Beautiful place to camp. Quiet, even though Forest service had to come put out an illegal fire at the campsite next to us, then law enforcement came and issued citations. Beautiful and generally quiet. If youre going up please be respectful of your neighbors and follow the rules. No point in burning down the entire forest and ruining it for everyone!

At over 200 miles long, the Mogollon Rim stretches from eastern Arizona all the way to New Mexico. It sits 2 hours northeast of Phoenix near the city of Payson. During winter months these areas can see much cooler temperatures and even snow due to the elevation. The rim is around 7,000 feet in elevation and with the handful of lakes it’s a popular place to escape the hot summer months here in Arizona. There are several paid campgrounds throughout the area as well as some day use areas including hiking, fishing, and kayaking opportunities. The further down the road you go as you can also find areas to take part in free primitive camping. This is great for if you have a larger group or prefer some additional privacy while camping. Keep in mind that this will require an additional drive of around 30-40 minutes off of the unpaved road to find a site. Unfortunately, there are steep drops to get to the lake so there aren’t many options to camp near the water but you can easily get within a half mile of it depending on how busy of a weekend it is. They even allow camping for up to 14 days at a time so it’s good for longer stays during the summer months as well. Once things get back to normal we hope to be able to go stay here for a few days as we escape the 100+ degree heat waves in Phoenix!- @wanderingwithustwo

The views are incredible!!! We went in early November but the weather was still great to walk the trails as the sun streamed through the pine trees. The observation deck view is something to see in person, and pictures cant do it full justice.

A beautiful spot to stop, stretch the legs, and take in the view. Unfortunately, when we visited on October 8th, we found the center and (most tragically) the bathrooms were locked up for the season. Note that if you approach from the west, its easy to miss the turn, but its not difficult to go a little further and make a u-turn to get into the parking lot.

The views from here are spectacular. The visitor center was closed and the bathrooms are closed for the winter. There is plenty of parking and no hiking is necessary to get to locations for great pictures

Come and see the cinnamon colored black bear that is on display! The ranger staff is friendly, fun, and very knowledgeable. Bring your camera and take some totally awesome pictures of the national forest! The restrooms are clean and orderly. Theres plenty of room for parking. There are also several pamphlets and information you can pickup at no charge. Plan on making this one of your main stops. You wont regret it and the memories will last you a lifetime!Great job and hats off to our Forest Rangers. We love them for all they do!Sincerely,Paul G.Payson, AZ.

Great opportunity for selfies and landscape photos. Hosts were informative. It was 9-11

The view was awesome, but the bathrooms were closed. Good thing there are trees around. Lol

The visitor center was actually closed but they have a great view and this is a nice place to take photos.

While the visitor center was not open, the parking area is a great place to take off on a hike. Gorgeous views of the rim from a viewing platform.

Gorgeous view! Go inside and get the stamp, talk to the super nice ladies. We were there one day before Smokey the Bears birthday. So we were told he would be on site the next day. We returned the next day

Great views. The kind of view you would see on a calendar, and I actually have. (•‿•)

Little visitors center right off the 260 with gorgeous views from the deck!

Super scared of heights. This was an awesome stop on our road trip.

Quite the view from 7700 feet. I stayed a week off of NF 764 road - on the Rim.

This is one of my favorite places to take a break when driving. Love the view.

June 12 - June 14, 2020. This is the 2nd overland trip for Los Winkles that included multi-nights stay with minimal gear. We took the new 4Runner. We had originally planed on staying at a campsite behind the Mogollon Rim Visitors Center on FR171 but by the time we got there on Friday all the camps were taken. We ended up looking for a place to stay on the trails south on Young Road.I switched into 4H while off the main R’s but didn’t need it. It did provide some extra traction on some of the unpaved, washboard roads. We forgot the sleeping bags and didn’t have a good cook table. We definitely had to get creative. We are lucky that it wasn’t that cold.We took the 260 up through Payson, stayed for a few nights and took Young Road back through Miami-Globe. The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests is a national forest is pretty awesome. I would definitely recommend taking Young Rd.This camp site was nice and quiet. People cruised up and down the road on ATV’s for the most part. The kids (1 and 4) could run around with minimal worry about danger. We had some friends come visit us for a day outing and it was nice.I would recommend this location for an easy drive and great scenery.

