This park is so nice! Nice lake, cute playground and spacious grassy areas to walk your dogs. There…read moreare geese and ducks that are really cute. The park is covered in all kinds of beautiful trees and wildlife. There are benches that were donated and a wonderful memorial for the troops throughout all of American history wars. A special tribute to each soldier who died and also the lost or missing in war. Very thoughtful and patriotic. The restrooms were actually very impressive. I walked in on a snowy day and was pleasantly surprised with a well lit, clean and warm facility. It is obvious they take pride here at Green Valley Park in Payson Arizona :)

This place is magical! You have to stop her if in Payson I love bringing my little dog! I love…read moreseeing the ducks swimming in the water. I enjoy going out on the pier and being amongst all the fishermen. I just love walking around there and basking in the sun and seeing the beautiful weeping willows and grass!

Man I love coming here! And it's been too long since I did. Over the weekend on Saturday I decided…read morelast moment to drive up to Payson so I could put my feet in the creek and spend some time outdoors enjoying it versus hiding from the Phx heat. I had recently been back visiting the Reno Tahoe area and this gave me the same peaceful feeling of being at water with the blue skies and green trees. Plus all the big puffy white clouds! It was a beautiful drive up, I always like the drive to payson but this time due to all the rains, it's more green than I remember it. Since I went at the last moment with no real plan, I didn't look anything up, and one thing to know is that the Horton Creek Trailhead lot is closed due to construction work so if you go, park at the Derrick Trailhead just down the road, before it. I didn't hike, I just went to sit with my feet in the creek and listen to the soothing water sounds. If you want to hike, the Horton Trail is still open, just not the trailhead parking lot. I got there at 3:30pm and had no issue finding parking. Stayed until 6:30 and had a lovely ride home as it was sunset when I got back. I'll be going back up to cool off again, it was upper 80s when I was there.

Loved this 8 miles round trip trail…read more Easy access by a regular car to the parking. Be sure to arrive early as a parking is limited. We arrived around 7am and it was about a half full. When we were ready to go home around noon, this place was packed. Most part of the trail has tree shades, with nice water sound, I felt pretty cool in the hot summer. Trail is mostly flat. Less than 1,000 feet in elevation gain. Trail has access to the creek throughout, you don't have to hike all 4 miles to enjoy cool water. Bring lots of water. I carried almost a gallon of water with me and I think I consumed 2/3 of them. I saw a camper hiking down in the morning. They said they packed everything including water and spent a night in the woods. That sounded really intriguing, I think I should really thinking about camping here someday.

The Tonto National Forest is a large territory of preserved lands northeast of Phoenix ideally…read moresuited for recreation. There is a lifetime of official and unofficial trails in the Forest. Most of them are in the desert, with little shade and oppressive heat, but if you live in Arizona that probably doesn't stop you. Based on its size and preservation, there are stunning vistas of the Forest even a short drive from the Phoenix area. Describing it as a "forest" is a deceptive term. It is more of a National Desert. Acknowledging that point does not make it a less impressive place to explore. Arguably, the panoramic views are even more impressive in the desert because there are no trees blocking your line of sight. One of the more surprising aspects of the forest is how few Arizona citizens take advantage of the recreation opportunities. Phoenix is a megacity, but if drive 30 minutes away, you can have a 10 mile trail all to yourself. This means either Phoenix citizens are not into the outdoors or there are enough trails for everyone to spread out. One trail in particular that my brother, wife, and I were able to explore by ourselves was the Ballantine Trail. It's halfway between Mesa and Payson on highway 87. The first couple of miles suffered significant burn damage a year earlier. This was quite disappointing at first. As we continued hiking, we were able to appreciate the signs of transition from burned and blackened landscape to fresh grass and bush rejuvenation. The return hike along the side of the mountain, rather than over the top, yielded one of the most stunning views of grass and saguaro cacti that I have seen.

I was in town in Show Low staying at my friend's place and decided to take my dog to Tonto National…read moreForest (specifically the two sixty trail area) so we could enjoy the weekend day. It was an hour ride, but I think it was so worth it! My dog really enjoyed it! What I loved was that the facility and trail were clean and well maintained. There was a restroom station and a marker/direction for a subtrail at the entrance from a parking lot. The trail itself was clear and not crowded at all. There were just 2 other people we met during a weekday late morning during our visit for an hour there. My dog really enjoyed roaming around the trail and we loved that we didn't see any trash at all. While the trail was a bit unleveled, the path was clear! Bonus too that it was a free hike/walk for us, including parking! The only minus was that there was no cell phone signal (T-mobile/Mint Mobile), so I was very wary that we might get lost if we didn't keep track of ourselves well enough..so we mostly stayed on the trail and didn't go in too far. But...it is a wonderful place to enjoy the nature for sure!

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is beautiful, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to finally check it…read moreout! It costs $10/person and you can pay at the entrance booth with cash or go inside to pay with card. We did not hike down to the creek/observation bridge but will definitely check it out on another visit. There are four easily labeled viewpoints that show different angles of the bridge. There was a lot of wildlife when we went and we even got to see a Coati! This place is great, definitely check it out.

