Go if
You want well-maintained forest camping with helpful hosts and don't need hookups.
Select a month, then check for open campsites
Price
$29 - $150/night
Booking
Reservable
Sites
28 campsites
Season
Peak season: May 1 t...
Cell
Unknown
Pets
Very Pet Friendly
Select a month, then check for open campsites
Price
$29 - $150/night
Booking
Reservable
Sites
28 campsites
Season
Peak season: May 1 t...
Cell
Unknown
Pets
Very Pet Friendly
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1009 East Highway 260, Payson, AZ 85541, USA
You want well-maintained forest camping with helpful hosts and don't need hookups.
Highway noise bothers you or you require electric and water hookups at your site.
Reference information about Sharp Creek sourced from official USFS records and forestcamping.com. View official recreation.gov page →
<p><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53108273@N03/albums/72177720304322165" title="Sharp Creek Campground and Group Sites"><img alt="Sharp Creek Campground and Group Sites" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52552273612_a8fcacac3b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p><p>Sharp Creek sits at a cool 6,000 feet elevation, perfect for escaping the desert heat of southern Arizona and getting away to shaded forests and refreshing creeks and lakes. It is surrounded by a thick ponderosa pine forest below the Mogollon Rim. The clear waters of Christopher Creek are less than a mile away. The Mogollon Rim, pronounced by locals as "muggy-own," is a 200-mile long cliff in northern Arizona that ranges between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. The unique landscape was created by extreme erosion and faulting that has sculpted spectacular canyons and buttes. The rim serves as the geographical dividing line between the cool high country above and the hot, dry desert below.</p><p>Sharp Creek Group Campground is popular for large groups. Weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries and more may be hosted at the group sites. Each group site has a designated vault bathroom with paved parking lot for friends and families to visit for the day. A large open field is shared in the middle of the group sites to hold mini games for families.</p><p>There are more secluded campsites offering privacy and tranquility for smaller families on the other side of Sharp Creek Campground. These campsites are spread out with several back-in and pull-through sites for RVs. Review At-A-Glance below for more details about this site.</p><p><strong>Recreation: </strong>The campground is in a central location for hiking, fishing, boating and picnicking. Anglers can try for trout in nearby Christopher Creek. Hikers can access the historic Highline National Recreational Trail, which runs for 51 miles along the base of the Mogollon Rim, from the 260 Trail three miles east of the campground. Two lakes nearby offer additional fishing and boating options.</p><p><strong>Facilities: </strong>Sharp Creek is a small campground with 28 campsites conveniently spread out into three loops. Campsites are spacious, comfortable and well-maintained, with some shade. Each has a picnic table, grill, campfire ring and lantern holder. An additional loop contains three group campsites that can each accommodate 75 people. A group picnic shelter is available as well. </p><p><strong>Nearby Attractions: </strong>The small town of Christopher Creek is less than a mile away and has a few restaurant and shopping options for basic conveniences. Woods Canyon and Willow Springs Lakes sit above the Mogollon Rim, only a 10-minute drive away, and offer boating and fishing.</p>
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Best season: fall. Fall delivers the most comfortable high-country weather and the best overall experience at Sharp Creek — crisp days (typically 55–75°F) and cool nights (around 30–40°F) make hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing especially pleasant. Afternoon monsoon storms have waned, bugs are reduced and trails are dry, so water activities and scenic loops feel effortless. Crowds are thinner than mid-summer weekends, though October still draws steady visitors ahead of the campground’s Nov 3 seasonal closing. Peak months: October, September, May, June Avoid: November, December, January, February
Fall described as most reliable: 55–75°F days, fewer bugs, trails dry and high visitation in Oct.
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Sharp Creek Campground provides basic but well-maintained amenities suitable for tent, RV, and group campers. The sites are spacious, include picnic tables, fire rings, grills, lantern holders, and are surrounded by shaded ponderosa pine forests. The campground sits at a cool elevation of 6,000 feet, creating a respite from the heat of southern Arizona. Additionally, water spigots with good pressure are located near bathrooms and dispersed sites, but no hookups are available for RVs. Vault toilets are consistently described by users as exceptionally clean and well-maintained.
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