Seneca Lake
Located on Highway 60 north of Globe, in the northwestern portion of the Reservation, Seneka Lake is managed as both a cool-water and warm-water fishery. Seneca Lake is nearby the truly unique Seneca Falls which affords beautiful views of the basalt canyon walls and the waterfall. Seneca Lake is a great place to take your loved ones for a swim in the summer. Seneca Lake offers warm and cold water fishing opportunities for bass, sunfish, catfish, and trout. There’s a boat launch and fishing piers, but you need a tribe to permit access to them.
Inside the small reservoir of Seneca Lake, you can find Seneca, a set of abandoned buildings that sit northeast of Globe along US-60 right before Salt River Canyon. Both the buildings and the lake sit on San Carlos Apache Reservation.
The Story of Seneca began in the early 1970s when the San Carlos Apache built a restaurant, trading post, gas station, and campground along the small lake banks. It was thought that this iconic location would appeal to highway traffic that crossed between the City of Globe and Show Low.
However, later in the 1970s, Seneca was abandoned; although it is still being determined why precisely this happened, some suggest it was the need for more traffic or business. Nevertheless, Seneca’s buildings were left to rot. Nowadays, some structures remain in decent shape structurally but have been trashed.
Seneca has an eerie feel to it nowadays. Some people appear to be living in camps closer to the lake, and the campground is still available to those wishing to spend the night or pay a quick visit.
Call the San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Department for directions to this lake at: (928) 475-2343