Sunrise Park Resort is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

located near

Greer, Arizona Greer is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, United States. Located within the White Mountains of Arizona and surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Greer is the highest town in the s ...

. The resort consists of three mountains named Sunrise Peak, Cyclone Circle, and Apache Peak. Situated on the Colorado Plateau and perched atop the White Mountains in eastern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The base of the resort sits at and the tallest mountain, Apache Peak, tops out at an elevation of above sea level. The ski slopes spread across the 3 peaks and cover , making it the largest ski resort in Arizona.

Ownership and location

Sunrise Park Resort is owned and operated by the White Mountain

Apache Tribe The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla Apache, Jicarilla, Lipan Apache ...

, and is located on the

Fort Apache Indian Reservation The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of ...

. The resort is a year-round recreation destination and offers a wide range of outdoor activities. Sunrise Park Resort is a popular regional destination and is approximately from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, from

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. The closest airports are located in

Springerville, Arizona Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. A ...

, Show Low, Arizona, and

Whiteriver, Arizona Whiteriver ( apw, Chʼilwózh) is a census-designated place (CDP) located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2010 census, making it the largest settlement on the Reserva ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Sunrise Park Resort has a warm-summer mediterranean continental climate, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at Sunrise Park Resort was on June 27, 2002 and June 20, 2016, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 4, 1972.

Winter

The ski season at Sunrise Park Resort usually runs from

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

through the end of March. During the winter, the resort's three mountains offer alpine skiing. Night skiing is offered around Christmas and on holiday weekends in January and February. There is also a snowboard

terrain park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From thei ...

, separate cross-country skiing area, and a snow tubing hill.

Ski bikes

Ski biking (also known as

Skibobbing Skibobbing (also called skibiking or snowbiking) is a winter sport involving a bicycle-type frame attached to skis instead of wheels and sometimes a set of foot skis. The use of foot skis is what defines "skibobbing". Although skibobs are ofte ...

) is a bicycle-like frame with skis instead of wheels. The sport is offered for beginners and experienced individuals at Sunrise. They offer both lessons and rentals for ski biking and the lift system allows for ski bikers to ride the lift up the mountain. First-time ski bike riders at Sunrise require a safety certification by the ski bike staff prior to loading the lifts, regardless of their experience or personal equipment to ensure the safety of themselves and other visitors.

Lessons and rentals

Sunrise offers rentals of skis, snowboards, boots, poles, and winter clothing for all sizes and all ages at the rental shop at the base of Sunrise Peak. Ski School is offered for all ages and allows first-time skiers or snowboarders to learn in a group setting or one-on-one with an instructor. Some lessons are offered for a half-day and others are an entire day. Sunrise also offers improvement lessons for experienced skiers or snowboarders to improve their skills.

Mountain statistics

Elevation

The ski area consists of three peaks: * Sunrise Peak (elevation 10,700') * Apache Peak (elevation 11,000') ** Base: ** Summit: ** Vertical drop: 1,800 feet (2nd highest in Arizona) * Cyclone Circle (elevation 10,700')

Trails

The trails on the mountain have some sort of theme, such as Native American and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

names. * Skiable area: * 67 trails ** Ski trail rating symbol-green circle

Beginner – 31 trails (46%) ** Ski trail rating symbol-blue square

Intermediate – 19 trails (28%) ** Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond

Advanced/Expert – 14 trails (21%) ** Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond

Advanced/Expert – 3 trails (4%) * Longest trail – "Lonestar"

Lifts

* 8 Total operational lifts ** 1 High-Speed Quad Chairs ** 2 Fixed Quad Chairs ** 2 Fixed Triple Chairs ** 1 Fixed Double Chairs ** 2 Surface lifts * Uphill Capacity – 16,000 skiers per hour

Summer

The summer season at Sunrise Park Resort usually runs from

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend through September or October, depending on weather and other factors. Sunrise offers several summer activities, including

downhill mountain biking Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including , and drops can be greater than . The rider ...

, scenic

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

rides, a

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bot ...

course, a tubing hill, a rock climbing wall,

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and 3D archery.

Mountain bike trails

There are 22 mountain bike trails, and an array of side trails. The trail system is primarily located on Sunrise Peak, with one trail (Ba'cho) traveling over to Apache Peak and Cyclone Circle. All trails converge at the base of Sunrise Peak, where riders can load on the Sunrise Express (Lift 1, high-speed quad) or the Spirit Ridge (Lift 8, fixed grip quad lift) to access the trails. * Ski trail rating symbol-green circle

Easy – 6 trails (27%) * Ski trail rating symbol-blue square

Intermediate – 3 trails (14%) * Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond

Difficult – 8 trails (36%) * Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond

Expert – 5 trails (23%)

Images

Winter Images

Image:Sunrise_peak.jpg, View of the Sunrise High-Speed Quad at the top of Sunrise Peak (10,700') Image:Apache lift.jpg, High-Speed Quad

on Sunrise Peak. Image:Apache double.jpg, Triple

on Apache Peak. Image:Sunrise northview.JPG, View from mid-mountain Sunrise Peak looking north. Volcanic cinder cones can be seen in the distance. Image:Sunrise_cliff.jpg, Out of bounds area Image:Sunrise_moguls.jpg, Moguls run Image:Sunrise_tip.jpg, Cyclone Peak

Summer Images

File:SPR Summer Activities-65.jpg, New

Dual Slalom Dual slalom is a mountain bike racing discipline similar to 4X racing. It consists of two racers racing two almost identical tracks next to each other down a slope. The courses are usually short; one run lasting about 30 seconds. It is filled w ...

downhill mountain biking course added in the Summer of 2022 File:SPR Summer Activities-20.jpg, Downhill Mountain Biking at Sunrise File:SPR Summer Activities-6.jpg, A platform along the

course at Sunrise File:SPR Summer Scenic Lift-1.jpg, Scenic

riders on the Sunrise High-Speed Quad in the summer File:SPR Summer Activities-32.jpg, The rock

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

at the base of Sunrise File:SPR Summer Activities-57.jpg, Sunrise holds a 3D Archery competition around the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

Weekend every year

Trivia

* Sunrise Park Resort is Arizona's largest ski resort and Summer outdoor adventure park. * Sunrise Park Resort has been in operation since 1970. * One of Arizona's highest peaks, Mount Baldy, can be seen from Sunrise. * Sunrise Park Resort currently offers the only lift-served downhill mountain biking available in Arizona. * Sunrise Park Resort is home to Arizona's longest zip line with their tandem Apache High Flyer, measuring over 2300'.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Sunrise Park Resort
Sunrise Park Resort official website

Trail map

Sunrise base live webcam
Ski areas and resorts in Arizona White Mountains (Arizona) Buildings and structures in Apache County, Arizona Tourist attractions in Apache County, Arizona White Mountain Apache Tribe