First of all. When you book for a stay they offer showers and restrooms. Big lie. Restrooms are ok but some of them don't even have lights. So if you wan to go at night forget get it. Very disappointed about the campground not having the showers. We went hiking and we were all sweaty and hot but. Thanks to them. We stayed for three days dirty. I don't recommend this place. read more

The showers have been closed since Covid-19, but the restrooms are open and have running water. They have fire rings, so you can have a campfire even with burn restrictions. The fire rings have a grill grate, and the camp sites have a picnic table. Bundles of wood are available for $7/ea. The tent sites are very close to each other, so if you've envisioned the whole "getting away" experience, think again. "Houston, we have a problem..." Be prepared for sounds of traffic, small aircraft, shoveling gravel, children crying/screaming/shrieking, horns honking, inconsiderately loud people incessantly cackling/laughing/arguing/talking, wake up alarms that sound the full 10 minutes, bells, buzzers, tea kettles, music and general malaise at all hours of the night and morning. But if you're cool with that, then this should be on your short list of campgrounds. And if you can look past it all, and slow dance with your sweetie to the radio broadcasted from an adjoining site, then you've really won, haven't you? Lots of trees, so bring a hammock. read more

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This campground is exceptional, and the reasons are in this order! 1. The staff! The camp hosts here are wonderful, in particular Carlos and Laurie. 2. Location is amazing - grocery stores, gas stations, and amazing restaurants are within a few miles 3. Ambience - very little light pollution makes for a wonderful experience in the outdoors and star gazing. 4. They have coin-operated showers! Allow me to expand further. We stayed in Lion Loop. If you have an RV or travel trailer, this is the best loop in my opinion. Carlos and Laurie were our camp hosts. Aside from our campground being in immaculate condition, the flush toilets and bathroom area was always clean. I would often wake up early and see Laurie up in the morning hours and throughout the day ensuring the bathrooms are clean. Compared to other campgrounds, having facilities like this is a luxury. These amazing camp hosts were even kind enough to give us a few recommendations for food in the area. El Rancho has Taco Tuesdays! I am also fond of Ayuthaya Thai Cafe. This location also has potable water and a dump station. If you come during the week, they have a few first-come, first-serve spots. If you're planning on coming on the weekend, you better book your stay. Overall, our stay was wonderful. It was great to get out of the valley, into clean air, and having great people manage the facilities lets you enjoy nature in its most pristine and beautiful element. Will definitely be back in the future! read more

This is a great campsite for any casual camping folks that don't want to get to crazy out in the woods, but still want to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the rim. There are a few different Camp Hosts and they can regularly be seen riding around in case you need firewood or anything. Sites are well spaced out with fire pits and paved parking spaces. There are plenty of flush toilet restrooms and coin operated showers as well. There are a few great walking trails and an amphitheater inside the campground, but there are also some amazing trails just a few miles up the road at various trailheads. The north side of Houston Mesa is the primary tent/pop-up campground while the south side has horse pens for those camping with equine. Official quiet time is from 10p-6a, but it has always been historically very quiet throughout the day. You will hear the occasional loud vehicle from the 87 time to time at night, but it's not consistent. Can't wait to get back up North and stay here again! read more

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Arrived to camp on May 1, first day of season. As we'd pulled in, we'd noticed a sign on the shower building stating, "Showers are closed for the season." I took this to mean that showers are closed for winter but should be open on May 1. A man in an unmarked flatbed truck than pulled up almost directly behind my SUV. He asked, "Can I help you." I'd asked him the showers were going to open. He replied, "The showers are closed for the season, " as the sign states. I then asked what we should do for a shower. He then replied, "Go to a hotel." Thinking that the National Forest had an agreement with a local hotel I'd then asked, "Which hotel?" He ignored my question so I'd asked again, he'd ignored me again. Since this man in the unmarked truck had told me that the showers were "closed for the season" I then asked, What season?" Remember, on Earth there are four seasons. Again, no reply. I then backed out, with added difficulty since he'd pulled up behind me. My 80 year old wife and I wanted to get away from this guy as quickly as possible. We then drove to our reserved/paid for campsite. At the campsite, in the spot where one's tent would be set up, sat 5 to 10 pounds of elk poop. I think that it was Mr. 56 inch waste man's job to clean campsites prior to campers arrival. But, apparently, he just harasses campers. I then told Mr. 56 inch waste man that I wanted to cancel my reservation. He told me to go to the Payson Ranger Station. I'd then asked where it was and he'd replied, "It's closed." He then aggressively ripped off the reserved notice from the post in front of our campsite.We we're very frightened at this point,so we'd left and will never, ever return. I'd asked Mr. 56 inch waste man his name - no reply. Than I said that I'd take his license plate and complain about his conduct. He then told me that it would be illegal for me to do so. We are now involved with an insane bureaucracy trying to have our fee refunded. We had also paid $400 for a hotel. Due to this slob, I will never return to a National Forest campground. A true hell hole organization. read more

