Oak Flat, Tonto National Forest, AZ

Oak flat is a campsite between Globe and Superior in Tonto National Forest, AZ. We stayed for 3 days in mid-March and liked it well enough; though, of the 3 campsites we have stayed in in AZ, it is our least favorite.

Upon entering the site there is a section with about 4 or 5 campsites, and then there are 2 roads that lead (we assume) to more campsites, one marked for high clearance vehicles only. We did not explore down either of these roads.

The campsite was very busy when we arrived, and we expected to see much fewer people when the weekdays came, but were very surprised when it stayed quite busy, for camping and picnicking on both the weekend and weekdays. Perhaps it was so busy because it was on/ near Spring Break for nearby schools.

The campsite we set up in was very large, and had plenty of room for all of our stuff, which included a large tent, a screen room, a small tent for the dogs, and a privacy tent. The kids and dogs had tons of room to run around, and behind our campsite was a small trail and a sizable hill that the kids loved exploring.

As far as amenities, there were no bathrooms, and no trash pick up. A "primitive", "Pack In Pack Out" campsite. There were, however, picnic tables and fire circles, both of which make things quite a bit easier while camping out. (Additionally, the area seems like a frequent lunch picnic spot, presumably for the employees of the nearby mine.)

It had rained the week before we came to the campsite, and nearby there was a small body of water (like a large pond), as well as a creek, and a huge muddy area. The kids and dogs had a good time exploring the mud and creek, and we discovered that Linus loves to splash around in shallow water. Near the water there was a shelter that was clearly man-made that was made some time before we got there.

The campsite had no cell phone reception, and were were actually asked (be two different people) for rides into Superior so they could make phone calls for assistance with their cars. One person's car wouldn't start, and the other had gotten not one, but two of their trucks, and an ATV stuck in all of the mud. Kevin tried to help these people get out of the mud, and they gave him a few dollars for the assistance, so that was very kind of them.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay, but next time will likely go further down one of the roads in the back of the first set of campsites, because the areas that way looked more scenic. (Our campsite had nearly no foliage, and was just a large dirt lot.)

Jones Water, Tonto National Forest, AZ

Jones Water is a lovely campsite on the other side of Globe from Oak Flat, in Tonto National Forest, AZ. The drive into the site is a shady unpaved road with trees overhanging, as you can see in the pictures in the slide show below. We stayed at Jones water for 3 days in late-March.
There are few campsites, and the sites themselves are all quite small, except for the one directly across from the bathroom. (The one with the table marked with the number 2). This worked out just fine for us, and made it so we didn't have reason to set up our privacy tent.

Much to our great pleasure, the restroom was extremely clean, and maintenance/ clean up people for the campsite came daily to clean out the restroom and they even took out a load of our trash for us.

Behind our campsite we found a very tiny stream (really just a few inches, both across, and deep, though it trickled along the entire length of the campground). The kids and dogs enjoyed exploring along the stream, and we saw and heard lizards, a small mouse of some kind, birds, and various unidentified critters near the stream. Early one morning, I heard something that sounded fairly large down by the stream, I imagine it was a javelina, since we saw javelina tracks. Though it could even have been a coyote; we also saw tracks and scat that lead us to believe there were coyote nearby.

When we went on a family exploration walk, we found that another campsite had a swing made from a rope and a stick tied in a tree, and the kids had a great time playing on that. The dogs found patches of grass to roll in, and we also found a neat "wash" type area with a big collection of river rocks, and some really interesting black sand.

While the experience really felt and sounds like a great time out in the wilderness, we were constantly reminded that we weren't all too far from civilization. While we weren't close enough to have cell phone reception, we were a LITERAL "stones throw" from the highway, and sometimes the amount of traffic, and the noise from it made it sound like just another day in the city.

Jones Water was not busy, as far as other people camping, as a matter of fact, there were no other campers while we were there, though there was one couple who came, made a campfire, and then slept in their car and left in the morning, The relative privacy was great for the dogs, who we allowed to run and explore, pretty much to their hearts content. The site was, however, busy for people using it like a quick pit stop. Stopping to use the bathroom, exercise their dogs, and just get out and stretch their legs. We saw so many people doing this, it doesn't seem like we were alone at the site much at all.

So far, Jones Water has been our favorite campsite, but that's only out of 3, so there is a chance we will like another one better soon enough.