Best Tent Camping near Clay Springs, AZ

We read one review on this campground and it stated the campground was dirt. We pulled up and were taken away by the beauty. So many trees and beautiful campsites. With only 16 campsites, you have your own piece of camping paradise. There is 2 vaulted toilets, very well maintain, and new. There is an easy trail that runs along the campground, maybe a mile and half, easy walk. You can use wood from the forrest or buy some from the host. We did tent camp and I wish we would of brought a rake to remove rocks from our tent site. Our tent is 11ft and fit wonderfully! Plenty of space to put up tent,bbq grill, stove, and have your vehicle along side of you. There are Rv sites there as well. In our spot you could of easily placed a pop up and move it in. There is water at the host area, no cost. Before you get to the campsite there is a general store that has many items if you forgot something. We did wonder down to go find the graces of Scott Stott and Wilson, but we were not able to. We followed the GPS and reviews and people stated it was close to the campground. We walked a good 30 minutes and found nothing. We believe it is in a canyon which we did not feel comfortable hiking down. We road out a crazy storm, and the canyons made the thunder sound like a really mad Greek God. If you enjoy some antiques and thrift stores Heber-Overgaard offer some unique and great stores. Black Canyon Lake is just a shirt trip down the road. beautiful to walk around and lots of room to fish. Lake was low when we went. This campground has made it to the list of favorites!

Probably the most beautiful campground in Arizona. Just outside Show Low, in the eastern part of the state, you are nestled in the pine & juniper of the region. Despite being in the middle of a developed area, once in the park, you feel appropriately isolated. We were at a reserved tent site (Osprey 12). All tent sites overlook the lake & a couple of them even have creeks running through them after rain. Visited family on a full hookup site & while the pads are huge, it seemed like you were more exposed to your neighbors. The tent loops all have access to a vault toilet & the middle loop has showers as well (the other loops are still walking distance from showers). There are several day use areas & boat ramps to the lake. Saw (& heard) many different birds & animals. Can't wait to go back.

We love this campground. Place to get out of the AZ heat with full hookups, bathrooms, showers, tent sites. In the pines just a beautiful place. Plan ahead as they are booked most of the time. About 6 months to 1 yr ahead to plan this trip.

After driving some 3 hours from our last destination and exploring the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert in the harsh wind, we were exhausted upon pulling into our campsite at Holbrook Petrified Forest KOA. Seeing how windburn we were from the journey, we were offered an upgraded "super tent" site upon our arrival for only a $5.00 charge. The appeal was such that we jumped on the opportunity.

To those unfamiliar with KOA campsites, they offer a variety of options for campers from primitive camping to improved campsites for both tents and rv campers. Super tent sites include electricity and runnin water as well as private yard area for campers. At this particular site it offered a wind shield fence and private treed yard which made for a much more camp friendly experience after the long day.

We had neighbors on the other super tent site which were delightful and we greatly enjoyed conversations with them throughout the evening. The campground was filled with friendly faces! 

Perhaps one of the most exciting features for us after such a long cold journey from our previous campsite was the amenities throughout the grounds which included a cook station open to the public and heated bathroom and shower facilities. The grounds were well kept and easy to navigate by foot.

In the evenings and mornings there was a cook on duty which offered everything from hot dogs to New York strip in the evening and all you can eat pancakes or other breakfast items.

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All in all we give this site a 5 of 5 Bunnies because of the cleanliness, friendliness and overall amenities.  There were no real areas of improvement we could see to make our stay better!

Very nice clean rv park with well spaced campsites. Have yet to use the vault toilets or dumpsters so no opinion yet. Reserve and FFS sites there is a dumpsite and water, and some of the sites have electric. There are tent sites as well. Having been here through the afternoon/evening, I have to add that this campground is a bit noisy with hwy traffic and pets. I have to add that the staff here are very nice and helpful.

Awesome scenery. But the camp ground can get very busy. The site are ok in size but some sites are very close together. There are showers and flush toilets if you are into that. To get to the lake from the tent sites you have to climb down a pretty steep rocky hill or drive to the day use area. We fish for catfish and have caught a few here but also got skunked a few times. I've stayed here June July and October. Dont really recommend fall really windy cold and rainy. But not not many campers that time of the year.

Located very close to Show Low and right on the Lake - this campground is big and amazing..! Also has a broad selection of campsites ranging from simple tent camping all the way up to large sites with full hook ups for RV's and travel trailers. The views are amazing at all the sites taking in the lake. Lots to do in the water here that's for sure..!

Campsite is clean and very easy to reserve ahead of time on the supported website which is very easy to use and see all the items open.

Extra bonus for this Campground, should you need to, you can cancel your reservation up to 1-2 days out.

Solo camping experience, first timer. Went on a Sunday and tent camped one night. Scoped the site out first and found a lot of great options available. There were still plenty of people up there that I wasn't totally alone, but enough sites opened up that there was a good selection. I opted for one right on the rim itself. The hosts were there and there were clean supplied vault toilets within a minute drive. Went for a hike at Woods Canyon Lake. Each site was just far enough away that you couldn't really hear each other but you were sort of in sight of people if needed. But still private and very quiet. You can choose between a rim site or go across the street and opt for a forest site. There is cell service.

Since there are no developed campgrounds inside Petrified Forest National Park, you have two options: choose a private campground outside of the park, or grab a permit and set off into the backcountry. We did both during our visit in August 2015.

We were pleasantly surprised with our campsite at the KOA outside of Petrified Forest. Typically, we prefer campgrounds that are more scenic and rustic, but after a few weeks on the road, we enjoyed the amenities (hot showers, coin laundry, wifi, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast) and convenience (less than 30 minutes to the park) of this KOA. We chose the “deluxe” tent site, which, for $2 more than the regular tent site, offered a covered picnic table, hot & cold water, and electricity at the site. The campground was nearly empty at this time of the year, so although the sites are close together, we felt alone. The only downsides would be the less-than-inspiring scenic views and the cramped sites during peak season.

