Christopher Creek

We stopped at Christopher Creek in April because the campsites we had planned to go to by the Mogollon Rim were still closed (snow). We snagged a FCFS creekside campsite mid-week and the campground was basically empty! It was beautiful and peaceful. Vault toilets were OK. Drinking water available. There is only one trail from the campsite that runs along the creek. The trail from the campground is (across the creek) pretty short, but you can cross the bridge back to the first loop and go further along the creek. It isn't a maintained trail so you have to look for it a bit. We had a view of the Mogollon Rim from our campsite that really showed up as the sun was setting. It was pretty great! Limited hiking from the campground is why 4 stars instead of 5. Also, this is not a place for big rigs. Very tight quarters in the loop we were in. The sites are basically wide spots in the road.

Went to the Christopher Creek side without reserved spaces- near trailhead. This is a go-to spot for us and we love the proximity to the creek. Most recently went up just after 4th of July to find the area trashed. Spent most of our time in camp picking up broken glass, plastic bottle caps, cigarette butts, and beer caps. If you are camping where there aren’t amenities like trash cans, be prepared to pack out your own trash. Planning on drinking? Canned drinks are a better option for camping than glass containers.

Beautiful and cold. W love it and will be back! We saw cow.

Great campsite with awesome amenities. I stayed in just a tent but there was drinking water and perfectly acceptable toilets available. The site was equipped with a fireplace/cooking grate as well as a grill and large stone table. During the week there was hardly anyone there. However, one the weekend it gets packed and you notice how close the sites are together. It’s also not very far off the main highway so traffic noise was noticeable at night. Easy access to superb recreational sites in the area though!

The campsites are very close. You can hear each other’s conversations. We had a decent stay but it was like being in the city with your neighbors less than a stones throw away.

When I want an easy, friendly campground with great hikes and plenty of pine forest, I like to come here. The staff is friendly but not intrusive, the campsites are clean, and spaced nicely. I had a really great time camping here.

This place during the week was perfect to stay at! I hear the weekends can get crowded but, I took my dog here and it was very secluded on a Tuesday-Thursday and the camp host was veg friendly. My dog isn’t good with strangers coming towards him so he slowly went to him and helped us out by his calm demeanor! The camp host at both loops were very calm. Please clean up after your campsite. I hear that people can be slobs on the weekends so keep your place clean! Don’t leave extra work for the camp hosts! Take care of Mother Nature :)

This is a good campsite just a short drive from Phoenix.  Campsites are on the smaller side and close to each other so would recommend mid-week camping over weekend. About half of the sites were closed though, not sure if due to Covid-19 or for repair.  Clean bathrooms that had motion sensor lights for night time use.  Clean drinking water and easy access to trash receptacles. Most camp sites sit either on the side of the hill, barely room for a tent, or right near the creek. The creek is nice and the water refreshing when it's warm out. There is a lot of bear activity in the area due to the creek so have to be careful and no leave anything out.

Stayed on Loop B, which is further from the road, though you will still get some noise.  Loop A was half the size of Loop B so be prepared to be even closer to neighbors is booking there. This is a very popular location and almost every site is reservation required.  Would recommend they do a minimum night stay on weekends though as noticed some people coming for only night, which meant a lot of traffic each day.  Sites were clean and the camp hosts in Loop B were very friendly. On my last night, it rained for nearly 4 hours. The next morning when packing up to head home, I realized that my large under tent tarp was trashed and one of the camp hosts told me to leave it where it was and he would make sure to take care of it.  Saved me a messy mud covered trip to the dumpster. 

Would stay here again, great value for such a short drive. Also had full cell phone and internet reception the entire time. Stayed in spot 27 which was one of the large camp sites though the parking spot was far from the table/fire pit. Spots 22, 23, 26, 28 and 33 in Loop B all looked nice.  Please note, you cannot see the creek from your camp site.  The creek sits below a small embankment and you have to walk down to it.  

Only improvement I can think of it to lay down better paths to walk around the campsite.  People generally tend to walk through your site and most of the ground was sand/dirt.  Would have been nice to have more grass or greenery.