This is a great place to get away. With breath taking views from the visitor center to trails through the forest, it has always been a great place to visit. Its close enough to the city where you can go for a weekend or just for the day. My family loves to drive up to the rim in the summer for a nice picnic with cooler weather. The lake is not to far from this location so there is plenty to do.

Seduce delightful but no garbage receptacles which was sad

Dispersed camping is totally awesome here the camp grounds are number clean (leave it like that) there is trails all around you .. the lake is near by and we had a very great weekend there

A small visitor center with a great view on the side patio.Currently closed due to COVID 19 but you can visit.

One of the greatest views on the planet.

Surprised by the beauty and the View, especially from the deck behind the Ranger Station. No walking trails.Wheelchair Accessible.== DANGER ==Strictly control children and pets.

The visitor center is currently closed until further notice. The view is just priceless. Just seeing the forest from above it all is breathtaking.

The view was beautiful. The restrooms were locked, there was nobody at the visitor center it was locked. Trash everywhere, no trash cans in site, Im disappointed .

Beautiful views and great weather. Super busy this time of year as people try to escape Phoenix heat.

Beautiful place. NO MASKS WERE WORN ANYWHERE IN THAT BUILDING! Come on people. Enforce it

Lots of parking, even for RVs. They do close early, around 3p.

This place is mesmerizing! It leaves one breathless. We travel thru this route once a month, never gets old! Today is the first day of fall, with rain and thick low clouds. Leaves are starting to change from their Summer camouflage to bright Fall colors. Temperature drops about 30 degrees from Phoenix heat. A must stop for a view with breathtaking depth.

Loved it the place to camp here was free and the volunteers how clean are incredibly nice and they do there job so amazing I was very delight to stay at this location for camping.

Amazing views. Its closed now, but there is parking and its worth the view!

Great views! Not much else to say due to them being mostly closed due to COVID, but it’s a great place to stop and take a quick break during a roadtrip

Great information center with a cool map of the area with a huge deck that overlooks from the top of the mogollon rim. I also enjoyed a hiking trail just off the parking lot.

Beautiful overlook, some nice t-shirts and information.

Its as close to Heaven as youre going to get standing on Earth...

It was breath taking ...over whelmingly beautiful.

Its really great you can actually kiss the sky.

Breathtaking view, I could sit there for hours.

We went here to take family pictures because of the view. It was beautiful.

It has a magnificent view. Its a very peaceful place and people have left memorials for love ones.

The center was actually closed due to COVID-19, but the views were a good preview for more to come if you proceed to more of the Mogollon Rim.

Beautiful views, definitely take just an extra 5 minutes to pull over and take a quick peek. The visitor center is closed and cant remember if Ive ever seen it open.

It is well worth the drive through this area of Tonto national Forest. this particular vista stop has a very epic scenery not easily forgotten.

Great view, and you can even see Four Peaks off in the distance.

What a view, one of the most spectacular places i have ever visited. Sir Arthur Colan Doyles lost world come to life.

I decided to come up to the rim visitor center because of the beautiful reviews I had seen. Came with my 2 yr, 4 yr, 7yr an my husband an we were absolutely in love!! Amazing! We checked weather before going an it had said high 89 an we wanted to get out of the 118 degree weather. When we got there around 2 pm we ran into a ran storm that last about 10 mins which made the temperature 57 degrees qe were absolutely thrilled!! Once the rain stopped we got out an saw all the beauty!! Hung out for about an hr drove up the road found a random neighbor hood pulled over saw some horses an had lunch in the. Ack of the suv ! Had brought sandwich stuff!! It was the perfect day trip!♡♡♡ fell in love with payson! Cant wait to explore more!!

Cannot use the restrooms and there is no place to dump trash. Im paying state and federal tax, where are my trash cans? The lanes to turn off to this parking lot are very short too which is kind of dangerous.

Epic place, Gods an incredible designer !!

Heights isnt my thing! However a site to see indeed.

Great view of the Forest. We even saw a few Elk

The view is so beautiful! Must see!

This spot has an amazing view, a misty see if in the area.

Incredibly beautiful view of the Mogollon rim and get info posted to give you a quick history about the area. Located just off of AZ HWY 260 righ across from the entrance to three very popular lake destinations (bear canyon lake, willow springs lake and Woods Canyon Lake) Truly an Arizona beauty!!

