| Address | Near Happy Jack, AZ 86024 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34.7878, -111.2109 |
| Category | Waterfront |
| Nearest city | Regional hub - biggest city in its area |
| Region | Arizona, USA |
| Sources | geonames |
Long Lake Travel Guide
Long Lake is a lake in Arizona. This guide covers how to visit it, what to expect and how to build a day around it.
Long Lake at a Glance
- What it is: lake (travel destination)
- Where it is: Near Happy Jack, AZ 86024 — coordinates 34.7878, 111.2109
- Why it is listed: a source-verified entry in the CollabsTravel master database, matched against official gazetteer and geographic records before publication
- Time needed: a couple of hours
- Best season: May to September
Quick Facts
| Place type | Lake |
| Also good for | Waterfront |
| Region / state | Arizona |
| Postal address | Near Happy Jack, AZ 86024 |
| Coordinates | 34.7878, -111.2109 |
Why Long Lake Is Worth Visiting
Long Lake earns its place in this guide for a simple reason: it is a verified destination in Arizona,. With 8 other verified places within 150 km, it anchors a cluster instead of standing alone. Visitors book it for waterfront as much as for destination. And unlike listicle recommendations, everything on this page - coordinates, category, sources - was checked against official records before publication.
About Long Lake
In plain terms, Long Lake is a lake in the Arizona area of Arizona that travellers book around destination trips. Beyond its main draw, the record tags it for waterfront too, so it rewards more than one kind of visit. Postal addressing runs through Happy Jack (86024). Everything stated on this page comes from that verified record; where background history is quoted, the source is named at the end of the section.
The Story of Long Lake: History & Background
Long Lake is located in the Mogollon Rim area of the state of Arizona. It is located 75 miles (121 km) southeast of Flagstaff. The facilities are maintained by Coconino National Forest division of the USDA Forest Service. It is named after a legend of a long serpent type creature that was reportedly seen by ranchers as they herd cattle near the lake.
Lead passage from the Wikipedia article "Long Lake (Arizona)", reused under CC BY-SA 4.0 with a coordinate-verified name match; the source article carries the full referenced history.
The Beauty of Long Lake
What people mean when they call Long Lake beautiful is usually the setting itself - the land, water and sky that put the place on maps. The light does most of the work: low-latitude light keeps greens deep and skies dramatic; the difference between hours, not seasons, drives the look. The seasons restyle everything around it - each season repaints it - plan the visit around the colour you want in your photos. And the beauty compounds with context: with 8 other verified places nearby, the Arizona area reads as one continuous landscape rather than a single viewpoint, which is worth more than any filter on the photos you take here.
Getting There
Long Lake sits at 34.7878, 111.2109 in Arizona. Most visitors reach it by car, regional rail or local transit; pin the coordinates above rather than only the name - Long Lake names repeat across regions, and rural entries often lack street addresses.
The nearest postal locality is Happy Jack (86024), which is what local directions and navigation apps will reference.
Best Time to Visit
the desert Southwest runs hot from June to September, so spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) are the most comfortable months for hiking and outdoor plans.
Long Lake Season by Season
- Summer (Jun-Aug) - peak season: the warmest, longest days and everything open, which also makes it the priciest and busiest window
- Autumn (Sep-Nov) - shoulder season: crowds drain away, the light turns photographic, and lodging rates typically fall
- Winter (Dec-Feb) - off-season: cheapest beds and empty viewpoints, but check for closures, snow or rain before committing
- Spring (Mar-May) - rebuild season: wildflowers, newborn wildlife and reopened facilities - the best balance if the weather holds
Things to Do
Planning what to actually do at Long Lake comes down to the setting it sits in:
- Arrive with the exact coordinates (34.7878, -111.2109) pinned in your maps app — rural place names repeat across states
- Give the site one unhurried hour before adding anything else to the day
- Pair it with the nearest named attraction on this page to make a full loop
- Chain the stop with what is nearby — see the list below before fixing your day route
None of this needs a rigid schedule - the honest pattern at Long Lake is one anchor at the nearest anchor town, one longer stop, and the rest of the time left for whatever looks better from the car window. That flexibility is what separates a good half-day from a rushed one.
A Perfect Day in Long Lake
Morning (start early). Have breakfast at Long Lake and roll out before mid-morning - the light is softer, parking is open, and Long Lake is at its quietest before the day-trippers arrive. Give the main stop its full due first rather than saving it for later.
Midday. From Long Lake, Hay Lake is only 5 km away - pair the two rather than driving home for lunch; a picnic beats a reservation near most of these spots.
Afternoon. Keep going to Jaycox Mountain (7 km) if the group still has legs; it is the standard second half of this loop.
Golden hour. End at the main viewpoint, waterfront or main street as the light drops; this is the hour Long Lake is genuinely famous for locally, and it costs nothing.
Evening. Sleep at Long Lake unless the road out is long - leaving at dusk is the one mistake that can flatten an otherwise perfect day.
