Best Glamping near Heber-Overgaard, AZ

We've camped at Houston Mesa Campground several times and consistently have a fantastic experience. Here's why we give it 5 stars: 

Amazing Staff: The camp hosts are incredibly friendly and helpful, adding to the welcoming atmosphere. 

Spacious Sites: We love the ample space at each campsite, allowing us to park comfortably and spread out for a relaxing stay. Our kids adore playing in the dirt and exploring the trees. 

Nature's Playground: The campground's proximity to swimming holes, hiking trails, and the charming town of Payson provides endless opportunities for exploration and adventure. Serene Setting: The abundance of trees creates a peaceful and shady environment, perfect for escaping the Arizona sun. 

Clean Facilities: The bathrooms are well-maintained and clean, ensuring a comfortable stay. 

Dry Camping Friendly: We appreciate the ability to dry camp at Houston Mesa, making it a budget-friendly option. 

Heads Up: While Verizon service isn't optimal, it's manageable. Additionally, campsites near the freeway can experience some road noise. However, the convenience of having Home Depot and Walmart nearby outweighs these minor drawbacks. Overall, Houston Mesa Campground is a fantastic choice for families and outdoor enthusiasts seeking a comfortable and scenic camping experience. We highly recommend it and will definitely be back soon!

Beautiful retreat in the Arizona forest. Saw many different birds while there, especially hawks. Could smell skunks but none seen at the campground. Was warned by rangers that bears had been spotted in the area, so keep that in mind with food and trash.

Each site I saw had a good amount of space and wasn't right next to other campsites. We were lucky and got shade in our campsite. Plenty of hiking opportunities nearby, and a caves not too far away.

The restroom facilities were clean and included flush toilets. Showers were available for $3 (coin operated).

Gear Review: This contains a review of the LuminAID Packlight 16 and the LuminAID Packlight Spectra, which were provided to me free of charge***

LuminAID's lanterns are a gamechanger. Seriously. They are incredibly lightweight, bright, float when inflated, and most amazingly are solar powered.

The Packlight 16 resembles a pillow and has several settings depending on how bright you want it. I was able to read a book with the Packlight 16 hanging from the ceiling of my tent. Everyday I set it outside to charge for a couple hours and have yet to see it run out of energy, even when left on the dimmest setting for several hours.

The Packlight Spectra is a fun little box shaped lantern that has seven colors (including white) and a color-changing mode (see the video I included in this review). The first color is red, which is nice when you don't want to scrub your nightvision.

I'll definitely be ordering these for my friends. They are great for hiking and the perfect addition to an emergency kit (when folded the Packlight 16 is about the size and weight of an emergency poncho).

Campground Review

Sinkhole Campground is relatively small compared to most of the campgrounds in this area. There are a total of 26 sites, and 13 of them can be reserved online in advance. These sites are spread over 2 loops, and each loop has 1 bathroom building with a men’s and women’s side. There is a campground host at the entrance, as well as an above ground water source (it does not claim to be drinking water but the info on Recreation.gov says it is drinking water). There are also dumpsters, but they have a sign saying it costs $3 per bag of trash to use them.

The bathrooms are nothing fancy, but they were clean, had toilet paper, working locks, air freshener, and they were regularly maintained. The vault toilets have the smallest seats I’ve ever seen, but again… they were clean. There was a “sewage” smell for about 10 feet around the bathroom building, but absolutely no smell inside other than the air freshener.

The campground was laid out in a different way than I’ve seen in any other campground, but it seems to work. Each site from 1-13 (as far as I noticed) was designed to be passenger side facing in a circular design that means you are not walking out to face your neighbor doing the same. We stayed in site 5, which is considered a group site with site 4. Thankfully, we were there with 2 other families, and we had both site 4 and site 5. Honestly, if we had been in either site without being there with the other family it would have been awkward. I’ve posted pictures because it will be very hard to explain. Basically, it’s 2 parking spaces that are extra-long, and one has an extra 10 feet at the back so the idea is that both RVs will open about 5 feet apart.

The campground is roughly a half-mile walk from the Willow Springs Lake. We ventured to the lake a few times and I swear each attempt to get to or from the lake resulted in a different path taken. It was odd to think, but I do not believe that these are highly traveled paths since there are multiple places you can drive right up to the lake and many of the trails looked overgrown. If you stay at Sinkhole, I strongly suggest you check out the lake. It was very pretty even with the water being roughly 5 or 6 feet low. We went fishing a few times and caught a few small trout, hiked about a quarter way around the lake, found a geocache, and just enjoyed the scenery.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this trip, I tested the Women’s OOriginal Sandal. The OOFOS sandals (or flip flops as I can’t help but call them) are kind of amazing. They claim to be recovery shoes. I had NO idea what that meant until I had them. Basically, these are meant to be worn after any type of high impact activity such as running, hiking or anything else that keeps you on your feet for an extended period of time. I’ve been wearing them daily for the last week. I’ve worn other shoes to work and then come home to my OOFOS… amazing. I’ve worn my OOFOS to work.,.,. amazing. I’ve gone hiking for a few miles then come back to camp and put on my OOFOS… amazing.

These sandals claim to float and be washing machine safe. I did actually put them in the lake, and, thankfully, they do float. They aren’t so buoyant that you can’t walk in the water with them but they aren’t like trying to step on a boogey board. Bottom line is if they end up in the water they will float. I think this adds to the “perfect” checklist for any boater because who loves being out in the lake and losing their stuff!? I’ve also put them through my washing machine and they have come out the other side much better than when they went in. I have a High Efficiency set which often means “really” dirty stuff like these shoes won’t come out clean on the first wash but these look pretty good! Also, there is no degradation of the material or the structural integrity of the sandal.

