campsite at Upper Canyon Creek campground - by Tony Padegimas
These two campgrounds are five miles east of AZ288 on forest road 33. Both survived the 2002 Rodeo Chediski fire nicely, even if the surrounding area did not fare so well. Both campgrounds are shaded by deep, tall stands of ponderosa pine. Both campgrounds are an easy hike from Canyon Creek.
Both campgrounds sit at about 6600 feet above sea level.
A campground host covers both site through the summer, with the host’s site located at Upper Canyon Creek. Neither campground has potable water, trash service or fee. Both have vault toilets.
Airplane Flats has 12 sites, while Upper Canyon Creek has only ten. Upper Canyon Creek, though, is larger, and has the promise of more privacy. Some of Upper Canyon’s sites are designed as group sites and the host will try to reserve them as such so long as individual sites remain open. It is not possible, however, to “officially” reserve any of the sites. They are all first-come-first serve.
While all of the sites at Airplane Flat have tables, only the “group” sites at Upper Canyon are so equipped. Every single site has a fire-ring.
At Upper Canyon Creek, the footpath to the creek starts out from campsite #3. Do not be fooled by the other foot trails that follow along the barbed-wire fence surrounding the campground. The trail crosses a meadow and reaches the creek in about one-tenth of a mile.
These campgrounds are located about five miles east of AZ288 on forest road 33. See the Canyon Creek area main page for information about the general vicinity.
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