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    Ponderosa Campground

    4.0 (12 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Mejiakei27 ..

    Pros: Beautiful tall pine trees, quiet camp, clean facilities, coin operated showers, clean toilets, friendly staff, fire pits with a picnic table for each site, bear proof trashcans. Cons: Only 3 out of 6 showers were in service during the weekend I was there. They do not have bear proof lockers for your food, we had to keep our food in the car.

    Ponderosa Campground, simply the best!!!!  Thanks Roy and Bart!
    Carla B.

    This is the best campground in Payson! Very large, pretty private, clean campsites and the campground hosts Roy and Bart are the best! None of the other campgrounds come even close to Ponderosa campground! Looking forward to more trips there! We used to take our children here when they were kids so hadn't been here in about 20 years...we missed it!!!! The only con, as in any campground, are the buffoons who have no campground etiquette and let their monkeys run wild, screaming and yelling and play their music so loud that the whole campground can hear it!!!! Even with the ignorant, we really enjoyed our stay and met some great people while there!!!! Will be making more trips there now that we are camping again!!!!

    Ponderosa campground is beautiful

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    3 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Ponderosa Campground

    Review Highlights - Ponderosa Campground

    So very relaxing, Beth checking on us daily and Bailey and our dog Daisy became fast friends.

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    Tonto National Forest

    Tonto National Forest

    4.6(38 reviews)
    1.6 mi

    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!

    Photos
    Tonto National Forest
    Tonto National Forest
    Tonto National Forest

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    Houston Mesa Campground - By the light of the silvery moon

    Houston Mesa Campground

    3.3(26 reviews)
    1.6 mi

    First of all. When you book for a stay they offer showers and restrooms. Big lie. Restrooms are ok…read morebut 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.

    The showers have been closed since Covid-19, but the restrooms are open and have running water…read more 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.

    Photos
    Houston Mesa Campground - Bear Loop #24

    Bear Loop #24

    Houston Mesa Campground - Mountain Lion Loop, heading towards host site.

    Mountain Lion Loop, heading towards host site.

    Houston Mesa Campground - Information board outside bathrooms.

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    Information board outside bathrooms.

    Aspen Campground

    Aspen Campground

    2.0(1 review)
    1.8 mi

    I brought the family to the Aspen Campground after researching places to camp near Woods Canyon…read moreLake. When I arrived I was greeted with," do you have an orange tag?" I let the host know that I had researched the sites online and that I would like a specific site # that was first come first serve; she quickly advised me snarkily that the website is not up to date or accurate and," we only have 5 sites left... Do you want one of them?" Ok so, they have a website to reserve sites but it's not accurate - got it. I asked the host if I could drive and check out the sites to make sure it is what my family wanted and she said no and that we had to choose a site right now. Who wants to choose a camping spot before looking at it? Regardless, I picked a random one since I didn't have a choice. As I drove through the loops looking for our site, I counted 14 open and available first come sites, which were marked by the giant OPEN tag. Weird that we were told that they only had 5. Lastly on the hosts, I attempted to purchase wood from them twice. We waited both times at the front for over 20 minutes both times and the hosts never came out of their RV. I have a 2 rating due to the close access to the lake. The campgrounds are for you if: - You dont care about loud noises, music and generators that run all through the night. We finally had some quite around 230am. - Don't mind hosts that are not very available and give inaccurate information. - You don't mind a site where there are no rules. Examples - People flying camera drones into your campsites and people screaming around the camp loop with their ATVs and electric bikes non stop. All this to say that there are far better sites in the area where the hosts really do know how to create a good experience and enforce basic noise rules late at night.

    Ask Aumara - Aumara Saatia Ra., M.A. Ed, CCHt, Reiki Master Teacher, Psychic Reader, Spiritual Counselor.

    Ask Aumara

    5.0(4 reviews)
    36.7 mi

    I met with Aumara mid-December. She is the real deal and a great person. I was having knee pain…read morefor awhile and the pattern of it encouraged me to seek an energy-based healing. I was driving to Sedona and found her name on Yelp (thank you) with great reviews. She was able to see me and I was very grateful for her being so flexible with her schedule. My knee feels much better! During our session I received helpful messages from Aumara and also a gentle message from my spirit guide. Thank you Aumara for an amazing experience! I will always be grateful for your kindness, skills, and gentle manner.

    Aumara is an AMAZING healer. I went to her with terrible pain full body but especially my neck and…read moreshoulders which I over use on a daily basis with my work. It only took 45 minutes and my all over body pain was gone as well as an illness that I was trying to fight off but more importantly that night while at work I worked longer than usual due to ZERO neck and shoulder pain, I have not had zero pain in that area in over 20 years and it is simply gone. When in Sedona you must get a healing session with Aumara as well as a psychic reading which I did after the healing and it was unbelievable accurate. She knew what was going on in my life and had the most amazing insight on how to clear it and move forward it was truly a transformative experience for me....SHE IS A MUST EXPERIENCE IN SEDONA. Thankfully her gift is just as real over the phone so I can continue to work with her which is a true gift to me A.O

    Photos
    Ask Aumara - Soul Connection Studio is a Center for Spiritual Guidance,Teaching, and Healing.

    Soul Connection Studio is a Center for Spiritual Guidance,Teaching, and Healing.

    Ask Aumara - Ask Aumara - Divine Guidance to uplift, inspire, empower, and support all in their awakening.

    Ask Aumara - Divine Guidance to uplift, inspire, empower, and support all in their awakening.

    Ask Aumara

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    Ponderosa Campground - campgrounds - Updated May 2026

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