Part of White Mountain Lake country, our guide to the lake, the golf and the juniper country north of Show Low.
White Mountain Lake is a century-old irrigation reservoir about 7.5 miles north-northeast of Show Low, roughly 200 acres on USGS maps, held back by Daggs Dam. It is not a public lake: a Navajo County recreation district funded by local property taxes oversees it for the surrounding community.
Daggs Dam
The dam has a longer story than the federal record shows. A 1936 U.S. Soil Conservation Service report says Daggs Dam was first built on Silver Creek in 1882 to give Snowflake, Taylor and Shumway a steady water supply, and that an irrigation district was formed in 1932 with a federal loan. Arizona Highways wrote in 2004 that work on the Daggs Dam Reservoir started in 1906, that it was dedicated in 1914, and that it became a private lake for residents in the 1960s, when the name changed to White Mountain Lake. The National Inventory of Dams lists the dam as completed in 1919. We show all three because the sources disagree.
The dam is classed “high hazard potential”. That describes what would be downstream if it ever failed, not the dam’s condition, which the inventory rates as fair. Navajo County keeps a flood-warning gauge on the lake.
Where the water comes from
USGS names the stream that flows into the lake from the southeast Rocky Arroyo. Silver Creek runs just northwest of the lake, and the dam inventory lists the dam’s stream as “Silver Creek-Rocky Arroyo”. Mexican Lake, an intermittent lake of about 146 acres, sits directly north. See Silver Creek.
Who can use it
The White Mountain Lakes County Recreation Improvement District is a Navajo County special district: the Board of Supervisors adopts its budget, and its 2024 property-tax levy was about $175,300. Residents of Juniper Ridge, for example, have access to the White Mountain Lake Recreation Area for boating and fishing, according to the resort. We could not find the district’s own rules for boats, motors, guests or fees. If you are not a member, the closest public fishing is at the Silver Creek Hatchery wildlife area.
What we could not verify
- Who owns the lake and dam by name (the inventory says only “private”).
- The lake’s depth, and its true surface area (USGS maps about 197 acres; the dam record gives 379 acres at its normal pool).
- The recreation district’s rules: who may use the lake, boat and motor limits, guest passes, fees and hours.
- Which fish live in the lake (it is private, so Arizona Game and Fish does not stock it).
Questions people ask
Is White Mountain Lake public?
No. It is a private reservoir overseen for the surrounding community by a Navajo County recreation district. Public anglers can try Silver Creek at the state hatchery’s wildlife area instead.
How big is White Mountain Lake?
About 197 acres on USGS maps. The federal dam inventory gives 379 acres at the dam’s normal pool.
How old is White Mountain Lake?
Daggs Dam was first built in 1882, according to a 1936 federal report; Arizona Highways dates the reservoir to 1906-1914, and the dam inventory lists 1919.
What is the creek that feeds White Mountain Lake?
Rocky Arroyo flows in from the southeast, in the Silver Creek watershed.
More in White Mountain Lake country
Sources
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: National Inventory of Dams (Daggs, AZ00013; Concho Springs, AZ00032)
- USGS National Hydrography Dataset (lakes and streams)
- USGS Geographic Names (geonames map service)
- USGS Elevation Point Query Service
- USDA Soil Conservation Service: Snowflake, Arizona (Conservation Economics Series, 1936)
- Arizona Highways: Back Road Adventure (Aug. 2004)
- Navajo County Board of Supervisors: Aug. 13, 2024 agenda packet (special districts)
- Juniper Ridge RV Resort: About
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.