Ponderosa Campground has 49 large, flat and spacious campsites set among a forest of Ponderosa mixed with Juniper, Oak and Manzanita. The campground is composed of four loops – A through D and is conveniently located to Payson, AZ, Mogollon Rim and other area sites.
The campground is open early April through October (weather/snow permitting). Campsites can accommodate tents, and small trailers and RVs (25 to 40 feet). Group camping is also available. Each campsite also has a table, lantern post, fire ring and grate. Campground amenities include drinking water and vault toilets. Firewood is also available for sale from the camp host. A dump station is also located at the campground. Cell service is fair in the area.
Outdoor recreation includes hiking, mountain biking, fishing, picnicking and wildlife viewing. The winter also offers cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The Rim Country Lakes are about a 15 minute drive from the campground and offering boating and fishing opportunities.
Other campgrounds in the area include Christopher Creek, Upper Tonto Creek and Sharp Creek.
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4,600
48 + 2 Group
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This campground is currently closed to all tent camping and pop up trailers because of bears. Only RV’s are allowed.
We visited in May 2015, staying in site A-07. The site was nice, but the table at this site was a bit bent out of shape, like something very heavy had been dropped on one end of it. A few pine stumps are scattered around the site – watch that you don’t set anything down on them, some are still a bit sappy. Each site has a bear locker – judging from the last review on this site, bears have been a problem here. Firewood is available from the campground host, and we had no trouble finding kindling to get a fire going. The restrooms and water were a satisfactory distance from the site – not too close and not too far. We did get some noise from 260 at this site, but camp sites further in would not have that problem.