Ponderosa Campground

Has bathroom, No electric, dog friendly, our site C3 had some broken black top, about 13 mi outside of Payson. I will love to go back. We hiked the fire road just outside of the campground.

Visited there in April 2026 for three nights. The first night the camp was mostly empty and was peaceful except for a little bit of road noise. The second and third nights, which were Friday and Saturday night. The campground filled up with many people bringing with them generators and loud music, also on Saturday night, a large family with five children arrived and picked the campsite right next to ours. Before they even had set up, They had unloaded several toys off of the trailer, including a quad and turned all five kids loose with no supervision. They rode the quads up and down the road continuously until dark and even through our campsite while they blasted their music. The camp host came by three separate times and talked to them, but obviously never stopped them. As soon as it started to get a little dark, they fired up an old, noisy, smelly generator and ran it the entire night. The noise never stopped from that campsite and unfortunately the host did nothing to stop that if. First thing in the morning the kids, all under 10 were driving the quad again. If you’re looking for an enjoyable camping trip I advise finding somewhere else to stay.

We were looking for a quick Saturday night camp outing in our Airstream and this looked both convenient to get to and the reviews weren't bad. The campground is geared more towards intro-to-tent-camping types. Probably good for kids, with bathrooms and water being a nice convenience. The sites aren't super well maintained and the spots to park vehicles are pretty small and uneven. I wouldn't drag anything bigger than a 20 ft trailer up here. Tent camping with kids tho? You're golden. The road noise isn't bad in D loop. Pavement from your doorstep in Phoenix to your site makes it easy to access. Payson is 15 mins away. Quick and easy getaway.

Less crowded here, open spaces , bathrooms are not the cleanest, running water. No rivers flowing through but it is a good place to camp. Hosts drives multiple times & not too social . Go pick your spot then go to the machine box and book it, numbers only !! No letters. Place ticket on your dash and the other copy on your spot . Bathroom is near by A12!!, second camping trip spot D3 is huge and very private !! The hosts rents propane fire pits $40

Tall mature pinetrees. Very quiet.
Will be full this weekend. Very nice to be camping in your own personal campgrounds. Camp hosts were incredible. He jump started my battery because of the overnight freezing weather. So I could leave on-time. All the camp hosts were friendly and helpful. My camping experiences were amazing and informative. The camp hosts were helpful and informative without being busy bodies. Plan on an extended stay when I come back from camping in Colorado, My amazing home state. Have always enjoyed the very friendly locals. Just too old for the cold. I miss the winters of boarding and skiing. Don't miss moving snow in the winter.
Just another wonderful spring day.