I can’t truly tell you what the sandals are made of… but it’s a high density foam of some sort. They are soft enough that you would want to believe they are memory foam, but they don’t hold your shape when you take them off. The shoes are very supportive and when you take them off they instantly retain their original shape. They have arch support, which for me is often a bad thing. I generally have flat feet but the arch support on these is comforting and actually worth wearing. There is a pattern on the inside of the sandal which gives you grip when your feet are wet or slippery. They also have tread on the bottom of the sandal that will prevent you from slipping in slick conditions. I wore them around camp for a few days and had no issues with the dirt, asphalt, pine needles, etc.

Overall, I have fallen in love with my OOFOS. They are great for day-to-day wear and amazing for recovery wear. The wide range of color choices means you can easily find a pair that will fit in with your style. The foam is supportive and easily beats out any general flip flop for comfort in daily wear. I’ve used them after 8 hours of standing on hard wood… I’ve used them after 8 hours at the office… I’ve used them after 4 hours of hiking… and I’ve used them just because… and all of these are amazing.

Campground Review

The area near Woods Canyon Lake has multiple campgrounds and is a very popular summer getaway because of the cooler weather, lake access, beautiful views, and hiking trails. Because of this, the campgrounds are usually full on the weekends and I highly suggest reservations on recreation.gov. Aspen in particular has 148 campsites of which only 27 are first come first served. The closer sites in Aspen are about half a mile walk from the boat dock and store while the farthest are around a mile walk. There is parking at the lake but it is always packed so plan to walk or use the overflow parking lot, which is about a quarter mile away. The roads and the driveways are paved which makes parking, driving, and walking through the campground very easy.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that even with 148 sites most of them had a decent amount of space in between. We camped with friends and reserved two spaces hoping to have some space for the kids to play without disturbing the neighbors and we could have easily only reserved one. We found very little trash on the ground from the previous occupants and the sites seemed to have fairly level clearings for tents. Each site had a metal fire pit with a fold over adjustable grill grate. There was also a standalone BBQ and a picnic table. Most of the driveways were surrounded by large boulders so depending on the length of your RV or trailer you should pay attention to the length of the driveway when you make reservations as you may not have room to hang over the end or bring an extra vehicle.

There were bathroom buildings and water faucets throughout the facility and there was hardly ever a line. The bathrooms have both a men’s and women’s side and were always stocked with toilet paper and relatively clean. Aspen has a weird design and there is only one single lane to exit the campground. This is also where the dumpsters are located so on our way out on Sunday morning there was a line of cars parked in the road blocking traffic while they threw out their trash.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this trip, I tested the Matador Beast28 Packable Technical Backpack. Matador has put some nice features on the backpack but has left a few things to be improved on. I am going to start with some of the pros:

• Lightweight – This backpack weighs 1.14lbs which is very light! The material is very thin but seems to be resistant to wear and tear. They have also cut the weight and bulk by making the straps out of a lightweight breathable mesh.
• Pockets – The backpack has a lid pocket and a bottom pocket can hold some of your favorite small items to keep them from getting lost in main area. The bottom pocket claims to be a storage space for the compression sack but I have been using it for a beanie or other small items. There is a front stash pocket with expandable compression straps and two smaller side pockets.
• Daisy Chains – When space is at a premium, it is nice to be able to clip some extra gear on the outside of the pack. I have been using a carabineer to hang the compression sack from the daisy chains giving me a little extra storage space. There are two gear loops towards the top of the backpack that work perfect for hanging a solar panel when you are out. This is where the expandable compression straps come in handy. They hold some of the weight of the gear you loop on the daisy chains and keep the extra pressure off the zipper.
• Main Compartment Access – The main storage area on the backpack has a clamshell design so it opens down both sides and the top giving you easy access to the entire compartment.
• Hydration Compatible – I am a big fan of being able to carry a hydration bladder instead of just water bottles that tend to sweat all over everything. The backpack has easy to use generic clips that should allow you to use any brand bladder without issues.
• Compression Sack – So many times, you buy something with a compression bag and you cannot ever get it back in. This backpack actually rolls down really well and can be put back in the back for easy travel or storage. The sack also double as extra storage space when hung from the daisy chains on the front.

With all that being said here are some areas I think Matador could have improved the Beast28:

• Pockets – The side pockets on the backpack are great for smaller items like a map or a cell phone but are very small and won’t hold a water bottle any larger than a disposable plastic bottle (even then it was a tight fit). They have a bit of stretch to them but not a lot. The other pocket that I felt could be improved is the external stash on the front. The pocket is not stretchy at all and that seems to limit it to a small book, map, or GPS.
• Compression Straps – The compression straps go more to the side than to the top so it’s a little awkward to try to roll up a jacket or blanket to put in that area. I have done it but it would have made more sense to put them closer to the top. Especially since they are already kind of the way when you want to try to access the main storage area. In addition, if you choose not to utilize that area or the daisy chains then they do not serve much functional purpose but cannot be left undone otherwise you have extra material loose and swinging around.
• Capacity Rating – I am not sure if this backpack is too small or my other backpack is too big but my other pack is rated at 18 liters and hold easily 1.3 times what the Beast28 (with a 28 liter capacity) holds.

Overall, I am happy with the Beast28. It is working well as a more capable day pack than what I have been using and allows me to carry a full hydration bladder, lunch, snacks, and a few layers of clothing for the varying weather conditions. It is super light and compresses down so it’s easy to throw in my bag for longer trips but still capable of being used for more technical outings. I have highlighted a few things that I think Matador could improve on but none of them are notable enough to keep me away from using this as my primary day pack moving forward.

I’ve been to this area a lot of times as a kid and decided to take my kid up here. It still a great area. Its quiet and very clean. The bathrooms are cleaned daily and are very nice. The host were very friendly also. Will come back again