Didn't camp here, but stopped here to look around, get out of the car, etc. Drove from the Phoenix area to Payson for the day. If you want to see the mountain area of Payson, but don't want to drive too far in, this is a good place to see the mountain-y outdoors without driving all over the place. It is located right off the highway, so it is easy to find. read more

Camped here recently. Because I have medical problems I needed to be near a restroom. Went to restroom for emergency and the toilet paper dispensers would only give toilet paper in one square at a time. I'm enclosing pictures. The sink was filthy with stagnant water and hair. The floors were nasty. No paper towels. Google posting said showers were open. All six were closed. False advertising. This is a beautiful campground. The lots are huge and beautiful. The host (VIPS) are there but do nothing. Nothing. No cleaning anywhere. What are these people doing? We had to leave and go home. It's sad when you pay to camp and due to filthy maintenance you have to leave. I wrote to National Parks. read more

Had site 6 in the Bear loop this time and it was a much better experience. Try to get a site in this outer loop. Site 6 does back up to the highway so there is alittle more road noise during the day, but better than the congestion of the inner loop. Site 6 is extremely large and secluded. read more

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Nice place, but specifies "Fee Area" in certain spots with a sign. Then in areas there are no signs or mention of fee. Park in an area with no sign, walked around a little, when get back to our car theres a "Registration Receipt" with a fee. ((Bullshit))...Now why is there sign's that read (("FEE AREA")). Common sense says you have to pay there but not the areas with no signs! Won't be back here...I feel their just trying to get a little more cash from unknowing patrons. read more

I camped here over the long weekend. My group was partially inconvenienced in that although our reservation had issues they had room on the other side of the road. We had around a lot of who get together for good natured frivolity. When a campground publishes quiet hours, we plan to adhere to them. Before that time we are just adults at playtime. I felt it extremely rude and annoying that the campground host (we'll call her "v") felt she had to barge into camp yelling to start quiet hours right now (45 minutes before it starts). I felt harassed when I could hear at least two other sites in the campground over our combined 5-6 sites after the deadline. I felt harassed the next day when we were told we couldn't have music at any time. I felt harassed when they had he maintenance folks park their cart across the road and just sit there all evening looking for something to complain about. Beyond that, the campground was clean, within earshot of the Highway, but obstructed from site. Restrooms were clean, there were no showers on that side of the grounds, so I don't know how they were. If that sound like your type of spot, give it a try. In the future, if there are zero other options and this place has a vacancy, I would rather head home read more

We stayed here in July. For a full week. Rained the whole time we were there, but that's on us, I'm okay with it, as it's the only time we could've came, and the rain was quite nice. However, being there was so much rain. It lowered the fire danger & it would've been nice to atleast have a campfire just once in that one week. As it poured & poured. We had a good spot, but I don't think it's right to charge for amenities that campers don't get. Like showers. We booked a week there thinking they had showers, they closed them, so we had to shower our family outside, in our makeshift outdoor shower, which we had to buy supplies for at the nearest Home Depot. So we paid for a campground to have the ability for us to shower, just to have to spend even more money to create our own. Which showering outside, while it's raining, was cold & miserable. Also wanted to note that the entire week there, we didn't encounter the campground hosts. Not to check in, not to check out. I tried calling & calling and I couldn't reach anyone. This was nerve wracking because there were fires ablaze in Northern AZ & since we we coming from 5 hours away, I couldn't even make sure the campground was still open for campers with the fires going on, I had to just hope they were still open or lose out on the reservation we paid for. With people paying, being able to contact the camp hosts is a must-Giving a discounted rate to campers for not providing amenities that they pay for should also be a given......Good location, but this camp really needs to be run better.... read more

