Overcrowded. People leaving trash and playing loud music. No chance of relaxing. Parking is $10…read morefor day use. Kids swimming next to people fishing. Every inch of southern shoreline is packed. Get a tetanus shot. No chance of going barefoot.

Have not been here for many years. Enjoyed an early morning weekday fishing trip. Lots of camping…read moresites available. Parked near the boat ramp and convenience store that has reopened. Got some tips on bait and purchased a few more lures. A couple of small snow packs still visible, and a few snow flakes in the morning. Caught and released a nice rainbow trout. Saw a bald eagle fly by and enjoyed the scenery. Had lunch near a scenic outlook. Place is likely crowded on weekends but that is expected, given the location and beauty of this place.

I was so excited to get a spot here over Memorial weekend. Rock Crossing is the only organized…read morecampsite near Blue Ridge Reservoir. Blue Ridge Reservoir (or C.C. Cragin) is this amazing hidden gem in Happy Jack that is popular with canoers, kayakers, and fishermen. The campground is about two miles from the reservoir. Rock Crossing is comprised of 31 individual family sites and two double sites. Each site can accommodate up to 8 people and is good for both tent and trailer camping. I booked my site ahead of time on recreation.gov. The campground provides fire rings, toilets, cooking grills, drinking water, bear food storage lockers, and picnic tables. The surrounding area is so beautiful and has ponderosa pine and oak trees all around. You also get some great views of the Mogollon Rim. It's pretty quiet here in the evenings and the stars shine bright because there are no major cities around. We tent camped and had a great time grilling and kayaking at Blue Ridge. Book early as the sites fill up quick!

Very clean, quiet and easy to find off the main road. We loved it. High elevation so keep that in…read moremind if you're not used to it.

Challenging short hike with awesome views from Indian ruins. If you don't like to fall down, be…read morescared or get cut up when hiking, don't do this hike. The big challenge is getting here. High creek levels can ruin your trip. I went in November with my 4runner without issue. Also, the last mile or so of road is extremely rough. I would just park and walk if without a high clearance vehicle.

This phenomenal hike is so steep, even I thought it was difficult. what a great state for outdoor…read moreadventure where you can be driving on dusty desert roads one minute and suddenly park in a forested canyon, and start hiking up giant boulders to see a hidden indian ruin? this site is extremely well preserved and thank goodness, hard to find. only a few marks of graffiti (a shame really, who the hell thinks it's ok to scratch their name in 750 year old artifacts? a**holes). if you're lucky enough to hike there with someone who knows the trail, tread lightly and enjoy it. if you do, it will still be there for multitudes of future nature lovers to enjoy.

Christopher Creek Campground is just outside of Payson, Arizona and is located in the Tonto…read moreNational Forest at the base of the Mogollan Rim. It's filled with the beauty of Ponderosa pine, Juniper, Manzanita, Oak, and Evergreen shrubs. The campground is all paved, has 43 sites (all sites are non-electric) and plenty of vault toilets. Each site has a picnic table, water spigot, fire ring, and metal bear box to store food. We stayed in Loop A at site #13 right along the creek. It was a great location because we could play cards at the table and still be able to watch the kids as they biked the loop and caught crawdads in the creek. One group site can hold up to 25 people and sits at a great spot just above the creek. I would love to come back for a big group camp of kids there. The creek gets stocked with Rainbow Trout but it's too shallow through the campground. We did hike along the creek and find some pools that came up to our waist. It was nice to lay on a float or just sit with feet in the water. It's just a short drive from camp into the tiny town of Christopher Creek where you can eat at The Creekside Tavern or Landmark at the Creek. For more recreation, take a drive to nearby Woods Canyon Lake. You can rent small boats, do some fishing or just enjoy sitting along the lake and visiting the marina. My favorite is to stop at the Mogollan Rim visitor center to learn about the area, animals, and National Parks Con: host didn't refill toilet paper often enough

Great spot - centrally located close to Payson with several Tonto National Forest paths close by,…read moreor drive up to the Mogollom Rim and see the lakes close by. The campground itself is quiet, safe and has clean out houses to use. Book ahead - the summer gets busy

I LOVE THIS CAMPGROUND…read more ONE STAR: We have young kids and so we only get a chance to go camping once or twice a year. We've had a reservation to go camping 6-18/6-21 for a couple months. Out of no where, a week from the trip we get an email that our reservation has been cancelled for maintenance.... excuse me? No phone call, or attempt to rebook us elsewhere. WOW. All other campgrounds are booked and we have NO IDEA when we will be able to go again. I'm extremely disappointed and would like to be contacted regarding this ASAP

This is an incredibly clean, well maintained and peaceful campground. The friendly camp hosts made…read moreus feel welcome during our weekend retreat.

When it starts warming up the valley its time to go up north for hiking and one of my favorite day…read moretrips is headed out by Payson and hitting up See Canyon Trail along Christopher Creek. From Payson head east on Hwy 260 to Christopher Creek Loop, turn left and head to Forest Rd 284, this is a dirt rd and part of it does become one lane, so be mindful of other cars. You don't need a 4x4 . Take the forest rd to the parking area. You start out on the trail and go under a mile you will come to a fork and you can either stay on See Canyon Trail or head off to See Spring. Either hike is great, and there is a sign that point which direction to go. It's apx 7 miles round trip, and a good elevation gain. The views are beautiful, this is one of my favorite hikes. I love that you get to do some creek crossing, some climbing, all within big beautiful trees. If you haven't been, go give it a try!

Nice trail, not too rigorous. Very pretty and lots of shade. Second time doing the trail.read more

We hiked 8 miles round trip to The Crack at Wet Beaver Creek. This is done via the Bell…read moretrail in Rim Rock. The trail head is easy to get directions from Google Maps and there are plenty of reviews there, not many here. There are 2 parking lots and a basic compostable toilet bathroom at both. The Crack is a beautiful swimming hole after a mostly flat hike but there is some elevation gain as you near the water, that is very exposed to the sun. Like zero shade. Thankfully the water to swim and cliff jump into is very cold! You'll need that after getting blasted by the sun for about 3.5 miles, one way. If you have to park in the overflow lot like we did, that will add some mileage to your trip. Bring lots of water if you hike here, we saw some people who looked like like they didn't bring enough. Hats, sunscreen, and food for snacking once you get to the swimming hole. If you do all that, you can have a nice day of hiking. It was super windy the day we were there, and plenty busy for a Sunday. There are lots of people climbing the rocks and cliff jumping into the pools. It feels a bit rowdy at times. Not a solitude/ quiet nature type experience. If you keep going past the mail swimming area, there is running water of the creek and additional pools that are more chill. I personally don't do any hiking in the valley during the summer, it's too hot for me and I don't enjoy it. So driving up north early on a Sunday morning for almost 2 hours near Sedona has to be worth it for me to want to go... this definitely was nice.

We try to do this hike every time we come to Sedona. Super long, but fun. You need a credit card…read moreto pay the $5 for parking. Get there early so you don't have to park on the overflow lot. We arrived by 7:15 am.

Decided on a Sunday drive to Payson. After lunch we drove to Monument Peak Loop Trailhead for an…read moreeasy hike as it was 82 degrees. The parking lot is very small. We shared it was four other vehicles. The trail signage is perfect. The hike is partially shaded but more sun then shade. It is an easy 3.4 miles. If you take the loop counter clockwise, the beauty is in the last mile. We truly enjoyed this hike and recommend it for something easy and close to the city