Houston Mesa Campground, Payson, AZ

Houston Mesa Campground is located in the Payson Ranger District, Tonto National Forest (1 hr 46 min northeast of Scottsdale, AZ) with an elevation of 5,069 feet. There are a total of 80 campsites. The campground is open all year. 31 sites can accommodate RVs between 20 and 99 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. 1 site has electric hookups. Fees range from $20.00 to $170.00. Some amenities include flush toilets. Activities include hiking trails.

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34.27091, -111.31680
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(928) 468-7135 (Information)
(877) 444-6777 (Reservations)
$20 - $170

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (184)

4.3 out of 5

5 star		61%
4 star		21%
3 star		9%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

@eugeneB2195925 · Camped on Oct 10, 2024 at Campsite #3

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 #13

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 #4

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 #17

The facilities were nice, but there was a lot of road noise all night.

@michaelg734741 · Camped on Aug 9, 2024 at Campsite #6

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 #6

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 #24

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 #2

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 #6

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 #20

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 #2

Bill is very nice camp host

@BarbaraC646329 · Camped on May 19, 2024 at Campsite #21

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 #10

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 #21

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 #13

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 #30

Definitely wouldn't recommend

@MarkM2223984 · Camped on Apr 26, 2024 at Campsite #11

We enjoyed the secluded camping spot and the clean restrooms. We had last been at Houston Mesa 2 years ago, and were disappointed to find that the dump station was closed, and that camp hosts no longer sell firewood, yet fees were still the same. Fortunately, we found a gas station in Payson where there was a free dump station.

@BobE4E783C0486 · Camped on Apr 26, 2024 at Campsite #3

Been coming here for years and there has been a marked improvement on the facilities, since Valerie too over as camp host. Bathrooms are super clean and for my city slicker friends that is important. We love feeling like we are out in the wilderness, yet enjoy being 20 minutes from world class pizza in Pine. Trade offs are being close to everything vs no traffic. Different camping trips for different weekends and time frames. We will keep coming back.

@bradf2551374 · Camped on Apr 26, 2024 at Campsite #2

Camped at Houston Mesa three different times and enjoyed the near-by sites especially Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.

@JamesB7853748 · Camped on Apr 18, 2024 at Campsite #3

Excellent

@GraceA4380933B · Camped on Apr 4, 2024 at Campsite #G2

We really had a great time. We reserved the group site, the only problem is that the electric outlets are on one side only. This poses a problem because quite a few people have to park closer to be able to access it. Also there use to be showers and now there arent any. It would be great if the showers were open again

@MarcoC7231412 · Camped on Oct 29, 2023 at Campsite #2

Clean sites. They are close together, but the trees make you feel alone. Noce place!

@JamesC4D8CB717 · Camped on Oct 28, 2023 at Campsite #30

Camp host was very friendly and helpful. Very quiet not too full.

@KimbleV6D4C12D · Camped on Oct 23, 2023 at Campsite #18

Very clean restroom though and beautiful campground. We'll be back.

@KevanMB4D06371 · Camped on Oct 13, 2023 at Campsite #25

Nice somewhat excluded feel to the site we had. Bad part was the large family that was playing music unbelievably loud like it was a night club until around 12:30am when we had to call the police. That shut the music off but the hooting and hollering continued until around 2am. Kept most of the campgrounds up all night. We were too tired in the morning to explore. Saw that the same family was staying another night and we packed it up a day early as we could handle another night of no sleep. Not a peep from the on-site host. Won't be back.

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