Best Cabin Camping near Payson, AZ

Came out for some camping, hiking, and fishing with the extended family. Wasn’t much of any of this at this campground.

Camping area was without any shade and made up only a few square meters of the complex. Site caters to the RV crowd, which is just fine as some of our group was looking for this and others rented a nice little cabin along the river. Only problem was that the facility was overrun with the annual crowd, which spent more time glaring and sneering, than minding their own. A few nice souls about, but more of the bitter old timers.

Hiking trails were advertised, but they were short and combined to less than 3km. Many were partial trails as they are undercutting them to add more RV parking. Hiking along the river is possible with the gate code you can get from an employee, but it is overgrown and not suited for small children.

Fishing is possible with a hike of less than a 1km and following the wash makes this a good morning activity for the entire family. A friendly resident was kind enough to hike the trail with us, showing us the waterfalls and fishing holes.

The facilities themselves, were actually quite nice. As expected from a retirement complex, there were daily activities, pool, billiards, shuffle board, and a Wi bowling league. Plenty of coffee, clean restrooms, free WiFi, and friendly staff were to be found every morning at the main lodge. Well maintained roads, cabins, and grassy areas(marked common areas, but locals claim them as their own and attack like rabid dogs if you walk on them), made the place acceptable.

Great place to RV and camp along Oak Creek! Plenty of space between sites. Ours backed up to LoLo Mai spring and a waterfall (spot 15). But bring your bug spray after dark. Short walk to 3/4 mile of creek frontage with out having to leave the park. Kids have a pool, playground in good shape, DVDs to rent for free and a general store where they can spend money on ice cream ($1.50 for a popsicle). Bring a bike for them to ride around the large campground. Scooters don’t work on dirt roads. We had a 32 foot class C, 30 amp full hook up back in spot. Hs to level about 2.5 inches in the front. Spots are well maintained with table, grill, fire pit. Ours had a concrete patio. Although I saw some RV sites did not. Tent sites don’t have patio either. Dust level is moderate. It’s Arizona, am I right?! They use sprinklers to wet roads and play areas to keep dust down.

We had 4 kids and one large pit bull with us. We were charged extra with the dog. Required to stay 3 nights. $87 a night with tax. Well worth it.

Showers and bath are clean. Laundry has one washer and one dryer working. Did not use them. The creek is the main attraction. No need to leave the campground for entertainment. Will stay again.

Information listed on website is not accurate. Some of the sites you had to park across the road from your camp. Had to pay for WiFi per day and even then it was spotty snd only worked for a short time. No firewood, no fires allow and no fire pits. Not all sites have picnic tables (our didn’t). Sites were right on top of each other (good thing other campers where friendly) Dump station was about 20 feet from our site and sometimes the smell was so bad we had to take a walk. Ask to move site and the host was not very nice in telling us no. When we booked our site we had originally plan for 7 nights on our trip we made some changes. When we arrived we asked to cancel our last night. Which they don’t do and the host was not nice about letting us know this. Besides the misleading information the location was pretty and peaceful.

23 hours ago

Not a lot here. Even without dealing with Covid there is very little to do. Campground is very tight and your neighboring camper is directly facing your front. You basically share your front space and picnic table (if you're lucky enough to get one). There is also no wifi nor cable, not even anything available through an antenna. If you do camp here bring dvds. There are a few radio stations but that's it. Their pizza or restaurant is only on weekends and the salon is closed. Store runs out of coffee in the morning and is not refilled. All in all, find somewhere else.

Campground Review

Canyon Point is located in a beautiful Pine and Aspen wooded area just above the Mogollon Rim. The area has plenty of hiking trails, streams, and lakes. The closest lake is Willow Springs which is about 5 miles West of Canyon Point and allows fishing. There are 2 trails that start from within Canyon Point campground. One goes to the edge of the Mogollon Rim and the other is the Sinkhole Trail. We decided to brave the Sinkhole Trail while we were there. It was very easy and only about ¾ of a mile each way with great tree coverage.

I have been to plenty of campgrounds within 20 miles of this area but I was impressed with Canyon Point from the moment we arrived. They have a designated Contact Station at the entrance that was staffed with multiple camp hosts to assist with check in and check out. As part of the check in process the campground host assisting us, Linda, explained some of the campground highlights, provided a campground map, a trail map, a printout of the rules and regulations, and a comment card with directions on where to submit it. Linda also told us that the hosts would be around camp on golf carts and if we needed anything, we could just flag them down. At one point one of the hosts, Fritz, stopped by to see how things were going and if we needed anything. He made instant friends with my son and even had a dog treat for our four-legged friend.

Canyon Point boasts 113 sites between 2 loops with both back in and pull through sites. We stayed in site 75, which is at the very back of Loop B, and we were amazed at how well the sites were laid out near us. We heard the other groups when the kids were playing or they would laugh in unison at something but beyond that, it was spaced out enough that the day to day conversation couldn’t be heard. Our site had a plastic coated picnic table and a ground level fire pit that had a rotating grill and a low grate. Unfortunately, we were in Stage II fire restrictions so we were not able to use it but it looked to be very well maintained and in working condition. Generally, when we go camping we make it a routine part of our trips to pick up trash around our site and any areas nearby. This campground was so well maintained the only trash we found was a bread bag plastic tab.