We visited to celebrate Smokey the bears 75th birthday! We loved meeting Smokey, eating cupcakes, and getting some Smokey kid trinkets. The view is gorgeous and the little center has some neat exhibits of learning for the kids

Great place to hike. Beautiful scenery.

Its a nature center with a great view

Super cool view.

Nice place to stop and take a break. Bathrooms do not have toliet paper in the cottage like restroom by highway so take some with you. This is great place with phone signal and safe place to walk the dog.

Great sunset and scenic photography spot.

Beautiful views but was closed for the season

Nice but COVID closed

A very nice place to stop and check out. The view is amazing. There is not a lot in terms of services but definitely worth the stop.

So breathtaking! A great little visitor center.

Clean, friendly stop. Beautiful views!

Nice clean amazingLove it

Nice clean visitors center but closed due to covoid-19. Bathrooms closed too !!!

The view is amazing and you can walk around and enjoy the mountain air. The downside is the restrooms.

Beautiful viewsTheres a restroom, but but rude people dont know how to keep it clean. I just cant believe what human do with their feces and TP. CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF.

Beautiful scenery. Love it.

Very cool view, we didnt stop long but it was an amazing place to stretch out and look around!

Closed. Just to get off the highway if you get in there

Very great place to camp, kayak, fish, etc. Magnificent views!

Great views, but it was inexplicably closed on a beautiful Saturday.

Just stop and look, it will take 5 minutes.

Incredible view. Off Ice closed.

Stunning view if you can handle the dangerous roads, drive.

It is a nice little place with some memorabila there. It is more of an information station with a deck on back. A beautiful overlook.

True beauty!!

Drove over Route 260 on our way to San Diego. What a gorgeous drive. Enjoyed the view at the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center very much. In fact, we enjoyed this road and the visitor center view so much that we altered our planned route back home so we could enjoy Route 260 out of Payson, and the visitor center view, a SECOND time.And if you take the dirt road that begins to the left of the visitor center, it takes you past a little picnic area with benches, and beyond that quite a few free campsites. We had no trouble driving the dirt road in our 2019 sedan.

One of my favorite places on the planet

I seen a dirty diaper

My favorite place

Its a good place to swim and paddleboard but the bathrooms are filthy!

Beautiful view, it makes you realize how nature takes care of itself.

This is definitely my home away from Phoenix! This is truly where my soul is happy! If you love the pines and the nice, cool breeze in the day! Id come here and spend at least the day! Stunning views of the canyons, the rim is amazing! So many lakes to visit and bring the kids to. Alot of various animal life, seen mustangs, porcupines, elk, deer, have heard of some bear! I love to take Forest Road 300 and enjoy the views of the cliffs, and canyons. Also is an historic cabin out here, where there used to live old National Forest Service for the lookout of wildfires.

Great view!

Awesome High country

Beautiful views. The Visitor Center was closed due to COVID.

This is such a gorgeous place. Every time I drive this way I stop here to see the beauty.

Its a very small sweet Little Outpost of The Forest service. my only complaint about it is that it has very limited hours due to staffing shortages. Its really hit or miss if youre going to find it open. But the staff is fantastic, very engaging, and really knowledgeable.

Beautiful peaceful ️

Great little stop the win the Little Shack there cast of fossils information great little place to just stop and stretch your legs and maybe have a picnic

The view cant be expressed even in words must see for your self.

Gorgeous views, clean and well maintained

Loved this place, cant imagined how beautiful it is to see

Place was beautiful but the people that took care of the place were very rude

Beautiful place to see the view

A beautiful place to visit in Arizona. 40 min east of Payson.

Dont expect much. Theres never anyone working here. Its just a place to stop and stretch your legs and take in the view. You cant get questions answered but you can take your dogs out to pee. The building is situated on the edge of the Mogollon Rim. The view is fantastic. You can walk around it and take pictures from the porch. That is all there is.

Loved the view and weather was perfect. No rangers in when we visited...but the place was peaceful with nice refreshing breezes. Bathrooms were gross, but..... when youre dealing with the public, I guess its something you just have to deal with and take your chances..lol. I just took a peek inside and decided I didnt need to go just yet!