The drive on Arizona Route 260 to Greer is beautiful in a peaceful sort of way. I’ve driven it thousands of times and I never grow tired of it — the patches of towering ponderosa pine separated by open meadows, carpeted with wildflowers backing up to mountain ranges. Much of the drive is through the pristine Fort Apache Indian Reservation until you pass Sunrise Ski Hill and it turns into the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. A few more miles and you pass the 21-mile Rails to Trails hiking/biking trail on the right and the 117 road on the left that leads to Greens Peak. A few more miles and the sign to Pole Knoll points to the entrance of its Nordic recreation area. On this trip, however, my destination is the Government Springs Trail which is located at the end of the main road in Greer. 

Ironically, as I did research for this article, (May 8th — Mother’s Day) I pulled a copy of “On the Road to Nowhere; A History of Greer, Arizona 1870 - 1979,” by Karen Miller Applewhite, off my shelf and as I opened its pages, a receipt fell out. It was dated March 19th, 2002 and it was signed by my Mom, who died last year. She had bought it during one of her annual visits to the White Mountains. She loved Greer and we always made a point of taking the drive up the mountain while she was here. She had read the book and underlined parts of the text that she liked. So, although this is about Government Springs Trail, I will take her direction and include those points of interest in this article. 

Greer is a small village that some have called “a little bit of heaven.” Although it’s tucked away within the confines of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and could be easily missed, it has an enormous following. It’s a destination that offers simplicity surrounded by beauty. Its life force is the Little Colorado River that flows through the middle of town and its character is built on its community of friends. A destination rich in history and wildness, Greer is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. 

As far as Greer’s history goes, Applewhite says there were many famous cowboys that visited Greer back in the day. Zane Grey and his brother were guests at Butler’s Lodge. John Butler had asked Roy Hall, known for breaking broncos in Greer, to give Grey a “little exhibition riding.” Grey was so impressed that he invited Hall “out on the mountain on a hunting trip.” Grey paid him $10 a day and Hall brought along some broncos for entertainment. Also, Bill Thompson, “Wallace” of the Phoenix TV show “Wallace and Ladmo” spent a whole summer in the mid-forties at Butler’s Lodge. He and his cousin Joe entered rodeos in St. Johns and Eagar. 

If you’ve ever hiked Mount Baldy and wondered, as I have, about the plane crash on the east trail, Applewhite mentions a few plane crashes in her book. During World War II, Buelah and Ed Denture were awakened at three on a stormy morning by a plane circling so low over Greer that “it made the clouds appear red. The bomber crashed at the head of Bonita Creek, south of Baldy.” Eleven or twelve people died in the crash. 

Another Air Force plane went down east of Baldy on Burro Mountain and the wreckage was found three or four months later “with its guns still loaded and maps that were said to give the elevation of Baldy at 9,500 feet.” 

A plane from Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico searching for the Burro Mountain plane, crashed off the north side of Baldy. Applewhite says the four passengers made their way through the snow to the peak, sighted smoke from Whiteriver, and headed that way. Two died on the way, and the other two froze their feet, took off their shoes, and couldn’t get them back on so they crawled to the Indian Agency on their hands and knees. Today you can still see some of the plane wreckage on Baldy. I’m not sure which of these crashes, if any, tells the story but I always wonder what happened when I hike past the crash site. 

The Trail 

The Government Springs Trail is located past the end of Greer’s Main Street and then a little further to the end of Forest Road (FR) 575. There is a small parking area and restrooms just before you head out on the trail. This trail is one of the great things about Greer. As Applewhite states in her book, “where the road ends, trails thread some seven miles up the canyons of both the East and West Forks of the Little Colorado to the vast meadowland around Sheep’s Crossing, Colter reservoir, and Phelp’s Cabin (which is no longer there - now the east entrance to Mount Baldy).” 

The Government Springs Trail parallels the Little Colorado River and connects with the East Baldy No. 95 Trail about three miles upstream. The scenery along the way is amazing. Riparian vegetation (mostly willow) borders the shoreline, forming some camouflage for fishermen or for guys panning for gold. Parts of the trail are rocky and will test your balancing skills so shoes with good treads are recommended. 

I love a river trail and so does my back lab, Duncan. He is a great hiker and usually sticks close, but lately, after reading a press release from the Arizona Game and Fish warning us about the drought conditions and how it increases the activity of bears, mountain lions, and coyotes/wolves, I have been keeping my dogs on a leash or close by. My friends, and contributors to the Outdoors Southwest Magazine, Carol Godwin and Jennifer Rinaldi, recommend E collars if you don’t want to keep your dogs leashed. 

After hiking, Rob Bettaso, who met me in Greer for the hike, and I drove up to the Edelweiss Resort and had lunch. I highly recommend the Budapest salad and the Chicken Schnitzel. There are three restaurants in Greer — Molly Butler’s, The Rendezvous, and Edelweiss — as well as cabin rentals, shops, kayak and bike rentals, the Butterfly Lodge Museum, and the Lazy Trout Store ...and more. Go to greerazcivic.org/ for more information. 

I also highly recommend the book “On the Road to Nowhere, A History of Greer, Arizona - 1879 - 1979, by Karen Miller Applewhite. It is filled with great information about the White Mountains. I’m sure you could snag you a copy from the Butterfly Lodge Museum, which opens Thursday, May 19th. While you are there, I also recommend “In the Great Apache Forest, The Story of a Lone Boy Scout,” by James Willard Schultz. It is an adventure story based on true characters and historical information about the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest and surrounding areas. 

To find Government Springs Trailhead, follow State Route 260 to State Route 373 (the Greer Turnoff), turn right, and follow State Route 373 to FR 575 until it ends. At the end of the road is a small parking lot with new restroom facilities. The trail starts at the north end of the parking lot.