Loop B had 6 bathroom buildings that all featured a Men’s and Women’s side. The bathrooms were immaculate! They were clean and fully stocked with paper products, a trash receptacle, and air freshener. The campground also has a shower building near the entrance that is available 8a-8p (with the exception of 1p-2p for extra cleaning). Canyon Point also had a dump station available and an outdoor amphitheater the Forestry Service Rangers often use to host educational programs. The roads throughout the campground and the driveways were all paved so there was very little dust being kicked up. The campground also had more than enough dumpsters to accommodate the trash and they keep them locked at night to deter the animals.

When we went the Day Use fee was $5 per vehicle and an additional vehicle costed $12.50/night.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time – on this trip I tested the KoolSkinz Pet Vest. The vest is designed to be worn under your dog’s harness or collar and includes 3 reusable Kool packs that can be chilled to help your dog stay cool or heated to help them stay warm. The Kool packs are filled with S9 Kooling agent that is clear when hot or room temperature and then turns semi-solid and white when cold. All 3 packs are the same size so you don’t have to worry if you are putting them in the right pockets on the Pet Vest.

At first, I was really worried that the dog wouldn’t be able to move properly or he would destroy the Pet Vest because he loves to rub on the ground, the trees, the bushes, and really anything else his height. He was able to move freely without issues and didn’t mind continuing to rub on everything. The Pet Vest is a stretchy material and I did notice slight catches in the material after he had worn it a few times but it doesn’t seem to effect the functionality. The only other thing that I disliked about it was that the trim around the neck/chest was stitched with a single thread and as the dog wore it and stretched it the seems popped in multiple places. Again, it doesn’t affect the functionality but it looks silly having broken black threads on the bright material so I’m going to just pull the rest of the pieces out. I was also very impressed with the strength of the Kool packs. Our dog loves to roll on the ground and run into things. I kept expecting to see one of the Kool packs burst open but they have held up to his abuse.

When we arrived at the campground it was just over 80 degrees. We put the Kool packs into the cooler for 20 minutes and they turned white and semi-hard. I tested the temperature on the inside of my wrist to be sure it wasn’t too cold then placed it in the Pet Vest and put the Pet Vest on my dog. The Kool packs in their cold form aren’t “burning” cold like ice cubes. They work in two ways, one is releasing cool temperatures in the vest surrounding the dog but the other is to pull heat away from the dog’s body which is why they don’t need to be freezing cold. I was shocked that 20 minutes of chill time could stay cold for 2 hours but sure enough after 2 hours of wear the Kool packs were still chilled and definitely helping to cool the dog.

Our dog is a fairly big dog (he’s a black lab) but he doesn’t like to be cold. When we go camping and the sun goes down the temperatures can drop quickly especially when we have fire restrictions and no fire for warmth. The Kool packs can be boiled for around 2 minutes then put into the Pet Vest to help keep the dog warm for up to half an hour. We brought an extra pot of water for our propane stove and boiled the Kool packs to put in the Pet Vest to help keep him warm. Our dog stopped shivering almost immediately and seemed to greatly enjoy the extra time he could spend outside with us. Really great side note with the Pet Vest is that it will also hold hand warmers so if you are backpacking or don’t have access to a microwave or boiling water you can use those to help keep your dog warm! (they also last a lot longer than the Kool packs do when heated)

The vest is machine washable which is a major perk for us. The dog LOVES to roll in the dirt and after every camping trip we get a steady stream of mud off the dog. After a weekend in the vest it was pretty filthy also. I threw the vest in the washer (with all of the buckles snapped together per the directions) and let it air dry. The vest cleaned very well and after washing the colors were bright and vivid and the material lacked any evidence of previously holding about a pound of dirt!

All around the concept of this product is really neat. In Arizona they close down the trails to dogs after temperatures reach 100 degrees. I definitely wouldn’t want to be out (nor take my dog out) hiking in temperatures that warm but even at 80 degrees it can get very hot and having something as simple as this KoolSkinz Pet Vest can make a big difference. We have definitely been using the packs more for heat than cold because of how much the dog dislikes being cold but it is such a great option because really how else do you blanket wrap an active dog to keep him warm.

This place is not the type of resort you "girl's trip" to. It's the kind of resort where you plan to spend all day on the lake and come back to a shower and a real bed. You can choose to camp in your tent/RV or start in the motel.

The resort offers:

• breakfast, lunch and dinner
• watercraft rentals
• two boat ramps
• convenience store

There is a $10 fee to use any of their land. Even if you're just launching your boat. Emergency personnel have a base on the property which is comforting. Cell service is scarce on the lake but works great close to the resort. Only gave the resort 4 stars because I prefer camping around less people.