Christopher Creek, near Payson, Arizona, is a charming campground that offers a peaceful escape in the heart of [Tonto National Forest](https://thedyrt.com/camping/arizona/near/tonto-national-forest). With its creekside campsites, visitors can enjoy the soothing sounds of flowing water while soaking in the beauty of the surrounding pine forest.

The campground provides essential amenities like drinking water and vault toilets, making it a comfortable choice for both tent and RV campers. Many guests have praised the clean facilities and friendly camp hosts, creating a welcoming atmosphere. One camper noted, “The staff is friendly but not intrusive, the campsites are clean, and spaced nicely.”

For those eager to explore, there’s a short trail that runs along the creek, perfect for a leisurely stroll. While the hiking options directly from the campground are limited, the stunning views of the Mogollon Rim at sunset are a highlight that shouldn’t be missed. Families will appreciate the nearby creek, where kids can play and catch crawdads, adding to the fun of camping.

Keep in mind that the sites can feel a bit snug, especially on weekends when the campground fills up. However, mid-week visits offer a more secluded experience, allowing you to truly unwind in nature. Whether you’re looking for a quick getaway or a longer stay, Christopher Creek is a delightful spot to reconnect with the great outdoors.

## Overview

 With an elevation over a mile-high (5640 ft), Christopher Creek Campground's crisp, fresh air and vibrant views are a joy to behold. The facility is tucked along the banks of the spring-fed Christopher Creek, which passes just below the Mogollon Rim. This campground is normally opens April-November. The Mogollon Rim, pronounced by locals as \"muggy-own,\" is a 200-mile long cliff in northern Arizona that ranges between 5,000 and 7,000 ft in elevation. The unique landscape was created by extreme erosion and faulting that has sculpted spectacular canyons and buttes. The rim serves as the geographical dividing line between the cool high country above and the hot, dry desert below. Christopher Creek is located in the desert portion, but is balanced by the cool waters of the creek and forested surroundings.
## Recreation

 After a day of exploring the natural beauty of Rim Country, sit back and relax in the shaded Ponderosa Pine Forest. Each spring, the creek is stocked with rainbow trout, allowing anglers the opportunity to cast their hearts out for rainbows as well as brook and brown trout.
## Facilities

 The family-friendly campground has 43 sites on both sides of the creek, plus a group site that accommodates a maximum of 25 people. Most sites in this campground are reservable with only a few First come First serve sites, for first-come-first-served customers with payment completed using the on-site fee machine. No cash is accepted.
## Natural Features

 Christopher Creek provides creek side dwelling in Tonto National Forest, at the base of the Mogollon Rim. Sites are surrounded by ponderosa pines, junipers, oaks and manzanita evergreen shrubs. 
## Contact Info

 For facility specific information, please call (928) 474-7900. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The small town of Christopher Creek is just a short drive away and offers a few restaurant options for those who tire of cooking at the campground.. A series of lakes called the Rim Country Lakes are about a 10 minute drive east. Woods Canyon Lake is one of the most popular recreational lakes in the state and offers options for boating as well as a nature trail that loops around the lake's perimeter.

Christopher Creek

Are you in need of a campground near Kohls Ranch, AZ? Kohls Ranch is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Discover great camping spots near Kohls Ranch, reviewed by campers like you.

Kohls Ranch

The Best Camping Near Kohls Ranch, Arizona

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!

Family Fun!

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.

Great Little Spot 

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!

Forest Fire Season

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).

Favorite local campground

-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

Temperate, soothing sounds from the crawdads filled creek, great for groups

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

Beautiful creek

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.

Very Cute and close to the creek

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!

Almost perfect...

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.

Great spot along the river

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. 

Small 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. 

Friendly and beautiful, but busy

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, &amp; 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&amp;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. 

Great spot for families!

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.

Good campsite, short drive from Phoenix

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 :)

Amazing location 

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.

Beautiful little campground with super friendly staff :)

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. 

Clean bathrooms & nice hosts!

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!

Great Campsite

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

River Camping

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. 

PACK OUT YOUR TRASH

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.

Lovely creekside stay

This campground was a great find. It’s not very big, but tucked up against a creek &amp; under the pines. Great spot to unwind and reconnect. 

Beautiful little gem

This campground is reservable on Rec.gov and you can get sites half price with your Lifetime Senior Pass.  It's situated right off the highway just below the Mogollon Rim.  It's nicely wooded so plenty of shade is available.  A lot of the sites, mine included, are situated along the creek.  (the site with my name was really close to the pit bathroom and the smell was intolerable.-fortunately the ranger let me change sites)  The sites were dirt.  I was tent camping and we did get some rain but not enough to cause a mud issue.  All sites have the standard table and fire ring.  Normally they have water but when I was there the water pump was broken so I had to drive to another campground to get water.  There are no showers.  There wasn't a lot of privacy but the sites were far enough apart to make you feel you had plenty of space.  This seems to be the case with National Forest campgrounds.  There are multiple hiking trails close by and supplies available in the little town of Christopher Creek.

Photos of Christopher Creek

Real photos from real campers