Tonto National Forest › Payson Ranger District › Arizona › Gila County › Payson › Houston Mesa Campground

Houston Mesa Campground, AZ - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

Houston Mesa Campground is located in the Payson Ranger District, Tonto National Forest (1 hr 34 min northeast of Scottsdale, AZ) with an elevation of 5,069 feet. There are a total of 76 campsites including 17 tent-only sites. The campground is open all year. 30 sites can accommodate RVs between 20 and 99 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $20.00 to $29.00. Some amenities include flush toilets. Activities include hiking trails.
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Houston Mesa

193 reviews
Total sites: 76
Available Today: 68 FF*
Available this Weekend: 24 + 19 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months

5,069 ft
91°F
60°F

weak
Tents allowedRV's allowedTrailers allowedEquestrianElectric HookupsAccessible sitesFlush toiletsHiking trails
*First-come/First-served (FF) sites have no availability guarantee.
Su
96°
61°
Mo
94°
61°
Tu
91°
58°
We
95°
58°
Th
96°
60°
Fr
94°
62°
Sa
86°
61°

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (193)

4.3 out of 5

5 star
61%
4 star
20%
3 star
9%
2 star
6%
1 star
4%
@EmilyS1613279 · Camped on Jun 6, 2025 at Campsite #L13
Nice little campsite. We had 2 smaller tents, but anything larger may be hard to fit. Not much shade so it did get a little hot in the afternoon. Bathrooms were decent. A little bummed that we could not have a fire due to fire restrictions and this was not noted in our emails.
@SureshM04D1436 · Camped on May 30, 2025 at Campsite #B4
Awesome!!
@PaulaP3646161 · Camped on May 30, 2025 at Campsite #B17
This campground is poorly maintained. Showers are not available any more. One of the 2 toilets was out of service. and the one working toilet ran out of TP three times while we were there for 2 nights. And the water pressure in the sink was non existent. Every morning we were awakened by small planes overhead. The noise continued all day. And the road noise was 24/7.It was nice to return home to the peace and quiet. p.s. our site #47 was a nice spot, I must say.
@ZairaBCFC423EC · Camped on May 30, 2025 at Campsite #B19
This was first camping experience in which we were not greeted by our host. Also we had a huge party camp next to us who also made a lot of noise throughout the night. There was no host around to supervise the amount of campers in one spot. So due to noise and amount of people next to us, can only rank the experience as fair.
@nancyg6172839 · Camped on May 16, 2025 at Campsite #B18
Exelente lugar tranquilo y sobre todo baos muy limpios
@HaroldOD98E2CF · Camped on May 15, 2025 at Campsite #E27
It was a handicap spot but not close to bathroom or water, or garbage. Sunny during noon hours. We were disappointed showers are no longer available.
@BradB8421095 · Camped on May 8, 2025 at Campsite #M30
Lots of room for kids and dogs to play. Lots of trees and shade. Everything is close by if you forget something but you can sometimes hear cars driving by.
@JoelK5040601 · Camped on May 7, 2025 at Campsite #E5
The scenery was beautiful. Disappointed to find out campfires not allowed upon arrival. I got a text for bear safety but nothing about fire restrictions? The lack of showers and a particularly noisy group at the neighboring site our second night there (local police showed up) was also disappointing.
@GerwinC4211682 · Camped on Nov 1, 2024 at Campsite #B17
awesome
@eugeneB2195925 · Camped on Oct 10, 2024 at Campsite #L3
It boggles my mind how after 4 years and the National Park service taking it over, they have not figured out how to allow people to take showers. We have camped their for years and a shower was always a welcome part of the day. The drinking fountain has been under plastic since covid. It made no sense then and still makes no sense. The camp host is awesome, and keeps things clean and operational. I noticed that you no longer can pay cash, to camp there, they have figured that out, why not a machine that gives tokens to allow showing. After hiking 10 miles, mountain bike riding 20 miles I had to drive 150 miles to get a shower.
@TomK1282453 · Camped on Oct 10, 2024 at Campsite #L13
The campsites are well spaced apart and the restrooms are clean. There is some road noise depending on where you are in the campground and there is some small airplane noise.
@AprilC1313313 · Camped on Aug 30, 2024 at Campsite #B4
The camp host was absolutely wonderful!! Was going to leave a bottle of wine but didnt catch him in time. There were unruly people and the host was on top of everything and handled the situation as needed. We will gladly come back!
