Best Tent Camping near Kohls Ranch, 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!

Group campground that is reasonably priced and can accommodate big groups. Has pit toilets and potable water access, ramadas, grills and campfire location. Good for campers and tent camping

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.

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.

We spent 3 nights here in February, and while it was chilly, the place was very quiet and the stars were amazing! There are no hookups here, but there are bathrooms with flush toilets (some have showers), and there are faucets with potable water. There's also a boat launch and a few playgrounds for the kids. 

There were mostly RVs here, but the waterfront tent sites are amazing if you don't mind walking in from the main parking area (it's not a far walk).

Each campsite has a picnic table with a shaded awning and a fire pit, but you have to bring in your own wood or gather it from the surrounding forest. Saw lots of birds here - cactus wren, quail, finches, warblers, and road runners.

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.

The river was beautiful! The camp spots were close to the river with nice big fire rings. Just like a lot of low desert camping in Arizona it’s dusty and dry with lots of prickly plans. But the trail and the trees near the river were lush. My biggest complaint about the spot was all the garbage everywhere. Come on people, burn your trash or take it home! There’s no need to trip over piles of water bottles & beer cans, cigarette butts, McDonald’s wrappers and plastic bags.

Cholla Recreation Site is located on Theodore Roosevelt Lake, central Arizona’s largest lake. It offers expansive views of the Four Peaks Wilderness, Salome Canyon, and the Sierra Ancha mountain range. The campground contains an extensive selection of both RV and tent-only sites, and is one of the largest solar-powered campgrounds in the United States. Potable water, toilet buildings, showers, playgrounds, and a paved boat launch with a courtesy dock are available for campers. Cholla RV dump station, located across from Christmas Loop, is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm.

$25/site/night for individual camp unit; $50/site/night for double camp unit; America the Beautiful Interagency Senior or Access Pass holders receive 50% discount (persons over 62 or have a permanent disability) for single camp units only.

Campground fees must be paid for at the fee machine located at the campground. When we arrived the machine wasn’t working so we checked in with the camp host and flagged down a ranger to let them know.

camping in a 2 man tent, traveling in a raised 2WD. We took the dirt road to the end looking for a nice secluded spot, we passed a handful of sites for both rvs and tent. We found a small site in a dried out run off area past the second cattle guard.

We ventured down as far as we could go and carried our tent the remaining 20 or so meters.

Lots of dried wood around for kindling, enough stones to make a fire ring.

The sunrise and sunset here were spectacular, the lake provides an awesome blue.

Located in the scenic Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in north central Arizona near the town of Heber.

Beautiful campground. Very well taken care of. Sites are large and spread out. Very quiet. Great tall pines for nice shade in Arizona summer.

No organized activities. Not much to do for children if they are looking for activities.

Showers and bathrooms are very clean but showers only open at 8:00am.

Ashley here with The Dyrt. I love that this space can fit those extra large RV's or tents. With your own platform to picnic on or pitch your tent, and yard games to play, this is a cozy and cute spot to visit on your next adventure. The free firewood is a sweet touch. Come give them a try and leave them some love!

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).