Agency-listedUSFSFee
Ponderosa Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · AZ · 34.29748, -111.11520
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Ponderosa Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,676 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ponderosa 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 Ponderosa Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery9 mi
- FFuel9 mi
- WWater10 mi
- DDump10 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- RxPharmacy13 mi
- +Urgent care13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- MMechanic31 mi
- AAir-up32 mi
- LLaundry46 mi
- OOutfitter54 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Ponderosa Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,676 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
34.29748, -111.11520
Cost
Fee · Forest Service inventory: fee charged
Nearby & resupply — around Ponderosa Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBoy Tank (water) · nearby
- Nearest townThompson Draw Summer Homes Unit #1 · ~0.9 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.9 mi
- FuelSpeedway · ~11.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationWoods Canyon Dump Station · ~10.0 mi
- GroceriesWoods Canyon Store · ~10.1 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~12.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicBanner Payson Medical Center · ~12.6 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~12.2 mi
EV charging — from Ponderosa Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.2 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 reach3 within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 123 within 100 · 170 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.4 mi — Payson, AZ - Tesla Supercharger, Payson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO56.6 mi — Walmart 1328 (Winslow, AZ), Winslow
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)46.0 mi — MOSCATO STATION2, Camp Verde, AZ · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 Ponderosa Campground · Tonto National Forest · AZ — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPonderosa Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPonderosa Group · ~0.2 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLower Tonto Creek · ~2.6 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMidway · ~2.9 mi N · USFS
Open Ponderosa Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Ponderosa Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Ponderosa Group~0.2 mi
- Lower Tonto Creek~2.6 mi · fee
- Upper Tonto Creek Campground~3.1 mi
- Christopher Creek Campground~4.6 mi
The unit that manages Ponderosa Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ponderosa Campground are set by Tonto National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Ponderosa 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.
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 Ponderosa 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 — Ponderosa Campground
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →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 →