Plateau Potato Lake

PLATEAU POTATO LAKE

Potato Lake Tank on Anderson Mesa

Roughly thirty minutes south of the summer hiking magnet of Flagstaff, is a quieter but no less attractive trekking destination.

The basin of Potato Lake on Anderson Mesa

The Plateau Lakes on Anderson Mesa offer respite from crowds in an under appreciated landscape replete with quirky geological features.

Forest Road 82D near Als Lake

The Plateau Lakes Region in Coconino National Forest is anchored by Mormon Lake—Arizona’s largest natural lake.

Texas Frog Fruit blooms April - November

During years with lots of precipitation, the lake can span an area up to 12 square miles. 

View of Peaks from FR9484D

But that’s the exception, not the norm.  Mostly, it’s a scenic yet mucky wetland of puddles and swales that still manages to attract wildlife and support a fringe of water-loving vegetation.

Forest Road 82D near Als Lake

It’s also the mother ship per se for dozens of smaller natural water pockets, wildlife waterholes and created lakes that orbit its massive basin.

Geologists describe the Plateau Lakes as naturally occurring bowl-like depressions formed by various tectonic events that resulted in slumps and sinkhole features in the volcanic landscape.

Field Bindweed blooms May - September

Junction FR82D and FR9484D

Spread across the flatland like pock-marks or lunar craters, some are no larger than a kiddy pool while others rival football stadium proportions. Like Mormon Lake these hollows vacillate between weedy swamps and shallow pools that evaporate entirely in times of drought leaving behind crop-circle-like impressions. 

Entrance to Potato Lake

Hiking to the Plateau Lakes can be done by hopping on the Arizona National Scenic Trail Passages 29 and 30 which skirt by several, or by using a network of rough dirt roads that traverse the mesa. 

Typical scene on FR9494D

One interesting destination is Potato Lake.  Don’t be confused, though. This is a different animal from the watery, crawdad infested “solution depression” (geology speak for a kind of sinkhole) Potato Lake off Forest Road 300 (Rim Road) on the Mogollon Rim near the community of Pine. (Read the POTATO LAKE story on this blog).

The easy hike to "Plateau Potato Lake” uses three easy-to-navigate dirt roads. Beginning on Forest Road 9117F, the trek heads east for 0.4-mile to where it meets the fenced edge of Post Lake—another Plateau Lake. 

Potato Lake Tank

A storm brews over Als Lake

The rocky two track then bends north onto the mesa and merges into (unsigned) Forest Road 82D. 

Anderson Mesa is a mostly flat, windswept expanse dotted with junipers and intermittent plots of Ponderosa pines.

San Francisco Peaks seen from FR82D

The airy expanse is criss-crossed with draws and canyons that disrupt exposed grasslands favored by pronghorn.  The mesa is surrounded by volcanic mountains that churn up weather, which means it’s almost always windy here. 

Post Lake

At the 1.3-mile point, views of  8,463-foot Mormon Mountain to the west and 12,633-foot San Francisco Mountain north of Flagstaff stand out over Als Lake, another Plateau Lake with hit-or-miss water levels. It’s worth mentioning that even when bone dry, the footprint of these ephemeral lakes are often lush with wildflowers and knee-high grasses.

Storm over Potato Lake Road

Past the lake, the road meanders through fragrant woodlands dominated by junipers until it comes to a fork where FR9484D spins off to the right. The road, which is also known as Potato Lake Road is signed, but the numbers are barely legible. At this juncture, FR82D continues a half-mile north to one of the most well-known Plateau lakes—Deep Lake.

It’s worth a side trip on the way back. (Check out the DEEP LAKE story on this blog).  FR9484D continues through more juniper-shaded terrain with chunks of basalt strewn about the rusty soils.  The route meets a junction with FR9119W at 2.8 miles. FR9119W heads left and circles Potato Lake, but this trek continues straight ahead on FR9484D.  After another 0.2-mile, a stand of thick greenery of pines, firs and oaks herald the entry to Potato Lake.

Passing through an aboreal archway, the road opens up to views of the sprawling lake. In early June 2026, the lake was dry, but adjacent Potato Lake Tank contained a basin of residual muddy water.  Built into the south edge of the lake with an earthen dam, the margins of tiny waterhole showed signs of wildlife activity.  Elk, deer, waterfowl, raccoon and coyote tracks sunk deep into the moist muck signal it’s time to turn the hike around and leave the precious water to the winged and furry forest residents. 

trailhead

LENGTH: 6 miles roundtrip

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 7,049 - 7,127 feet (447 feet of accumulated elevation change) 

GETTING THERE:

From Flagstaff go 17 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 82E on the left just past milepost 327 which is signed for Ashurst Lake. Follow FR 82E 1.7 miles to FR 9117F on the left. A faded sign marks the road.  There’s parking in dirt pullouts. 