Why it is $10 PER PERSON for a park that isn't that big and only has a few trails? And why do the…read moretrails close at 4pm? At least during the months where the sun doesn't set that early, the park should stay open past 5. Anyway, my mom, dad, and I stopped here around 3 on a Friday in early October. There were several different parking lots to choose from with plenty of spaces. There weren't that many people there but there were quite a few groups for them supposedly closing in less than an hour. Even at 3:45 there were still a decent amount of cars in the various lots. The actual natural bridge was pretty cool to see. The waterfall was interesting in that it was many trickles combined to form a "waterfall." I just wish my mom and I weren't experiencing leg/hip injuries that prevented us from doing the couple strenuous trails that we so would've done had it not be for our ongoing pain issues. I really would've liked to do the Gowan trail. Alas. We loved how each trail was nicely marked and there were even arrows painted on the rocks down in the canyon part. Way to go, Arizona!

Over Memorial Day weekend we were on the quest to play in as many parks as possible. When we…read morestopped for lunch in Payson I went on Yelp! to find a park to play in before driving back down to Phoenix so my daughter could get out and play. When we first drove up to the park, we went to the older swing set (not shown in the photo) and were a little let down because it wasn't kept up very well and pieces of the play equipment were broken. When we walked around and up the hill we found the nicer playground with better looking and more updated equipment! It was so fun even I got out on it and played. It looks like a really great neighborhood park that was very busy with baseball tournaments. We would definitely stop by the next time we are in town.

We had a phenomenal hike here. This park is easy to find, has great views, and the hikes aren't too…read morehard physically. Be sure to download AllTrails and track/rate your hike! Decent amount of parking and a variety of sports courts as well. Payson's such a fun spot to get in touch with nature.

People really need to be better educated on the permit process and the strict requirements that are…read morenow being enforced. We had our permit that one of our husbands printed for us but since he was not in vehicle, they would not allow us to enter!! Worse than our problem were 2 women in thier turn around lot at thier gate and those 2 women were still stranded in the heat nearly 6 hours later. We the park rangers failed to relay a hugely important message to those ladies about thier spare tire being In the middle of the road 10 miles back !! Again a huge disappointment for those park employees who witnessed these women being stranded, and we feel with 3 employees and 2 trucks could have easily assisted these women or at the very least let them know where thier spare was located ! We were hugely inconvenienced by driving back several miles to pile into one car as the option they offered us, but these poor ladies we believe were clearly suffering unnecessary while not one of those employees told them where thier spare was located or possibly offered to get it for them .

FYI: If you're planning to go during the government shutdown, you can't drive all the way to the…read moreparking lot -- it's about an 8-mile hike (a lot of it on gravel). But honestly, it's worth every step! Just when you think you've reached the falls... you haven't. Keep going! The road in is pure washboard -- about 13 miles of bump city -- so make sure you have a 4-wheel drive and that nothing inside your car is loose. Fossil Creek is absolutely stunning, and bonus -- no permit needed after October 1st. The other thing says this trail is easy. No, it's not to be careful if you're taking somebody elderly over that doesn't have good mobility because there's some rocks you had a climb and what not also make sure you take plenty of water to drink and a little snack everything you pack in your pack. I would also suggest leaving the house by three 330. No later you don't wanna be hiking in the pitch dark.

Overcrowded. People leaving trash and playing loud music. No chance of relaxing. Parking is $10…read morefor day use. Kids swimming next to people fishing. Every inch of southern shoreline is packed. Get a tetanus shot. No chance of going barefoot.

Have not been here for many years. Enjoyed an early morning weekday fishing trip. Lots of camping…read moresites available. Parked near the boat ramp and convenience store that has reopened. Got some tips on bait and purchased a few more lures. A couple of small snow packs still visible, and a few snow flakes in the morning. Caught and released a nice rainbow trout. Saw a bald eagle fly by and enjoyed the scenery. Had lunch near a scenic outlook. Place is likely crowded on weekends but that is expected, given the location and beauty of this place.

Too expensive! $15 to get in and the trails aren't even that long. It was $10 just a year ago…read more Also, $2 for a map - absolutely bonkers charging money for a piece of paper when there's a map once you get inside. We paid $15 to sit at a picnic table and hiked a quarter mile :/

Second time being here, so lovely! So glad we got a nice spot on a Friday afternoon during the…read moresummer as I heard it can be very busy and if they're full they'll turn you away. We took our 3 pups to walk around and chill by the water for a few hours and it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Highly recommend! Bring some beach or camping chairs and or a hammock!

What a blast! We had a great time here this past Wednesday. The park opened up at 1 PM and we…read moreplayed for several hours. It's been a dry winter so all of the "snow" here is made with machines. There are many different tubing slopes and they were SO much fun! Not all of the tubing slopes were open but there was still plenty available and no wait times for us. Our 4 year old had a blast!! There are food trucks available or you can bring in your own food and drinks. Gear is also available for purchase (think gloves, etc). There is one kiddie slope (orange color) for the little ones -- this is the only slope that can be used for double riding in a tube. Overall an amazing experience for us! Would absolutely recommend and be back for more snow fun!

There is activities for all here. We had fun riding our bikes on the trails. Great place to being…read moreyour family.

Beautiful place to hike Every-time we come to Payson Washington park has become a must visited…read moredestination

We just have returned from another beautiful camping trip outside of Payson at the camping grounds…read moreat the Washington Park trail . This trail will lead you right up to the rim if you have the equipment , endurance and motivation to get to the top. Our family enjoys camping here when the weather allows for campfires. We like this area because: We have a stream/ creek right behind our campsite. We can hike / walk / explore without difficulties The area has primitive campsites We can drive back to Payson if we need something we have forgotten W e can pull a popup trailer right into the woods with little problem The trees provide shade when it's hot or sunny The weather is generally not too extreme from March to November Dogs are tolerated