@JohnP1604489 · Camped on Aug 29, 2024 at Campsite #B17
The facilities were nice, but there was a lot of road noise all night.
@michaelg734741 · Camped on Aug 9, 2024 at Campsite #B6
Quiet some nights, depends on nearby street traffic. During the day it's peaceful, too close to walking trails. But still worth the trip.
@AprilMEFEEAB1D · Camped on Jul 28, 2024 at Campsite #B6
This was a great place to camp! It was clean and quiet in the tent only loop. Will come back again!
@Georgiana0CBE6 · Camped on Jun 21, 2024 at Campsite #E24
First time at Houston Mesa Campground. Beautiful campground and clean bathrooms, not to mention flushable bathroom with running water sinks are a plus for my bougie kids! Before we left we book our next camping trip for Labor Day thats how much we love Houston Mesa Campground.
@JonatanMF0E0FB · Camped on May 31, 2024 at Campsite #B2
Very nice upkeeped campgrounds took the kids for there first camping trip up to payson they enjoyed the whole experience. Would recommend for first time campers
@MikeP3321518 · Camped on May 24, 2024 at Campsite #E6
Houston Mesa Campground is a nice clean park, clean bathrooms, with lots of shade and large sites. Biggest complaint I have is the showers and dump station are CLOSED and have been for over a year I'm told, with NO immediate plans to open them. Why am I paying full price than if they are closed??? Part of the reason for coming here is the availability of a dump station, not to drive down the street to use one at a gas station. Nice park but let's get it together park service!
@LaurenVF444E11 · Camped on May 24, 2024 at Campsite #L20
Overall, this is a nice clean campground that is still quite close to town. Bathrooms scattered about were fairly clean with running water and sinks. Camp sites are well spaced for some privacy. Fire rings and picnic tables at each site. Not all rules seemed to be enforced here. For example some campsites had more than the max number of people which increased noise and use of bathroom near us. People were also driving very fast through campground without repercussion. Disappointing they still have showers closed for the season. It appears these will never be open again. Also dump site is closed for no apparent reason. Good news is you can dump at the gas station across the street. Overall, I would recommend for people wanting to be close to town but I will probably chose another site next time as I dont think the price reflects the lack of available amenities.
@BobbyS1875655 · Camped on May 23, 2024 at Campsite #B2
Bill is very nice camp host
@BarbaraC646329 · Camped on May 19, 2024 at Campsite #L21
We LOVED our stay at Houston Mesa! Ive camped there with horses in the past, which was great, although the trails in the area were fairly limited. This time we took our 4x4s and were so happy to find lots of great dirt roads to explore along the base of the Rim, up Houston Mesa Rd. and then on the west side of the highway as well. The camp hosts were great and the camp was immaculate! We cant wait to go back! Perfect temps too for mid May.
@KandaceFB68781 · Camped on May 17, 2024 at Campsite #M10
The camp host was friendly and fun. He kept an eye on things without being intrusive. He gave us great information. It was a very nice experience and we will definitely be back to the horse section of the camp again.
@scottb3088469 · Camped on May 4, 2024 at Campsite #L21
Overall I love camping at Houston Mesa, most other campers are very friendly and considerate. However, as always, there are a few that are not so considerate of others and are noisy and allow children to scream and be very loud. But, like I said, overall I love it there! It would be very nice if the showers and dump station was working again! This is my third year there and they are still out of order! Not sure why its not getting rectified
@Larrianne1D61D · Camped on May 3, 2024 at Campsite #E13
The campsite itself was great. Enough natural shrubs and trees to created privacy between campsites. Flush toilets were always clean.Biggest drawback for me was the noise coming from the hwy right next to the campground. It does quiet down at night but there was the occasional loud car passing by in the dead of the night. If youre unlucky like us, youll wake up at 1 am in the morning to the sound of an ambulance racing down the highway.Another con is that the showers were closed when we visited. Signs posted around the campground Showers closed for the season. So if you plan to camp here during the 2024 season, prepare for that.Overall we had a great time.
@LiamPADC32499F · Camped on Apr 28, 2024 at Campsite #M30
Definitely wouldn't recommend

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