Know Before You Go to Long Lake
- Save the pin (34.7878, -111.2109) offline - reception in Arizona is exactly as good as it needs to be and no better
- Check the official source listed at the bottom of this page for current hours, fees and closures before driving out
- Visit on weekdays: at most verified spots weekends triple the local traffic
- Bring the basics - water, layers, power bank - because facilities at this kind of place are self-service
Nearby Places Worth Combining
Long Lake does not sit in isolation - these verified places are all within a short hop and combine into a full loop:
- Hay Lake — place, about 5 km (3 mi) away
- Jaycox Mountain — place, about 7 km (4 mi) away
- Chavez Mountain — place, about 8 km (5 mi) away
- Clintons Pool — place, about 10 km (6 mi) away
- Pine Mountain — place, about 13 km (8 mi) away
- Morton Lake — place, about 14 km (9 mi) away
- Quayle Hill — place, about 14 km (9 mi) away
- Kinnikinick Lake — place, about 15 km (9 mi) away
Planning More of Your Trip
See all destinations in Arizona on the Arizona state hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Long Lake worth visiting?+
Yes, if you are in the area for more than a single day. Long Lake is a verified lake in Arizona that most drive-by lists miss, and the official-record provenance behind this page means the location, name and access facts are checked rather than guessed. Give it a couple of hours.
Where exactly is Long Lake?+
Long Lake sits at Near Happy Jack, AZ 86024, coordinates 34.7878, -111.2109. The postal locality is Happy Jack - use the coordinates rather than the name alone, because place names repeat across regions and a map pin beats a keyword search.
How far is Long Lake from the nearest city?+
The nearest named base on this guide is close enough that distance is not the constraint; the Quick Facts table lists the exact road-town km, and every place here is reachable as a same-day loop from a regional hub.
What is the best time to visit Long Lake?+
May to September. Book the shoulder months either side of that window for the same scenery at lower prices, and check seasonal closures before fixing dates.
How long do you need at Long Lake?+
Plan on a couple of hours for a first visit - the highlights at a normal pace without rushing. Add another half day if you want to combine it with the nearby places listed above.
Is Long Lake good for families with kids?+
It works with kids who have patience for the setting; judge it by your shortest-attention traveller and keep the visit to the first highlight.
Does Long Lake cost anything to visit?+
Most public places like this have no entry fee, but parking, guided programs and seasonal shuttles are the usual small costs. Confirm current fees with the official source cited on this page - they change more often than guidebooks do.
What is near Long Lake?+
The closest verified neighbour is Hay Lake; the nearby list above has the full set with distances, and combining two or three of them is the standard way to fill a day around Long Lake.
Is Long Lake open to visitors, and do you need a permit?+
Public places listed here are visitable by default; the permit exceptions are usually specific activities (backcountry camping, drones, commercial photography) rather than the visit itself. Check the cited official source for anything activity-based.
Should you visit Long Lake in bad weather?+
Rain reshapes rather than ruins the day - viewpoints become cloud-scapes and trails get muddy. Keep Long Lake as a fair-weather item on your trip and swap in the covered alternatives from the regional list when the forecast turns.
What makes Long Lake different from other places like it?+
Its exact combination: a lake in Arizona with verified coordinates and, where listed, an official designation. The difference is usually the setting and the access pattern rather than the category label - the facts table on this page shows that specifically.
Can you visit Long Lake as a day trip?+
Yes - at a couple of hours on site, a day loop is realistic: morning at Long Lake, one nearby stop, and home by evening. The Perfect Day section above has the hour-by-hour version.
What is Long Lake known for?+
In the wider record, lake-class place: Long Lake is located in the Mogollon Rim area of the state of Arizona. This guide adds the practical layer - verified coordinates, access, seasonality and what to combine it with.
What is the most beautiful thing about Long Lake?+
The honest short answer is in The Beauty of Long Lake section above, but distilled: what people mean when they call long lake beautiful is usually the setting itself - the land, water and sky that put the place on maps. Come for the light and the setting rather than a single checklist object.
Is Long Lake crowded?+
Long Lake sits below the headline-name tier in its region, so crowding is an event-and-weekend problem rather than a standing one. Weekday mornings in the shoulder season are the quietest version of the visit.
What is the history of Long Lake?+
The History & Background section above quotes the coordinate-verified Wikipedia lead for Long Lake, which is the shortest trustworthy path into its past - dates, name origin and the events that shaped it, with the full referenced article linked there. ## Source Verification This guide's facts come from official public datasets: [Geonames record 5302742](https://www.geonames.org/5302742). Location data is reviewed in per-state batches before publication.
Nearby destinations
Hay Lake
Lake · Arizona
Jaycox Mountain
Mountain · Arizona
Chavez Mountain
Mountain · Arizona
Clintons Pool
Lake · Arizona
Pine Mountain
Mountain · Arizona
Morton Lake
Lake · Arizona
Quayle Hill
Mountain · Arizona
Kinnikinick Lake
Lake · Arizona