We had a blast at Christopher Creek Campground! The kids played in the creek all day and caught hundreds of crawdads. We even took a day and went to Willow Springs lake , which was only a 15 minute drive. We had site 1,2, & 8 blocked for our family members. 8 was super spacious, right near the bathroom and the creek. We loved waking up to the creek every morning. The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because of the issues we had with campsite 1&2. We reserved the spots because we had travel trailers and they said they could accommodate them. 1 definitely didn’t have the space. It is right in the main circle and there is a stairway separating the spots so you can’t pull in. 2 had a 4ft wall that if you were able to park a trailer and not block the road, you could kill yourself trying to get in and out. It took some creativity and convincing the camp host to understand our reasoning for wanting to move, but luckily she was able to come up with a solution. Most of the sites parking was on the road, but 8 was doable. From what we saw, if you have a camper, 13 looked the best. Do your research before booking. Tent camping is no problem at any site.

Really enjoyed a two-night stay at this campsite, ended up in sites 001 and 002 on the A loop. 002 was more spacious but less shady, 001 smaller but more secluded.

The restrooms were clean and the camp host offered firewood right from her cart, extremely convenient!

The only reason for four stars was the parallel-to-camp parking spots and the overall slant of the site itself—rain erosion needs to be addressed and the spots need some TLC with a backhoe to get back to level.

Not a bad site but small. The sites were too small for my truck and Aliner but lots and lots of shade which was cool! It’s also just across the 260 from the village which was neat to visit.

We had a great time camping here. Our kids played in the river all day long. Campsites were clean and the restrooms were ok. We will definitely go back.

This a very beautiful spot off the highway, but far enough you can’t see or hear the traffic. Not too far out of Payson, about 15 minutes. Half of the campground is right next to the creek... only a hundred feet away! Water, bathrooms, and trash cans are provided... but no showers. So prepare to be dirty. Friendly and helpful staff. The campsites are pretty close together unfortunately, but they are one of the bigger campsites I’ve seen compared to other campgrounds. Staff and helpful and friendly and provide firewood for $7 a bundle. They do not sell ice though like some other campgrounds. Overall it’s not our favorite campground but it is nice and would recommend!

Christopher Creek is one of the most gorgeous campgrounds that I've seen. The sites are mostly close to the water and the trees give amazing shade coverage. The downside is that most of the sites are fairly close together and if you have bad neighbors you're going to hear them all night. The creek is stocked but always seems to have little fish so don't plan a huge fish fry.

The campground features unisex bathrooms with vault toilets. There are enough that you rarely ever have problems with lines. There are also water faucets in the campground. The sites are fairly accessible but not very long. They have a trailer length limit and you'll want to follow it.

Loop A is preservable and mostly back in spaces. Loop B is not able to be reserved and a lot of the sites are walk in only. This is a busy campground and is often full to capacity. If you know you won't be there until Friday night or Saturday morning you'll want to be sure you have a reservation. Even then, they are often booked months in advance.

Campground is reasonably maintained. Most campsites a situated near the creek. Also still had a few bars of service.

-It is a large camping space; works great if you camp with a group or is nice if alone

-The creek is filled with crawdads; if you wish to fish them out, a simple slice of protein (bacon, jerky, etc.) tied to a string does the trick

-There are mountains/trails

-Many spots along the creek

-Is not entirely too far from the road unfortunately, but is easy to find

I have been coming here since i was a kid, my parents made sure we come here every year in the summer to enjoy cooler Arizona weather. Now the tradition lives on while my siblings and i bring our families and kids to build new memories. The best part is catching crawdads with our home made fishing poles (which is a step up from when i was a kid and would catch them with cups).

Love Christopher Creek as always.. no fires allowed so it was pretty quiet which was nice. Bathrooms are decent and they have drinking water which makes things easier. Stay by the creek, it's the best spot!

Love this spot. Normally don't need a reservation. Nice little hike by the creek that the dogs love. Campgrounds are set apart enough to have a tad of privacy.

So this campground has it all! The creek, bathrooms, paved roads and space! Site's are clean and well taken care of! Bring firewood or buy it from the host because there is none laying around! The creek is stocked with trout and makes for calming background noise! We will be back for sure! $20 a night per site! Group sites available! Bear boxes at every site and trailers are limited to 22'. No hook ups available but there is a dump station a few miles away at ponderosa!