4.4 miles away
Mogollon Rim
A topographical feature running some 200 miles across northern Arizona, forming the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau.
Willow Springs Lake
A canyon-bound cold-water lake on the Mogollon Rim, 23 miles east of Payson, and one of the Rim Lakes in the Apache-Sitgreaves forests.
- Rank in Arizona
- #267of 727 ranked
- Overall score
- Score 43.0 out of 100medium confidence
- Most looked up
- Julyby Wikipedia readers
- Category
- Natural Landmark
Willow Springs Lake is a cold-water lake on top of the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona, about 23 miles east of Payson, in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and immediately beside State Route 260. It is canyon-bound and belongs to the group known as the Rim Lakes, and lies upstream of Chevelon Canyon Lake. Its facilities are maintained by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests division of the United States Forest Service.
Where it is
Willow Springs Lake is a natural landmark near Payson, in Coconino County. It is one of the natural landmarks in this database, and appears in the statewide ranking of Arizona attractions.
How this ranking was reached
No official visitor count is published for Willow Springs Lake, so its score rests on public interest and tourism significance, and is capped below the level a measured attraction can reach. That is why the medium confidence above is not higher. The weighting is explained in full on the methodology page, and every axis is broken out under Facts and sources at the foot of this page.
Note on the data: No official visitor count is published for this attraction.
Sources
- Public interest: Wikimedia pageviews (en.wikipedia, human traffic), 2024
- Coordinates and designations: Wikidata(opens in a new tab)
- County: U.S. Census geography via FCC Area API, resolved from coordinates
Record last verified 2026-08-12.
More photographs
cogdogblog, CC BY 2.0 · licence(opens in a new tab) · source(opens in a new tab) 
Richard N Horne, CC BY-SA 4.0 · licence(opens in a new tab) · source(opens in a new tab)
Nearby attractions
5.3 miles away
Woods Canyon Lake
A 55-acre reservoir on the Mogollon Rim east of Payson, the most developed of the Rim Lakes and stocked with trout.
27 miles away
Rim Country Museum and Zane Grey Cabin
Rim Country Museum and Zane Grey Cabin, in Payson, Arizona, covers the history of northern Gila County and the Mogollon Rim.
33 miles away
Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
Believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world, standing 183 feet over a 400-foot tunnel.34 miles away
Pine-Strawberry Museum
Pine-Strawberry Museum, in Gila County, Arizona, displays prehistoric and pioneer artefacts, period antiques, and room displays.
38 miles away
Strawberry Schoolhouse
An 1885 log schoolhouse in Strawberry, often called Arizona's oldest, though the 1879 Arivaca Schoolhouse predates it.
Facts and sources
Place
- Category
- Natural Landmark
- Destination
- Payson
- County
- Coconino County
- State
- Arizona
Visitation
- Annual visits
- Not published
Ranking
- Overall score
- 43.0 / 100
- Visitation score
- No published count
- Popularity score
- 25.1
- Significance score
- 58.0
- Confidence
- medium
Visiting
- Coordinates
- 34.3036, -110.8710
- Last verified
- 2026-08-12