Best Glamping near Tonto Basin, AZ

For every good thing there was a bad. We stayed at Coyote Loop. You can’t fish from the shore because all the dead trees that go out about 10 feet along the entire shore (awesome if you have a boat; I guess). I expected lots of generators and the sound that it makes, myself included. I didn’t expect three campsites to be taken up by the same group of people and here F-bombs all night till 10 o’clock. Then people turn high power lamps on you and everyone for long periods of time because they can afford expensive toys but not a simple flashlight. It was peaceful at 10:00pm and we could hear the lake wildlife. Maybe not a good place to take children. There seem to be one super secret place to dump your trailer water, grey & black. While you can dump there for free; you cannot find it without a treasure map, a devining rod, and a map of the stars. Don’t bother asking the site Camp Host because his directions were equally as cryptic; if you can find them at all. I and to wait to get home and map it so here it is:

PQJV+2J Tonto Basin, Arizona

This site is well kept and spacious. And the closest site to Water Wheel which is about ten miles away and Arizona’s best kept secret. I usually set up camp the afternoon before and get up early to make the drive to Water Wheel and get in a day hike. This place has extraordinary water falls and swimming holes. I have probably camped at Mesa Houston more than any other place in Arizona just so I can hike Water Wheel and have never had a negative experience. Payson is beautiful and this camp site is near amenities and great hiking spots.

My dog and I love it up here during an Arizona summer. Nice and cool with the Willow Springs lake nearby. Clean good camping.

Nice campground. Lots of sites. We wanted to get close to the water but that was not what we ended up doing. We had to drive to take our kayaks to the water. There was an old cost ramp there but is was completely unusable. We had a nice view and the campground was clean.

However..... There was a storm that rolled in (not on the weather forecast!) It came in FAST! Fortunately e had easy up tents because we had the drop one down fast and put stuff on top of it. The other tent got wrapped around a tree! The rain and wind came out of of no where! We planned on two nights but only stayed one due to this storm!

The ramp on the end of Windy Hill was closed due to low water, but seeing that we are more "floaters" than we are boaters that was fine. If we were boaters a usable ramp was a minute or two away. We like to put on life jackets and just float in the refreshing cool water so the end of the closed boat launch was heaven for us.

Make sure you secure EVERYTHING at your camp or you will come back to an unpleasant surprise when you return from you lake fun.

There were no hook-ups where we were, but we didn't need then anyway. The showers were large and clean but had no temperature control. I was bracing my self for a freezing cold lake shower, but was taken by surprise with an endless supply of hot water. This would have been nice if I were returning to an air conditioned RV instead of a tent, but I'm not complaining.

The toilet was clean and was much easier on the nose than the outhouses common in campgrounds. Ahh, the joys of modern plumbing.

Overall, I enjoyed this clean, well-kept campground. The 107 degree wind felt like the inside of a convection oven, but it comes and goes and seems to be mostly calm in the mornings and after sundown.

Well worth a visit.

Ps. It was not very busy when we were here. Large crowds could possibly change how nice the toilets and showers stay.

No real access to water from campgrounds. Unkempt and not the outdoorsy camping we were looking for. Lots of double camps that were decent looking but nothing cool enough for us to stay. Definitely take the time to go to Lower Burnt Corral campground for a scenic drive and better camping.

Large are with showers

Gorgeous location and more spaced out than other campgrounds in the area (we stayed at the first loop). Be aware that if you have Verizon you may have bars but no LTE and that access and senior passes don’t work for double sites - also the host made rude remarks to other campers about my partner and I not being seniors because her access pass (she’s very visibly disabled) showed automatically as “senior” when we paid. Bathrooms are clean but bring your own soap!

Hot showers, clean bathrooms, boat ramps, and fishing docks. Depending on the time of year it can be rowdy and crowded. Week days are relaxing and quiet. It’s named windy hill for a reason. Stake everything by down well and don’t leave shade pop up tents up while you’re out, they might be gone to the wind when you get back.

Decent campground. My site backed up to the river and I was able to hammoc next to it. Short drive to horseshoe lake. Very dusty

Ok so we decided to stay here since we have young kids and thought having a pool and showers available would be great. Well the pool was great but the showers were lack luster at best. We stayed 3 nights and two of the 3 nights there were people so loud is ruined the experience. It seems the people who are in charge of enforcing quite time weren’t interested in it. We had one of the biggest sites there was, site 91, so that was a bonus but it was up a large hill and hard to get in and out of since the “driveway” was uneven with lots of dips that has loose dirt. Also i called ahead to see if our site could accommodate our large family tents. They said yes. Thankfully we opted to being one large and one small tent otherwise there would not have been room. There was barely enough flat ground for our two tents. Some of the sites were so small only a small tent would fit and nothing else. Also fire rings are not included which we knew ahead of time but is still annoying. Also if you want a specific site you have to pay extra when you reserve or they could move you to a smaller or less ideal location. Also you can hear the noise from the main road that runs right next to the campground. I had read reviews that said you couldn’t. Well we could.... all night long. We will not be returning to this campground.

Nice fairly quiet well kept. Only complaint spaces are tight if you have slide outs on both sides and the only trash disposal is at the office.

Campground has a pool and sites have full hookups which is nice. The sites are very close together which meant a bit more noise than I would normally like.

Took a weekend girls trip. Amazing views, clean grounds, super space! Will be going back this weekend!

We chose this camp ground due to it having full hooks up's. 

Our spot was a bit tight with camper & 2 SUV's but we managed. 

Our stay was the end of April 2024, We're volunteer HAM radio operators assisting with the Zane Grey foot race.

We'll be back in April 2025 to support the event again and have already reserved a spot for our stay.

Look if you want to really camp this is not the place for you. Spots are close together with a fair amount of trees around. Because campsites are close there is some noise but not bad. Some road noise as well and to be expected since you are camping in town. Sites are clean and maintained and full hook ups including sewer, electric and water. I don’t consider this camping because I usually head out into the forest but overall this was good and got me spending time in my camper so all good.

Nice but kinda loud

I am not sure where the pictures posted here are from but it is definitely not from this campground.

It is a nice little campground with a pool and small launder mat room. Bathrooms are always clean. The spaces are close together so if you are spot picky (want more of a personal space feel) you will need to get recommendations or visit it to mark your spots.

Saturday nights include karaoke by the pool or live cover band. My kids enjoy staying here but be warned that "resort" should be taken lightly. There is a "playground" which consists of a metal swing set, uncovered and a small basketball court. This is also right near the dog pin area.

You are off a major road so near by shopping is a breeze but you will not be forced to hear the traffic so no worries there.