Windy Hill Campground

Gorgeous location and more spaced out than other campgrounds in the area (we stayed at the first loop). Be aware that if you have Verizon you may have bars but no LTE and that access and senior passes don’t work for double sites - also the host made rude remarks to other campers about my partner and I not being seniors because her access pass (she’s very visibly disabled) showed automatically as “senior” when we paid. Bathrooms are clean but bring your own soap!

For every good thing there was a bad. We stayed at Coyote Loop. You can’t fish from the shore because all the dead trees that go out about 10 feet along the entire shore (awesome if you have a boat; I guess). I expected lots of generators and the sound that it makes, myself included. I didn’t expect three campsites to be taken up by the same group of people and here F-bombs all night till 10 o’clock. Then people turn high power lamps on you and everyone for long periods of time because they can afford expensive toys but not a simple flashlight. It was peaceful at 10:00pm and we could hear the lake wildlife. Maybe not a good place to take children. There seem to be one super secret place to dump your trailer water, grey & black. While you can dump there for free; you cannot find it without a treasure map, a devining rod, and a map of the stars. Don’t bother asking the site Camp Host because his directions were equally as cryptic; if you can find them at all. I and to wait to get home and map it so here it is:

PQJV+2J Tonto Basin, Arizona

I’m sure that for some, this is their favorite camping area, someplace to return to each and every spring with the family. It has everything one needs to get away from the valley, and out onto the lake for some motorized boating. 

The smallish spaced campsites are perfect for getting together with friends, yet large enough to accommodate big RV’s. As a plus, the noise of generators from every other campsite, means that if your group gets a little loud nobody will likely notice. Despite the area’s abundance of sunshine, making it perfect to run your camping rig on solar, this place takes the prize for the most generator impacted site that we’ve ever stayed in our lifetimes, which is saying something.  If you like that sort of thing, or can’t hear, this is your place and these are your people. I went for a 45-minute walk around the campground, and counted 13 different generators all going at different frequencies. It was not unlike a walk in a pleasant park while the maintenance staff gather all the leaves with the power of multiple leaf blowers. Despite this trend to all things big and gas-powered, the area is indeed lovely. 

We enjoyed a splendid paddle out on the water near sundown, after many power boats were already back up on their trailers. Across the road, lies the Tonto National Monument which shows off some terrific examples of early Puebloan cliff dwellings. The mountains surrounding the area are stunning, and there are some fantastic hiking trails in the area. 

The closest stores can be found at the either ends of the lake, a gas station and Marina store/ restaurant. Their selection is low and inversely proportional to the prices. Within 30 minutes to the north and south, respectively, lie the towns of Payson, and Globe where you can find any kind of supplies you need without the price gouging.