About Houston Mesa
Number of accommodations: 60
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Open year round
This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.
Sites & Availability
60 Sites Available
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No available sites
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Site Details
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60 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (374)
What Guests Are Saying
Houston Mesa campground offers spacious and clean sites, with friendly and helpful hosts. The location is convenient, providing easy access to nearby amenities and a beautiful natural setting. However, some visitors noted issues with road noise, limited bathroom facilities, and the absence of showers, which impacted their overall experience.
What Guests Are Saying
Houston Mesa campground offers spacious and clean sites, with friendly and helpful hosts. The location is convenient, providing easy access to nearby amenities and a beautiful natural setting. However, some visitors noted issues with road noise, limited bathroom facilities, and the absence of showers, which impacted their overall experience.
Review Summary
Doss P
VerifiedJuly 6, 2023 • Stayed at: 023, Loop: ELK
Been coming to Houston Mesa for years and have always enjoyed the stay. But things have changed. Camp hostess not friendly and the facilities were never cleaned or toilet paper replenished. Bathrooms had grim that had built up over time. Really disappointing, so moving on.
Denny G
VerifiedJuly 4, 2023 • Stayed at: 068, Loop: MOUN
This used to be one of our favorite campgrounds but reservation tags are no longer used in the campsite. We drive a cabover camper and because there was not a tag when we went to town for dinner someone was in our site when we came back. Luckily it was a slow time and we just went to sleep in a vacant spot but could have been a mess if campground is full.
Jim V
VerifiedJuly 1, 2023 • Stayed at: Group Site 2, Loop: Fox
Great toilets, accessible water, nice tent sites and covered eating areas.
Dane T
VerifiedJune 29, 2023 • Stayed at: 041, Loop: BEAR
The only complaint we have is that the showers aren't open. We won't stay longer than one night or bring our grandkids until the showers are opened.
Anaberta V
VerifiedJune 19, 2023 • Stayed at: 053, Loop: BEAR
There’s room to improve the cleanliness of the bathrooms and the campsites. It’s convenient located close to town. Good place for first time campers!
Susan L
VerifiedJune 12, 2023 • Stayed at: 056, Loop: BEAR
1) Our campsite was not clean. Upon arrival, we picked up a plastic water bottle, a large plastic ice bag, and a myriad of small papers and trash. Ashes in the fire pit from the previous guests had not been removed either.
2) The bathroom was not clean. We did not see anyone clean or disinfect it during our two days there. I myself picked up alot of toilet paper on the floor, a plastic bottle, cleaned up toothpaste in the sink, and so on.
3) Your website advertises that showers are available at Houston Mesa. The showers were all marked "closed" while we were there. This is false advertising. We were very disappointed.
4) No one enforced the 10pm noise deadline. We like Campsite #21, but particularly on our second night, the group next to us was noisy until 1:30 am, which is not fair to us. They were laughing and talking loudly as if they were the only guests at the campground. I too had to ask them to turn down their music in the afternoon because it was quite loud. We're fine with ordinary noise and music and guests having a good time, but this behavior was disrespectful to their neighbors.
Conclusion: From our experiences and disappointment this time, we will not return to Houston Mesa. We were very happy to leave on Saturday, June 5, and again, we will not return.
Marcela B
VerifiedJune 7, 2023 • Stayed at: 060, Loop: MOUN
We had a great time there. Only problem we had there was, the showers were closed for the season. Not sure exactly why. 😢
Rebecca S
VerifiedJune 6, 2023 • Stayed at: 071, Loop: MOUN
This was our first-time tent camping here. It was actually are really nice, semi-private site, we were able to pitch the tent tucked under the trees for shade. The bathroom was clean & always stocked with toilet paper. There was some traffic noise but with music and fire crackling in the pit, we barely noticed. We will definitely consider camping here again.
Mike G
VerifiedJune 2, 2023 • Stayed at: 028, Loop: MULE
Nicely shaded spot at 28. I had a very relaxing 5 days at the campsite. Bathrooms were the cleanest I've ever seen at a campground. The gate to the trailhead is a little sketchy.
Road noise is my only complaint, but I went to this campground for its proximity to Payson. I knew what I was getting into.
Elizabeth W
VerifiedMay 29, 2023 • Stayed at: 067, Loop: MOUN
Nice private spots. Road noise is a bit much sometimes.
Location Houston Mesa
Address:
2100 Houston Mesa Rd
Payson, AZ, 85541
United States
From Payson, Arizona, go north for 1 mile to the junction of Highway 87 (Beeline Highway) and Forest Road 199 (Houston Mesa Road). Turn right (east) onto Forest Road 199 for .10 miles. The campground is on the north side of Houston Mesa Road.
Latitude & Longitude: 34.27 / -111.314
Elevation: 1546 feet
Policies & Rules
| Category | About |
|---|---|
| General |
Extra vehicle charge of $8 per night is required. Fee can be bundled with online reservation or purchased on-site at fee machine. |
| General |
No firewood sales available at campground. Plan to purchase ahead of time. |
| General |
Check in time is 2:00pm and check out time is 11:00am. Quiet Hours are from 10:00pm to 6:00am. |
| General |
Fireworks are always prohibited on National Forest Land. |
| General |
For first come first serve sites, you must physically arrive at the campground to see if the campsite is available. There is no guarantee this site will be available to purchase upon your arrival. |
| General |
Campers who reserve sites 7 - 18 in Horse Camp (Mule Loop) are required to have horses or mules present. You do not need to have any to use sites 2 - 6 and 19 - 30 |