Best Equestrian Camping near Globe, AZ

Enjoyed three nights and generally had the place to ourselves excluding the host. The host was very nice. The fee station was out of order during our stay, so we paid via daily tickets at a place in Globe on our way out. The campground is right off the highway so there was a fair amount of traffic noise, but not unbearable. Little to do in the way of hikes within walking distance, but we enjoyed walking around the campground and into the woods to the north and east. Verizon service was great the entire time. Sites are well maintained and level. Vault toilets were clean. Each site has a steel fire ring and grate as well as a nice metal picnic table. There a a few group areas with full grills and communal tables. The campground appears fairly new.

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.

Our site was at the top of the loop closest to Mts but furthest from restrooms. It was a 1/3 mile hike to restrooms. Keep that in mind with kids! Our site itself (120) was perfect for one tent and our car. It kind of poked off the main loop away from other neighbors which is why we picked it, very close to the mtb trail and easy access to the trail leading to siphon draw. Very little shade. Actually close to park edge we could see peoples houses to the SE. would camp at this campground again, but for this site would do RV with own restroom. Even in late April early May need EZ up for shade or almost too hot. Fun family stuff at ghost town across the highway.

The have a few electric and water sites, then more dry sites. Also horse corals, its neat being able to walk right into town, well worth a stop, sites are hard dirt, but adequate, spaced a little more apart on the dry sites, the electric/water sites back up to the town small railroad tracks and are much closer together. This is a great alternative when the lost Dutchman is full. 20 dollars to dry camp, but being able to walk into town was pretty cool. Seen roadrunner, quail, and doves, rabbits. A few coyotes howled at the moon at night, which was pretty cool to, off in the distance. I'd stay here again for the convenience.

While working on the Woodbury Wildland Fire here in Arizona my Ambulance was staged at Oak Flat Campground. It was nothing but desert, a few picnic tables, with some trees with nice shade and two bathrooms. It’s probably the least nicest campground I’ve been to. Luckily we weren’t staying there for the night just parked there during the day. It appeared to be free, it was a decent distance off the main highway. If you’re just looking for a place to stop and rest for the night then it’s not a bad spot but I wouldn’t take my family there for a vacation.

Oak Flat is a Forest Service campground in the Tonto National Forest and is about 90 minutes from Phoenix. It's a short distance off a windy mountain highway which means it's easy to get to but traffic can be heard from camp. (Luckily it's not a busy interstate and traffic is pretty infrequent at night.) It's not spectacular location but there are decent views of the oak scrub desert surrounding the camp.

There are a handful of campsites with picnic tables and firepits, plus several flat and open areas for RVs or tent cities. Some sites are open and others have a few shady tree for hammocks, slacklines, and more. There is a bathroom which was clean and well-stocked with toilet paper, despite the campground being quite full when I stayed here for a few nights in April. There is no water, however, so be prepared with as much as you'll need. The elevation is just shy of 4,000' which means nights are typically a few degrees cooler than in the Phoenix area.

There are no hiking trails from the campground but there is a network of dirt roads which take you back into the desert scrub oak forest and through hundreds of bouldering problems of all levels. Just a few miles away, however, the Arizona Trail crosses the highway and heads north into the Superstition Wilderness.

This campsite is pretty basic but is a good place to kill some time, especially given that it's free! It's also a great place to set up your base camp if you want to do some bouldering.