Sunrise Park Resort lists Nov. 28, 2026 as its anticipated opening day for the 2026–27 season, and it calls that date anticipated, not guaranteed. Until the lifts start turning, most of what's happening in Pinetop-Lakeside happens at two Lakeside addresses, plus a few decisions at Town Hall that will shape next year. For about six weeks the town carries its own calendar, and the local venues, local tables and pending council votes are the whole story.
Here's what that stretch looks like on the calendar, and what's still being decided while it plays out.
Two Lakeside Addresses Carry October
The first address is The Depot at 1757 Jackson Lane. The town calendar lists Artisan Markets there on Oct. 17, Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, each from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Depot also has a scavenger hunt that started Sept. 25 and runs through Oct. 31, so you can make one Saturday morning stop count twice.
The second is the White Mountain Nature Center at 425 S. Woodland Road. The Town of Pinetop-Lakeside calendar lists Harvest Fun Fest there on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The bigger draw is the Raptor Flight Show. The White Mountain Nature Center has a show schedule posted for October through December 2026. Shows start at 2:45 p.m. and run Wednesday through Saturday in winter. The Raptor Center sits directly behind the existing Nature Center and looks out over Big Springs Meadow and the surrounding forest. WDM Architects of Wichita, Kansas designed it. Tickets are sold by date, so check which afternoons are open before you go.
The Nature Center is also where the town's season closes. Santa's Workshop is on the calendar there for Dec. 8, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The same Woodland Road building runs the calendar from late October into December.
The Mountain Shows Up After Dark
Sunrise's October event is High Elevation Horror, which runs Friday and Saturday nights in October from 6 to 9 p.m. Its listing includes Oct. 16 and 17 and features the Haunted Coaster, the Haunted Hotel and a Zombie Shoot. The resort is a nighttime outing for now, and the daytime calendar belongs to Lakeside.
For season-pass holders, one change before opening day: Sunrise's 2026–27 pass page says passes this season require a Sunrise One Pass RFID card. Sort that out before the first powder morning.
The Weeks Between, in Order
Once October's markets end, the calendar thins out and spreads across the area. Here's the sequence, with the details the organizers have posted so far.
- Oct. 31, Show Low. Show Low Main Street hosts a free Halloween Trunk-or-Treat from 3 to 8 p.m. at Hatch Toyota, 1051 N. Automall Parkway. It includes local business booths, food vendors, a kids' zone and music. It's also the last day of the Depot market and scavenger hunt.
- Nov. 4 and 11, Lakeside. Bingo runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the White Mountain Community Center, 1594 Johnson Drive.
- Nov. 13 and 14, Show Low. Show Low Main Street's Santa's Holiday Market runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The posted listing doesn't name a venue yet. Bingo returns to the White Mountain Community Center on Nov. 18, same hours.
- Nov. 21. White Mountain Helping Hands holds its Festival of the Trees. The venue isn't on the event page yet.
- Nov. 28, Show Low and Sunrise. Small Business Saturday in Show Low includes an indoor farmers market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the City Campus gym. It falls on the same date Sunrise expects to open, so one Saturday splits between the mountain and Main Street.
- Dec. 4, Lakeside. The Mayor's Tree Lighting & Christmas Fair runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Jack Barker Memorial Park, at Johnson Drive and Highway 260.
Most of November has no single big event, just smaller recurring gatherings. That's when local businesses carry the season.
Why the Local Tables Matter This Year
The town's own numbers make that last point concrete. At the Sept. 17 council meeting, Finance Manager Sara Simonton reported that across all town funds, transaction privilege tax collections through August were down 4.1% from the same period last year, according to the White Mountain Independent. Retail collections fell 8.9%, and restaurants and bars fell about 13%. Construction and remote sales went up but not enough to make up the difference. Simonton told the council that staff hadn't yet looked closely at the figures. She said reporting timing could be part of it and that she hoped September would show increases. So the decline is a reported figure, not a diagnosis. It still describes a summer that was softer at local restaurants and bars than the year before, and summer is supposed to be the busy season.
