Houston Mesa CG review

[AZsix]

Located in Payson, AZ in the Tonto National Forest.

The cg has certain sites that are reservable and some that are not. The website diagram lets you know which sites are which. There is also one section that is set aside for tents only though tents are allowed in the other section. Cost is $18 a night.

We had site 11. I picked it because it seemed the most secluded. The cg is located about 3 minutes north of Payson. The cg is heavily wooded, lush and well kept. There are no hookups but they do have clean restrooms with flush toilets and pay showers. ($1.75 for 6 minutes) There is drinking water available throughout the cg.

The sites themselves for the most part are huge. There are some that are slightly smaller but they are all heavily wooded and very private. They all have picnic tables and fire rings. From our spot we could not see another site. Where the trailer sits is paved and very level, some more than others. I didn't have to do much to get our pup level. We were located at the rear of the cg where it borders Houston Mesa Rd. You could hear the traffic though it's not a heavily traveled road and even then mostly during the day. Site 15 is a great site, that is across from the restrooms. 14 is also nice. It's right next to the drinking water faucet so you don't have to go far for water. The bad news is that others may come for their water. There are only a couple of sites that I would not want to be in. There is a nature trail with signs identifying plants and the importance they play in the Eco system of the Tonto National Forest. There is also a trail (that started next to our site) that led out of the cg and up a small hill. There is a clearing at the top that showed evidence of visits by elk and deer. I asked the hosts about wildlife and they said they get elk and Javelina in the cg on occasion. There was a sign posted that said "Bear Country" but when I question them on it they said that it's further north and in the five years they have been there they have never seen or heard of anyone seeing one.

Speaking of the hosts, they were great. They were very friendly, knowledgeable about the area and always willing to stop and chat if you wanted them to as they made their frequent rounds.

Along Houston Mesa Rd their are some Indian ruins about 5 minutes away and Water Wheel swimming hole in the East Verde River about 10 minutes away.

The cg was pretty empty while we were there and when I questioned the hosts about it he said that the last two weeks of July and first two of Aug are less crowded because of the monsoons. There was one couple in the site near us that came in Sat afternoon with a tent but after the storm blew through late Sat afternoon they packed up and left. Normally he said the cg is full on the weekends.

My overall assessment of the place was that I loved it.  :-() It would be nice if they had hookups but I'll take the huge sites and privacy over hookups. We enjoyed our stay there immensely. So much so that we are planning another trip in Aug. It is a forest setting but you are only minutes from town should you need something or want to dine out or have an ice cream. WalMart is a few minutes away and Home Depot is practically across the street. I don't think you would be disappointed with a stay here.

As a side note, we had actually wanted to stay at Christopher Creek CG as we had really wanted to spend time at Christopher Creek but we couldn't get in. On our way back to our cg from Christopher Creek on Saturday we passed that cg and decided to take a drive through to see what we were missing. Well we weren't missing a darn thing! I am so glad we didn't stay there. No room between sites, no hookups with vault toilets. It was mostly tents and seemed to be designed that way. I have no intention of ever staying at that cg.

[BuddyBear]

Thanks Gary.

BB