevation HorrorSunrise Park Resort, on now25 mi
4. 8Paint RouletteShow Low, on now9 mi
5. 9Artisan Market at The DepotLakeside, Oct 241 mi
6. 10Murder Mystery Masquerade PartyLakeside, Oct 241 mi

Every pin here is an estimate, not a surveyed point. A place pin marked "estimated by eye" is our own guess at the spot (a lake, park or town middle); the others use a point from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) for the named spot, which can still be off by a few blocks. Event pins sit at the center of the event's town, because we do not have each venue's exact spot. Distances are straight-line, rounded, and will not match driving miles. Dots sit in their compass direction; distance is stretched near the middle so close neighbors stay readable. Events are the next dates from our events calendar, as of October 23, 2026, and each date is the organizer's, not confirmed by us. The same places are listed beside the map.

Questions People Ask

When is the raptor show at the White Mountain Nature Center?

At 2:45 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday from October to April and Tuesday to Saturday from May to September.

How much is the White Mountain Nature Center?

Raptor show tickets are $5 for adults; the trails and grounds are open to the public year-round.

Sources

1. White Mountain Nature Center: Contact and hours
2. White Mountain Nature Center: Raptor show
3. White Mountain Nature Center: About us
4. Town of Pinetop-Lakeside: White Mountain Nature Center
5. USDA Forest Service: Big Springs Environmental Study Area #610

Checked October 22, 2026 by It’s Show Low. Cite this page: It’s Show Low (itsshowlow.com), checked October 22, 2026. Free to quote with a link; tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.