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This is an incredibly beautiful and well maintained campground. The staff was friendly and courteous. It truly is a wonderful place to spend a day/night. The site is located perfectly within the Payson area (if you are wanting a bit of the outdoor experience with amenities still close by). Expect to hear traffic from the Beeline Highway (87) throughout the night. My only suggestion for a better experience pertains to the campground's "quiet hours" (from 10 pm - 6 am). It unfortunately was not enforced during our visit. We recently spent a few nights in the "tent only" camping area. Over our two night stay, we could hear stereos blasting well past late night hours and into early morning hours. As well as people "partying" near us well past 3:30 am both nights. It just made for a long night with very little sleep. It would be great if the noise could somehow be monitored during quiet hours as a courtesy to other paying campers. I also suggest for visitors who do not have a road side assistance plan or AAA to make sure to a jump starter in your vehicle... just in case. Especially during the off peak season when there may be fewer campers around. On our final morning, we woke up to vehicle with a dead battery. We had trouble finding fellow campers awake at that time so we approached our site hosts to ask for help jumping our vehicle. We were informed that they were unable to help us due to a "liability" issue. We were on our own. It was a bit of rough morning for us. We ultimately had to call a tow company to come out and jump our vehicle. Be prepared for anything. read more

Houston Mesa Campground - Bear Loop #24 - Campgrounds Near Me - Payson, Arizona

It is $26 a night, extra car $8 a night, $3 for a shower and $10 to dump! Location is convenient to town and sites are pretty nice. The bad, showers are filthy with hair in sinks and on floor. It is a germ a phob nightmare. By the time you add all the extras, it is expensive. I simply do not reccomend. read more

My family stayed here last week. Very clean place. We don't usually do campgrounds. But were very impressed with the place and the gentleman who ran it. I would recommend for sure read more

Although there is a red flag warning throughout all Tonto forest, this campground was open. We just got home from a mid week 2 night stay. We were one of about 4 other campers there. You can book online or show up and pay by the night. The hosts in our loop had a sweet set up and were friendly to us. Grounds and bathrooms were clean. There are plenty of well spaced flush toilets and sinks as well as bear proof dumpsters. There are water pumps spaced throughout each loop for drinking water only. There is one shower unit at the main entrance that has 6 unisex showers. But it costs 3 bucks in quarters and you cannot adjust the temp. It was boiling hot water. It frankly aggravates me because just 2 weeks ago we stayed at Dead Horse Ranch State park and the showers are free and they have a dishwashing area. I know Houston Mesa isn't a state park but they charge 24 bucks per night just like the state park. Our site was nice and flat on the mountain lion loop. As we're walking around, we noticed most of the other sites were very uneven with bad slopes making for uncomfortable tenting. And I specifically picked our site to avoid other campers being too close and furtherest from the roads . That being said, we could still hear the constant drum of traffic either from Hwy 188 or from Houston Mesa road. It must be even louder if your site butts up against those roads. And finally, their online pics or descriptions of the sites don't really suffice. Ours was described as full shade but damn....We had straight up sun from about 7am till 5pm. Bring some type of shade structure if you go. The evenings from about 6pm on were nice. Traffic dies down around 8pm. The sunset was beautiful and then the coolness of the pines finally surrounds you. The coyotes start howling and the sky is littered with stars. read more

We had a great time!!! The hosts were nice and the spots were well kept. Loved being so close to town and there are so many places to drive to near by!!! It's a great balance between camping and having access to stores and every day needs. Recommend!! read more

Well kept campground. We went when it was still pretty cold in march so we had zero neighbors. Lovely time. So quiet. read more

Houston Mesa Campground - The small stream the flowed around our campsite - Campgrounds Near Me - Payson, Arizona

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Nice spot for first time comping with our 2 year old. Got here at dusk, easy to find a spot on a Monday evening. Bought fire wood for 7 dollars, was 24 to have a tent. Level ground for our tent was easy to find large picnic table, grate on the fire pit for cooking...plenty of elk around calling to eachother, fairly private camp sites due to plenty of trees. Good spot to visit again along our way to see family. Abundant toilets, showers avaliable too read more

We had a perfect fathers day weekend. Hospitality from host valerie was amazing. Elk restrooms are very clean and showers water temperature was perfect. Amazing campground. read more

I have worked for a lot of companies in my life but this is by far the BEST company i have ever worked for!!!! I came into this company with 0 experience and they have lovingly showed me the ropes and they truly care about each camper and want you all to have the best camping experience you can so please come see what a blessing it it to camp here. read more

Campground was nice. We camped in Mountain . Our first night was perfect. Second night was horrible. Generators we're on till almost midnight. Not just one but SEVERAL were on. My kids could not sleep. And I was not going to approach drunk people. When we checked in Friday the lady told us quite time was at 10pm, I read that on the post too. I believe favoritism was going on because the next morning our neighbor camper came over to apologize, he said the host calling him big wedo told him they could keep generator on. THAT IS NOT FAIR! Rules should apply to everyone. Not professional at all. We will camp again but in a different area. Thank you for listening. ‍‍‍ read more