The proximity and position of this campground to the national park allows for easy visiting and minimal backtracking. We’d suggest starting your trip along Highway 40 to the northern Painted Desert Visitor Center to get acquainted with the park, then making your way south and exit near the Rainbow Forest Museum. Simply return to the campground via Highway 180.

Inside the park (north to south), here are the must-sees: the Painted Desert National Historic Landmark (try to time it and attend a free ranger guided tour), the Blue Forest, Jasper Forest (below this overlook was our favorite trail of the park!), Crystal Forest, and the Giant Logs area. Don’t forget to stop at both visitor centers for more information about this fascinating geologic anomaly.

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Petrified Forest)

We booked the last site available so I think with some careful reviewing of site map and asking over the phone about specific needs this is a 5 star spot, but it isn’t particularly pop up friendly. There are primitive tent sites and an assortment of electric + sites. The grounds are gorgeous, lots of space around the lake, so so so very quiet and clean. We have a small pop up. Generally we chose more primitive or small electric only sites. No rigs like ours were in the tent area so not sure if that is an option. Almost ALL the spaces are side by side shared double lots in the cinnamon teal loop. At least 40% - amazing if you’re group camping, but I like my space and privacy. Quiet hours 8pm- 7am. Showers/toilets in each loop. No outlets in bathroom for hair drying etc. showers were cold after minute 2 and each unit was a full bath so also cold and wet. None of this would matter at a cheap site but a hook up is $65/night. Surrounding town is cute with amenities. Visit The House for a meal.

The KOA in Holbrook, AZ, is conveniently located just west of Petrified Forest National Park. A quick 10-minute drive to the SW entrance will reward you with a quiet, easy entrance to the park. From there, you can drive through the park and end up at the main visitor center on the northern end, near the Painted Desert.

This campground has a nice, yet older, playground, a swimming pool (open seasonally), and offers full hookups (including cable for an extra fee), tent sites, and cabins. The "kamping kitchen" is open for cowboy cookouts, including dinner and breakfast (at extra charge), and we sampled their all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, which was the best one our 5-year-old ate on our entire trip! Right near the kitchen is a sampling of petrified wood to get you in the spirit of exploration. The owners are very friendly, and even in June this campground felt uncrowded. Sites are a bit close together, but with our small 17-foot trailer, we had plenty of room, a picnic table, and fire ring. The owners were also helpful about giving directions and suggestions about all the attractions in the area. There is also a laundry room on site.

Bear Canyon campground and lake located off AZ260 north east of payson. Near Woods Canyon lake(larger and more accessible), and Knoll lake(smaller than Bear Canyon)

Bear Canyon campground is easily accessible and free. No reservations. No water/electric hookups. No picnic tables. No trash service-pack it in, pack it out. It will fill up on weekends during the summer as the weather is so temperate. We came up on a weekday and stayed to the beginning of the weekend and it wasn’t too crowded.

Pros: The weather was amazing. High of 75-78 in the day and high 40’s at night. There was a constant breeze which kept it cool and fresh feeling. The lake is a short hike(0.2 miles) from the trailhead. And provides good fishing from the shore. There is plenty of free firewood’s around; just bring a saw and splitting axe. Near the Rim and other lakes (Woods Canyon and Knoll). Pit toilets were a far walk depending on where you camped but they were clean.

Cons: This entire area is very rocky! We have a pop up but I can’t imagine tent camping without an air mattress. Each campsite maybe has a fire pit and that’s it. Boats and Kayaks would be a real challenge to bring down and up as the trail is very steep, rocky, and loose.

Overall, we were disappointed that we were unable to use our kayaks but the weather make up for it and it was a great, relaxing trip.

This is a well known campsite on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona, I remember camping there as a kid and they were one of the only sites that had showers. It is still a nice spot with very large campsites and nice drinking water.  Those are two of the best selling points though as everything else feels run down, from the toilets to the campsites themselves. Was there over the July 4th weekend in 2020 and there was yellow tape on broken items at many campsites. The bathrooms are old and even as just pit toilets, could be improved on. The water spout nearest our site dripped unless properly turned off, resulting in a flooded area and lots of bugs.  Instead of fixing it or posting about how to properly turn it off to prevent the water spoilage, it was also closed off with yellow tape. We stayed in site 71, loop B, which was very large and had tons of great shade trees/space for hammocks. Across from us though was an RV who insisted on running their very loud generator for long periods of time, 6 hours in one stretch until 10pm. While the campground allows for generator use up until 10pm, this was too loud and sounded like a lawn mower was running well into the night. The RV owner even yelled at the campground in a very threatening manner at 10pm one night when multiple people cheered that the generator was off.  The camp hosts advised that generators must be below 85 decibels but never returned to test it and most of the time, appeared to be socializing with the offender, even though multiple people complained. It's understandable that tenter's and RV campers have different priorities but there should still be a level of respect between the two groups so that peace and respect an be maintained. I for one wouldn't mind seeing large campgrounds such as this one to have RV only sections so that their additional devices do not disturb those of us who enjoy the peace and quiet of tent camping. Its location is stellar, right by Woods Canyon Lake and perfect elevation to escape the heat.  Beware favoritism though with camp hosts. They also were not enforcing the social distancing rules listed on their own website, to advise that you are not allowed to socialize with other campsites and one family per campsite.  One pair of camp hosts were walking around each evening having drinks at various campsites.  Sad to see at this stage of a public health crises.