"Reaching an elevation of 11,403 feet, the summit area of Mount Baldy features a subalpine environment not typically associated with Arizona. Gnarled krummholz trees grow here, as do a variety of alpine grasses.

Of course, the scenery is nice from this highest of the peaks in the White Mountains, but if your only intent is to “bag” the actual summit, you may be in for a disappointment. Because it is located just outside the national forest on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, access to the top is cut short by less than 0.25 mile."

--Scott S. Warren, 100 Classic Hikes Arizona (The Mountaineers Books).

"Ascending Arizona’s second highest mountain, this classic loop uses the Connector Trail and East Baldy and West Baldy Trails. Features include a cool aspen, fir, and spruce forest, alpine meadows, and the headwaters of the Little Colorado River."

--Bruce Grubbs, Best Loop Hikes Arizona (The Mountaineers Books).

"This is a scenic hike along two trout streams and the summit of Arizona’s second highest mountain. The east boundary of the White Mountain Apache Reservation runs along the summit ridge of Mount Baldy. The reservation is permanently closed to all entry, and violators have been fined and had their equipment confiscated.

Baldy Peak, the highest named summit, is within the reservation and is off limits to hikers. However, the actual high point of the mountain is a point along the ridge 0.4 mile to the north. This point is within the national forest and is open to hikers."

--Bruce Grubbs, Backpacking Arizona: From Deep Canyons to Sky Islands (3rd printing) (Wilderness Press).

"Although small, the Mount Baldy Wilderness in the White Mountains is one of Arizona’s most popular wilderness areas. Slopes heavily forested with corkbark fir, ponderosa pine, white fir, and Engelmann spruce, five miles of trout stream, lovely meadows, abundant wildlife, and a cool, wet climate make Mount Baldy a favorite Rim Country destination among outdoor lovers.

So great is its popularity, in fact, that the Forest Service limits the size of hiking and equestrian groups to twelve and overnight camping groups to six. The 11,403-foot summit of Mount Baldy itself is on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation just outside the wilderness area. Sacred to the White Mountain Apache Tribe for whom the summit is host to mountain spirits, the peak is closed to outsiders. Trespassers may have their equipment confiscated or be arrested and fined. This trail guide covers an area with 14 miles of trails."

--Tom Dollar & Jerry Sieve, Guide to Arizona's Wilderness Areas (Westcliffe Publishers).

"A day hike to the top of the White Mountains. This popular trail begins along the bank of the West Fork of the Little Colorado River and climbs through lovely blue spruce forest and alpine meadows. During the short summer months, aster, fleabane, penstemon, cinquefoil, and iris bloom.

There is evidence of past glacial activity; glacial erratics, large boulders deposited by flowing ice, lie along the valley floor. As you near Baldy Peak, you are treated to spectacular vistas of the White Mountain region. Within 0.3 mile of Baldy Peak, you reach the White Mountain Apache Reservation Boundary. The Apaches have closed the last section of trail that ascends Baldy Peak. Trespassers have had their packs confiscated and have been fined for trying to sneak to the top of Baldy. For “summit baggers” though, all is not lost. Study the topo map closely, and you will see that the highest part of the ridge is not the conical summit of Baldy Peak (11,403 feet) but rather the unnamed area on Forest Service land to the north at about 11,420 feet."

--Stewart Aitchison & Bruce Grubbs, Hiking Arizona (Falcon Guides).