Agency-listedUSFSFree
Airplane Flat Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · AZ · 34.28303, -110.80820
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Airplane Flat Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,540 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Airplane Flat CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Airplane Flat Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater2 mi
- DDump3 mi
- ShShower3 mi
- @Mail3 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- RxPharmacy16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- AAir-up16 mi
- +Urgent care18 mi
- EVEV fast charger29 mi
- LLaundry44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Airplane Flat Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
6,540 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
34.28303, -110.80820
Cost
Free · OpenStreetMap fee tag: no
Nearby & resupply — around Airplane Flat Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWater · nearby
- Nearest townForest Lakes Estates · ~3.9 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~2.5 mi
- FuelFuel · ~3.8 mi
- Propane / LPGPinnacle Propane · ~16.1 mi
- Dump station~3.1 mi
- GroceriesForest Lakes General Store · ~3.2 mi
- PharmacyWhite Mountain Pharmacy · ~16.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicBanner Payson Medical Center · ~29.5 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~29.3 mi
EV charging — from Airplane Flat Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger29.3 mi straight-line W — APS - Payson (Payson, AZ) · Electrify America · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 112 within 100 · 176 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.5 mi — Payson, AZ - Tesla Supercharger, Payson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO52.8 mi — Walmart 1328 (Winslow, AZ), Winslow
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)43.4 mi — Best Western Paint Pony Lodge, Show Low, AZ · CHARGELAB · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 238674 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Airplane Flat Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAirplane Flat · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Canyon Creek · ~0.5 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletColcord Ridge · ~2.4 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCanyon Point Campground · ~2.7 mi N · USFS
Open Airplane Flat Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Airplane Flat Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Upper Canyon Creek Campground~0.5 mi
- Colcord Ridge~2.4 mi
- Canyon Point Campground~2.7 mi · fee
- USFS dispersed camp — AZ #6~2.8 mi
The unit that manages Airplane Flat Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Airplane Flat Campground are set by Tonto National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Airplane Flat Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Airplane Flat Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Airplane Flat Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Picking a spot →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →