Best Tent Camping near St. Johns, AZ

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.

Camped here in October 2016. My all-time favorite campgrounds. We tent camped and it was freezing cold, poured rain. We had huge sleeping bags and a little propane heater, and still really enjoyed it. Lots of area to hike and tons to see.

We came at night and was not easy to navigate. Once we were led in, had a nice, peaceful, quiet stay. Very nice host, Janet, and another guest. This location is primarily for small vehicles, tent, camping, van camping. At this time nothing much larger than 30 feet. All in all a good night and a great view.

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.

FHU available Spacious sites Wind does come up Lake is down and good fishing Clean restrooms and showers Has store well stocked (no tobacco or alcohol) Fish cleaning station Nice viewing of stars at night
Quiet, cabins, tent sites, FHU available, beach camping. Rangers on site along with hosts Black top roads Blacktop to park your rig. Some pull thru site Mostly back ins Large sites

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.

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.

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.

Clean, quiet, open campground, tents, trailers and cabins. Very happy with the week we spent here

This is one of the great RV Parks of northeast Arizona. Beautiful year round with well maintained sites. Highly recommend making a reservation to get a primer spot.

Don’t be fooled when you drive to this park though, you enter through a neighborhood.

Had a great time last August. We started at this campsite as we found it online. When we arrive there was only one other person there but very limited camping. There are only a total of eight sites all of which are set up for horses. All the stalls pretty clean and didn’t smell and the outhouse was kinda run down a little. Loads of spiders. We were aware that this was bear country but didn’t think to much of it being from Colorado. We had everything in air tight containers in the back of the truck locked up a night. After the first night we woke up to bite and claw marks on the tailgate of my truck. Wow. Our tent was 20 yards from the truck so the bear left us alone because we didn’t have any food in the tent. So plan smart and bring BEAR SPRAY. Even the hiking trails say to. Still great experience and we will be back. Please remember if you pack it in to please pack it out. We all can do better.

Was here in late June and stayed in Mallard Loop #10 right across from the bathroom. Fantastic camping area with widely spaced sites, great views of the lake and excellent facilities. Stayed in an RV only area, but there were 20+ tent only sites in another camping area that looked as nice as the one I stayed in. I would definitely return if ever back in the area.

This isn't a very large campground but it's fairly close to paved road. There is a men's and women's bathroom near the boat launch that are super primitive and stink like crazy (but they lock). Each campsite that i saw had a metal fire pit with a grill grate as well as a picnic table. Plenty of space for a pop up trailer or a tent. The lake is really low so very rocky. Made it hard to walk down the "shore" with gear, a dog, and a toddler.

My friend and I camped here in a tent overnight. Each space came with its own fireplace, picnic table, shade, and a gorgeous view of the lake. The bathroom was well-lit at night and very clean for a campsite bathroom. There are water spigots everywhere for free use. They even include doggy bag stands for you to clean up after your furry friends! Normally they would provide firewood too (according to their website), but there are no wood or charcoal fires allowed right now. Propane IS allowed, though. Great place. I can’t wait to go back!

We're frequent campers, and this is one of our favorite spots in AZ! 

The tent-only campground is small, but the sites are large and have multiple great clearings for tents. Lots of shade and easy paths for walking around the grounds, plus there's potable water at several sites. Central bathrooms with running water are kept very clean, plus there's trash service and a (very friendly) camp host if you need anything.

Directly across a small road from Big Lake and the boat ramp. There are several places to go right down to the shore, and it's only a 5-6 minute walk along the road to the general store and boat rental area, where there's also a fish cleaning station. Brookchar is just down the road from the giant Rainbow Lake, so you'll hear some RVs and ATVs on the road, but very minimal. 

We camped in site 12, which in our opinion is the best! Closest to the lake with water views, plus parking right outside your site for 2 vehicles (other sites, you park in a main lot). Bring your fishing gear and kayak/SUP (can also rent very reasonably)!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we saw highs close to 80 and lows in the high 30s/low 40s. Only sprinkled once!

It's also just an hour from Pinetop-Lakeside, so it's easy to make grocery stops or even grab a coffee (try Pinetop Coffee House + Roasters right on the highway!) on your way in/out.

We have camped at a lot of the Arizona State Parks and Fools Hollow was one of our favorites yet. Everything is very clean and well kept. We stayed in Mallard 8 which has full hook ups, great shade and views of the lake from your campsite. We were advised to go up the channel for fishing as during summer time they rent boats at the boat dock and that scares the fish up stream. We fished with both powerbait and catfish bait. Had success with catfish.

Show low is 2 miles away if you forget any essentials.

I go to this campground at least 3 or 4 times of year, just to get out of the heat from Phoenix. I go for regular weekends, holiday weekends, and have even stayed for a week. I like the tent side better, only because you are closer to the lake. But if I want to hook up, I can always go to the hook up side. The restrooms/showers are always clean. The camp host is always friendly. I love that you can rent a kayak, canoe, or little boat. It is a great place to take your family. If you have small kids they have a nice play ground for them. I love the hiking trail around the lake, and love to bring my bike for a nice ride. Love that it is close to the city, but yet you feel isolated. you would never know you were in a city. I love this place.

If you didn't know it was here you wouldn't ever guess there was a campground. The only signage is a "dead out" fire sign. There are very few fire rings established so plan to build your own. It looks like they've done some logging or clearing in the area and there was plenty of down wood on the ground to use. There are no bathrooms so plan accordingly. Plenty of trees and shade. Very secluded but the roads on the way in from both Show Low and McNary were in decent shape. This is a hunting area so we did see quite a few people hunting. Biggest thing with this is don't wear a brown fur coat and try to look like an elk. We went on a moonless night and it PITCH BLACK. I know it was overcast but I have to imagine with the amount of tree coverage even a clear night wouldn't be very well lit on the ground. I wouldn't call this ideal for larger groups or units. There were only a few spots where I think you could have parked more than 2 tents or anything larger than a pop up camper.