San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona
Including Point of Pines Lake, San Carlos Lake,
Seneca Lake, Peridot Mesa and surrounding areas
Point of Pines is hidden in the Natanes Mountains on the San Carlos Apache
Reservation. Point of Pines Lake and surrounding areas are great places to explore
with not only pine forests but also juniper trees, expansive grasslands, rugged cliffs and
other things you'd expect to find at the "low edge of the high country." San Carlos Lake,
and especially lesser-visted Seneca Lake and Falls, generally don't attract many landscape
photographers but can also be interesting places to explore. Peridot Mesa, on the other
hand, is well-known for its great blooms of Mexican Goldpoppies and attracts many
photographers in the spring. I've also seen bears and even a mountain lion on the San Carlos
Reservation, although I was not fast enough to snap a photo of the cougar. Of course, more
common wildlife like deer, bighorn sheep and turkeys also thrive on the reservation.

Also see the Upper Salt River, which serves as the border
between the San Carlos and Fort Apache reservations.