Forest Road 82E is washboard gravel suitable for all vehicles. High clearance is recommended on FR 9117F.  No facilities or fees. 

Deep Lake

DEEP LAKE

The woodsy approach to Deep Lake

Located roughly 20 miles southeast of Flagstaff, the windy plains of Anderson Mesa are home to a cluster of Arizona’s rare natural lakes. Conspicuous among the bodies of water that are collectively known as the plateau lakes are Ashurst, Kinnikinick and the massive, yet sometimes dry Mormon Lake—the state’s largest organic puddle. Along with nearby Upper and Lower Lake Mary, these high-county lakes are popular with anglers, boaters, campers and hikers trekking the adjacent Arizona Trail Passage 30.

A residual puddle in Als Lake attracts wildlife

Besides the obvious behemoths, dozens of smaller much less crowded lakes are scattered across the dynamic landform in Coconino National Forest.

Storm clouds build above Anderson Mesa

These secluded natural basins formed between 1 and 5 million years ago when subterranean hollows caved in to form surface depressions that fill with snowmelt water during high-precipitation years.

Turkey vultures and ravens soar above Als Lake

A livestock exclosure protects Post Lake

Vacillating between shallow ponds and mucky swales these ephemeral wetlands serve as important nesting habitat for waterfowl. 

If you’re lucky enough to have snagged a campsite in the area during the busy summer season, and want to escape the masses, take a stroll to one of the most impressive and surprising of the mesa’s lesser-known lakes.

Snags on the rim of Deep Lake

The out-and-back hike to Deep Lake is actually a three-fer because the route, which follows Forest Roads 9117F and 82D, passes by three plateau lakes.  The trip begins with a half-mile walk on a rough two-track with great views of the San Francisco Peaks to the north before the road bends east. Here, where FR 9117F becomes FR 82D, the first of several livestock exclosure fences installed to protect the sensitive ecosystem from marauding cattle surrounds the reedy, birdy marsh of Post Lake.

Butter & eggs bloom in sunny meadows

After tracing the lake’s wildflower-rimmed perimeter, the road swings north through an airy, open-to-the-sky landscape with standout views of 8,449-foot Mormon Mountain peeking out over golden flatlands. At the 1.1-mile point, the road begins its fly-by of Als Lake.

Field bindweed grows along the roads on Anderson Mesa

A favorite haunt of turkey vultures and ravens, the elongated swale usually harbors a few residual pools where waterfowl and resident pronghorn can sometimes be seen lurking among clumpy grasses.

The impressive crater-like depression of Deep Lake

The next mile is a simple walk through fragrant juniper woodlands where rabbits and deer might dart by as you work your way to the junction with Forest Road 9484D at 2.3 miles.

For an optional side trip, FR 9484D leads to Potato Lake, another sizeable yet moisture-challenged natural lake. (NOTE: I did not take this side trip, but my map program indicates the road to the lake is about a half-mile long).

Continue another quarter mile north on FR 82D and soon the gated entry to the Deep Lake exclosure area comes into view. To preserve the terrain and minimize wildlife disturbance, travel beyond the gate is open to foot traffic only.  A few steps beyond the gate, the trail enters the enchanting realm of Deep Lake.

Junipers provide sparse shade and wildlife habitat

San Francisco Peaks seen from Deep Lake

 Surrounded by Ponderosa pines, Gamble oaks, volcanic outcroppings and a community of snags (dead trees used by wildlife for food and shelter), the crater-like depression of the lake takes your breath away. Even without water, as it was on my recent visit, the yawning bowl that provides refuge for over 100 bird species is a standard-bearer for an increasingly rare and fragile ecosystem.   A short footpath leads down the lake’s edge for a close-up view of a tenacious landscape that continually adapts to unpredictable, sometimes harsh conditions.

While visiting the lake, please tread lightly and quietly. Leave no trace and respect efforts being made to protect this fragile, natural treasure.

Ponderosa pines shade parts of the hike

A gate marks the entrance to the Deep Lake exclosure area

Approach to Deep Lake

LENGTH: 6 miles round trip

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 6,964 – 7,131 feet

GETTING THERE:

From Interstate 17 just south of the Interstate 40 interchange, go right on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3). Continue 17 miles south and turn left on Forest Road 82E for Ashurst Lake just past mile post 327 across from the turn off for Pinegrove campground.

Drive 1.7 miles on FR 82E to Forest Road 9117F on the left. Park in pull outs along the road.

Forest Road 82E is washboard gravel suitable for all carefully driven vehicles.
MORE INFO:Audubon Arizona https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/anderson-mesa-coconino-national-forest