Camping near Tonto Basin, Arizona

Camping near Tonto Basin at a glance

Public campgrounds

8 (8 National Forest)

Getting a site

6 reservable and 2 first-come

Cost

2 free; lowest posted fee at Burnt Corral Campground: "Single Site: $20 per night"

Distance from Tonto Basin

9.6 miles (Cholla Campground) to 21 miles (Schoolhouse Campground) in a straight line; 1 within 15 miles

Elevation

1,900 ft (Apache Lake North Shore Boat Campground) to 2,200 ft (Grapevine Group Campground), 7 of 8 on record

Season

2 open all year

Campsites

399 across the 6 campgrounds that state a count

RVs

5 take RVs; no hookups on record; longest stated RV length 55 ft (Cholla Campground)

Drinking water

5 of 8

Distances are straight-line miles from Tonto Basin's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.

More campgrounds within 30 miles of Tonto Basin

• Frazier Horse Campground, 16 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $16 per night); listed under camping near Roosevelt.
• Reynolds Creek Group Campground, 19 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group Site: $75 per night; additional vehicle $10 per night); listed under camping near Young.
• Riverside, 20 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $16 per night); listed under camping near Carefree.
• The Point, 21 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Apache Junction.
• Bagley Flat, 22 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Apache Junction.
• Tortilla, 22 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $20 per night); listed under camping near Apache Junction.
• Ironwood Campground, 25 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , County , reservable ($25/night semi-developed site (2026 rate), plus a $10 reservation fee); listed under camping near Fountain Hills.
• Mesquite, 25 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $16 per night); listed under camping near Carefree.
• Larry Forbis Group Campground, 26 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group Site: $75 per night); listed under camping near Mesa.
• Horseshoe, 26 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $16 per night); listed under camping near Carefree.
• E.I. Rowland Campground, 27 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , County , reservable ($40/night developed site (2026 rate), plus a $10 reservation fee); listed under camping near Fountain Hills.
• Lost Dutchman State Park, 29 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , State Park , reservable ($50 electric, $35 non-electric, $25 rustic hike-in per night; extra vehicle $15); listed under camping near Apache Junction.
• Houston Mesa Group, 29 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group Site with electric hook-up: $170 per night); listed under camping near Payson.
• Houston Mesa Campground, 30 miles from Tonto Basin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $29 per night); listed under camping near Payson.

Things to do near Tonto Basin

Public land and water within 30 miles of Tonto Basin, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.

• Tonto National Forest, all 8 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Cholla Campground at 9.6 miles from Tonto Basin; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
• Salome Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 14 miles from Tonto Basin; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Roosevelt Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 14 miles from Tonto Basin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Four Peaks Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 17 miles from Tonto Basin; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Tonto National Monument, a National Park Service unit whose mapped point is 17 miles from Tonto Basin; its entrance fees, current alerts and fire restrictions, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Apache Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 18 miles from Tonto Basin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Bartlett Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 19 miles from Tonto Basin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Bartlett Lake water level, a reservoir whose mapped point is 19 miles from Tonto Basin; current water level on reservoirfinder.com.
• Theodore Roosevelt Lake, at Grapevine Bay (20 miles from Tonto Basin): Shoreline site on central Arizona's largest lake, about 8.5 miles south of Theodore Roosevelt Dam, with views of the Sierra Ancha Mountains.
• Hellsgate Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 22 miles from Tonto Basin; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Tonto Basin

Nearest emergency room: Banner Goldfield Medical Center, 2050 W Southern Ave, Apache Junction, AZ, 35 miles from Tonto Basin , (480) 733-3300. Next nearest: Honorhealth Four Peaks Medical Center, 1301 South Crismon Road, Mesa, AZ, 36 miles, (480) 358-6100. Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) ; the location of Honorhealth Four Peaks Medical Center is from OpenStreetMap, the Census geocoder could not place its address. In an emergency, call 911.

Groceries

• IGA supermarket · 1 mile
• Jake's Corner General Store general store · 12 miles
• Marina Convenience Store convenience store · 15 miles

Fuel

• 24-7 Gas fuel station · 12 miles

RV dump station

• Cholla Campground campground · 9.6 miles

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Tonto Basin: propane, potable water fill, pharmacy, laundromat, and ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-09-29; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.

Common questions