Bear Flat Campground

This is a very small campground right next to a residential area with a sign situated next to it saying no camping beyond this point. Camping here is allowed but be respectful of the private road and give the residential area some space.

From your camp site you can hear the rumbling of tonto creek which is just perfect for relaxing into sleep. There was just about zero traffic. Bring your fishing gear as the creek has lots of trout! You will have to walk to the larger part of the stream near residential area to fish but based on posted signs that is allowed. They just ask that if fishing or hiking you do so along the creek.

There aren’t really any atv trails near by but it is a lovely escape from the Phoenix heat. And near enough to Payson so you can pack up and get a cooked breakfast if you want to.

The road is not suitable for rvs. We took a F350 and a trailer with our quads and it was fine. Small pop up campers would work too but the site really is best suited to tents.

Bear flat is situated right on Tonto Creek. First thing you should know, this is a day use only site. There is no overnight camping at bear flat Campground!

We intended on camping there with our pop up and luckily ran into a local at the top of FR Rd 405A on our way down. She told us that it was day use and that the road down is a one way, very steep and winding road, not trailer friendly. SO glad we talked to her first!

We ended up setting up camp at one of the many dispersed sites along FR Rd 405 which actually turned out to be great. There wasn’t a ton of traffic and there are so many pines that we had plenty of shade. Each dispersed site had a fire pit only.

The next morning we drove down to Bear Flat Campground. The drive is one lane and very steep. Watch for oncoming traffic and be ready to squeeze by another car. Once down, it is beautiful. The Tonto Creek literally runs right through the site. This was a great place for our family to play in the water.

There are a few cabins very near by and although I enjoyed this spot, I had that feeling like I was in someone’s backyard.

Overall. We had a great time getting out of the valley heat for a couple days but we were slightly disappointed that we couldn’t camp as close to the water as we planned.

We arrived late on a Friday night and there were several open campsites still available. The campsites are fairly large with fire pits and soft ground for tents. The fishing by the river is fabulous and we caught quite a few nice size trout. Overall this campground is a great experience with much to offer for everyone of all ages.