Tonto National Forrest is closed...
We drove up to Heber on Tuesday after securing a reservation for 4 days at the Heber RV Resort {a very nice facility but I digress}. Before getting the reservation I just figured would drive up 87 out of Payson and pull into one of the many campgrounds in the area.
As we got closer to Payson we began seeing signs lit up with the message "Forrest Closed" which we correctly assumed was due to the extremely high fire danger. Now most of the campgrounds are booked up as the multitudes flee Phoenix and Tucson seeking relief from the record breaking heat we have been experiencing.
Three very popular CG's in row were shut/locked down as we headed east climbing the Mogollon Rim: Ponderosa, Christopher Creek and Sharp Creek all had the gates locked. Now this means that 250+ sites are no longer available and yet last week they were all booked up for weeks to come so there has to be a lot of folks desperately seeking sites. By the time we reached the top of the Rim we had moved out of Tonto NF and into Sitgreaves NF and no such restrictions were in place.
We are finally getting a steady rain but no lightning today so the fire danger should be mitigated somewhat. Bottom line is do not even think about coming up here without reservations though you may be able to boondock subject to the ever changing fire restrictions. If you have reservations at any of those CG's check to see what their current status as we rode by all three on the motorcycle this morning and they were all still locked down. We will be here until Saturday morning and then we will head east to the Rainbow CG at Big Lake {at 9,000+'} and no restrictions currently in place and yes we have a reservation.
Hope this helps someone out there. :B
As we got closer to Payson we began seeing signs lit up with the message "Forrest Closed" which we correctly assumed was due to the extremely high fire danger. Now most of the campgrounds are booked up as the multitudes flee Phoenix and Tucson seeking relief from the record breaking heat we have been experiencing.
Three very popular CG's in row were shut/locked down as we headed east climbing the Mogollon Rim: Ponderosa, Christopher Creek and Sharp Creek all had the gates locked. Now this means that 250+ sites are no longer available and yet last week they were all booked up for weeks to come so there has to be a lot of folks desperately seeking sites. By the time we reached the top of the Rim we had moved out of Tonto NF and into Sitgreaves NF and no such restrictions were in place.
We are finally getting a steady rain but no lightning today so the fire danger should be mitigated somewhat. Bottom line is do not even think about coming up here without reservations though you may be able to boondock subject to the ever changing fire restrictions. If you have reservations at any of those CG's check to see what their current status as we rode by all three on the motorcycle this morning and they were all still locked down. We will be here until Saturday morning and then we will head east to the Rainbow CG at Big Lake {at 9,000+'} and no restrictions currently in place and yes we have a reservation.
Hope this helps someone out there. :B