I had the unfortunate experience of staying at Houston Mesa campgrounds during this Memorial Day weekend of 2018. I went with Events and Adventures as a big group of about 40 people. We were supposed to have been given a group camp site since our Event Manager booked it many months ago. When we started to arrive, we were informed to proceed to a different camp site, the Horse Camp Area. This part wasn't that big of a deal as I didn't know that the park screwed up our reservation and tried to make up for it. When we were all getting settled in, Valerie Gonzalez stopped by our main camp around 8:30 pm with lots of attitude. She started yelling at us about our camp fire (which by the way was propane powered and we were informed that we were allowed to have it) and stating to put out that fire and it's a $5,000 fine. She was going to continue but some one stopped her and said it's propane. She then became very silent for a moment. Then she started back up again in her aggressive and deeming tone that we were too loud. We explained to her that it's not quite time yet as that doesn't take place till 10:00 pm. She lowered her tone finally and said that we needed to be respectful of our neighbors. We lowered our volume a little just to comply. This dampened the mood across the entire campsite and our people as this was weird and we all tried to figure out what just happened. We tried to continue the fun and then Valerie came around again at 10:00 pm to make sure we were observing quite time and then informed one of our members that the police were called. No music was playing and only half of us were still awake talking and sharing stories at 10:00pm. We were no louder than the nearby horses making noises as well as some of the RV's generators. At this point, half of our remaining group was so upset of what was happening that they went to bed. The police showed up about 11:00 pm or so and they talked to our event hosts and informed them that they couldn't hear us and that we were in the right. Some of us still stayed up a little longer before going to bed and making no noise. The next day ¾ of our group went to Jerome to see the local scenery. Our event hosts came with us and were sent a text that Valerie came around again saying that we are still too loud (with almost no one in camp and no music going) and informed those members that we were not allowed to play any music. This was shocking to say the least as this has never happened to anyone of us in all the years we have gone camping at any establishment. Our event hosts demanded a meeting with Valeri and her supervisors as this harassment is unacceptable. The meeting took place and our event hosts demanded that Valerie never come by our campsite again. Good news is that she never did and the harassment stopped but it ruined 2 days of our 4-day, 3-night camping trip. To make matters worse, some of our members were so appalled by the treatment that they left on the 2nd day and almost our entire group left on the 3rd as they didn't want to deal with the harassment any longer. This type of behavior is unacceptable and our group is most likely never to return to these camp grounds again. I will be personally putting this review on every media outlet I am able to so other campers will be warned of the harassment and unprofessionalism displayed by the camp host at Houston Mesa Campgrounds. read more

Convenient nice campground just outside Payson Az. Sites very clean with lots of shade. Hosts were wonderful.

We reserved a spot for a large group for memorial day weekend. The reservation was messed up and we had to occupy three camp sites instead on one group site. Before our trip we were informed of the fire restrictions but we were informed that propane fire pits would be acceptable. After we arrived and started our weekend festivities, things went well. Around 8:30pm, we were approached by the camp host, Valerie. In an angry voice, she told us that she was going to call the cops and we would be fined $5000 for the fire. We told her that the fire was propane, and we were informed that it was ok. Then she told us that we were being too loud, and we had to turn our music down and be quiet or she would call the cops in our party. As it wasn't 10pm yet, we informed her that we would abide by the rules. The next day, we were told that we would not be allowed to play our music, and we had also violated the rules on food storage. After our group leader negotiated with Valerie we were "allowed" to resume as usual. This experience was very off putting, and I don't think we'll ever go back...at least I won't. read more

The horse campground is immaculate and the hosts are professional and friendly. We had 15 of us camping at multiple horse and regular campground sites over the weekend. Every site had two sturdy stalls amongst the trees for shade. Unfortunately the forest is closed due to extreme fire danger but we were able to ride around the campground loops for some training and the horses were out of the heat for a couple of days. The bathrooms were immaculate and there is water available nearby to fill horse buckets. The awesome campground hosts were continually raking, cleaning and reminded us about not creating a fire hazard or bear hazard. They were fun and informative. The campground is quiet but located minutes to town so you can go in for a nice dinner or to grab some groceries if needed. We will be back when the forest opens as it has great trail access and a fantastic group site to rent as well. Closest campground to metro Phoenix with cooler weather. Great job by campground hosts for ensuring we had a clean, safe fun atmosphere! We appreciate them policing the rif raf so all can enjoy the campground. Showers are available across the road in non horse campgrounds. read more

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Had a great time this place is so clean. We stayed across from the main campground at the horse camp very spacious sites. Great recreation in every direction hiking and for our ATV's. Valerie the camp host was fantastic! Will definitely use this camp ground again. read more