A new business is lining up for the slower months anyway. At the same meeting, the council approved a Type 010 beer-and-wine store license for White Mountains Brewing Tap Room at 1488 White Mountain Blvd. Cody Sexson founded White Mountains Brewery Company, a production microbrewery in Concho, in 2024. Its local accounts already include Sunrise Park Resort. He told the council he wanted a retail spot to sell his beer on draft. No opening date has been announced. For now it's on the way, not open.
The same meeting showed what an off-peak draw can do. Seth Bush of Zia Rides told the council the Pinewood Showdown gravel ride at Wilderness Ranch on Sept. 19 grew from 205 riders the previous year to more than 300. He credited part of that growth to the town's lodging tax funding. He also said Wilderness Ranch is booked for the event for the next five years. That's a September event bringing visitors into local lodging and restaurants outside the summer and ski peaks, which is exactly the kind of demand the tax report suggests the town could use.
Two Decisions Still on the Table
Some of the most local business this fall is happening at the council dais, and two pending items affect how residents spend time outdoors.
The first is pickleball. The Pinetop-Lakeside Pickleball Club has backed eight outdoor courts next to the town gym in Lakeside, and the town is also considering the Mountain Meadows Recreation Complex. Club president Mark Diltz told the council on Sept. 3 that the club raised its $125,000 contribution for the gym site and that the money wouldn't transfer to Mountain Meadows, according to the White Mountain Independent. The cost estimates have changed over time:
- March: The project was picked for a state grant award of about $679,000 toward an estimate of more than $1.35 million. Town leadership chose not to accept that first award and planned to update the application instead.
- Courts only: The club got a written estimate of $396,000 from Custom Courts and Tiles for eight post-tension concrete courts, including 16 lights.
- Full gym-site project: Diltz put the total at about $595,000 once a bathroom, parking, drainage and other site work are added.
Councilman Taber Heisler explained the council's side of the question:
"The question is not whether eight courts can be built for $400,000. The question is what does the complete project cost the taxpayer at each location."
He said it during the council discussion, and the paper reported that the council made no final decision on location. The indoor courts at the town gym matter more as the weather cools. Diltz pointed out that indoor and outdoor courts at one site would let players move inside when the weather turns.
The second is e-bikes. A proposed ordinance covering e-bikes and related devices will come back to the council for formal consideration after any required public hearing. At the Sept. 17 meeting, Police Chief Dan Barnes said staff wasn't asking for adoption yet. The $500-per-device penalty in the draft applies to vendors who sell devices without the required permit, with a maximum of $2,500 when several devices are involved. If you ride the trails, the public hearing is when you can weigh in.
Planning Trail Days Around the Burn Window
The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests announced in an Oct. 5 release that prescribed burning is expected from fall 2026 into spring 2027, weather permitting. Lakeside District units near Pinetop include Apprentice, Rhoton Seep, Brushy Mountain North and South, and Telephone. Morgan Tank 5 is near Show Low. The Forest Service says burn areas may be closed to the public for several days, but it doesn't list specific trails. Check the forest's announcements the morning you head out.
Woodland Lake Park is the easy backup close to home. The town lists walking paths and hiking, biking and equestrian trails there, along with fishing, birdwatching and kayaking on Woodland Lake. The Forest Service's Woodland Lake Park Trails page says the trails are marked and gives directions from AZ 260 onto Woodland Lake Road. On a Wednesday through Saturday, you can walk the trails in the morning and still make the 2:45 raptor show at the Nature Center on Woodland Road.
If you own a home or cabin in Pinetop-Lakeside and want to make the most of these weeks, whether that's prepping it for ski season guests or just knowing what's open while you're up, I'm glad to talk it through. I'll share what I'm seeing locally and help you plan around the calendar. Start your move and request a free consultation with Kerri DeWaters.
