Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area

Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area is located in the world's largest contiguous belt of ponderosa pine forest. A relatively flat basaltic plateau, broken by Show Low Creek and Fool Hollow Wash, characterizes the property. Fool Hollow Lake was created by construction of a dam at the confluence of Show Low Creek and Fool Hollow Wash in 1957 by the Arizona Game and Fish Department with federal assistance. This created a 149 surface acre lake surrounded by National Forest lands.

Imagine camping in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest among 100-foot pine trees beside a quiet lake watching majestic great blue herons at a cool 6,300 feet in elevation. Year-round camping, fishing, picnicking, boating and wildlife viewing opportunities make Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area a popular place. This 800-acre, cool, country recreation area with a 150-acre lake offers history, too.

The tiny town of Adair has long since been covered by the lake, but it was Thomas Jefferson Adair who was responsible for the name Fool Hollow. In 1885, Adair moved into the area with the intention of farming. The locals joked that only a fool would try and farm the place. The name stuck!

This state-of-the-art recreation area, located in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, opened in 1994 as a result of an innovative partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, Arizona State Parks, Arizona Game and Fish, the City of Show Low, and corporate sponsors Arizona Public Service and McCarty Construction Company.

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