We camped here early in the winter and again this spring. It is a great in between spot to camp for rock climbing. We LOVED rock climbing on the hills above the campground. Fantastic climbing. I also enjoyed reading all of the history of the prison camp that was there.

Definitely read the information panels across the dry wash near the entrance

Absolutely beautiful! We started at prison camp and hiked down.If you hike down from the top, make sure to get trolly tickets before so you dont have to walk the extra 4 miles

Georgous. Its open and running however i left due to high winds i noticed that people wrte burning wood fires i however wad apprehensive due to the recent fires .

Awesome hiking and historical education. The creek was lovely and the trail is so unique for this area of Arizona. This would be an awesome place to camp and explore for a few days.

Nice place great point for climbing, hiking, mtn biking camp. Down side.... we found over 20 nails in the drive thru parking area for sites 11 & 12. See pictures. FYI sites 11 & 12 share a drive/parking and have tables right next to each other. Nice for a group.

Its about 15 from the base of the mountain. The campsites here have some shade. Theres a seasonal Creek running through it, and is tucked away from the highway. There are parking spots for day-use hikers to park. Its a short jaunt from Tucson to find a fun place for kids to explore.

This is a great place to camp. Biking and hiking trails start and finish right from the campsite. Lots of great views.

Great history of Japanese internment @ Mt.lemmon

Its part of Mt.Lemon. lots of fun.

Its not as clean as other campgrounds like Sycamore. The weekends are for cross country biking. No running water.

By itself, its not much, but this is a great place to access a lot of what the Catalinas have to offer, like rock climbing, day hikes (or longer) into the wilderness, even equestrian trails.

Great place to visit and discover some history

My new favorite place to hike

Peaceful. Beautiful. Well worth the tough hike !

Really nice area. Had snow today

Grate camp and hike location halfway up Mt Lemon. Lots of historical landmarks. Made it there for Easter. Ended up making friends thanks to my dog and we had a feast together.

My little peace if heaven on Earth and right on my back yard simply love it

Very nice & clean

Love going hiking here. Lots of trails and neat areas.

Very beautiful place.

Really enjoyed this beautiful place and the great walking trails. First time for me. Will be back

Cool place. Read about its history on the sign there. Stream running during certain times of year. My dogs enjoy romping through it. Fall, winter and spring are best times. Too hot in summer.

Price has increased this season to $20 per night. Place was quiet by 8 but it was cooooold.

Sad history but a nice little hike. Connects to the big trail cant wait to try it since they worked on it.

Beautiful but the road into the back area (group camping area) is awful. You could loose a car in some odd the holes.

Interesting history and glad to see some informative displays.

This is a great area to get on to the Arizona Trail or camp during its camping season. Not a ton or parking for non campers. Access the south end of Bug Springs Trail also.

Beautiful clean campgrounds and the scenery was gorgeous. Also had a very nice memorial for the prison camp and was a good lesson in history!

Had a really good time camping there. Nice hiking spots

Bug springs/prison camp down hill night ride... COMING IN HOTT

Cool

Great hiking trails

Cool

Sites are geared more towards trailer camping. Sites do still work for tenting, but Molino Basin would be a better experience.

Really couldnt judge it fairly. It was closed because of flash flood danger. My daughter and I walked through the campground on the way to the Arizona Trail. It was a great day to hike.

High desert adventure at its best!

Closed to vehicles when we were there on a Monday. Not sure why. The hiking trails are nice and take one through some beautiful desert / mountain foothills terrain.

Great for a quick getaway. No running water, so be prepared. Beautiful scenery and hiking. Fave spot in winter

This is now a multi-use trail but I knew it as Prison Camp. The name Prison camp came from the Federal Honor Camp begun in 1937 to house federal prisoners supplying labor to build a road providing access into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Prisoners had been convicted of federal crimes ranging from immigration law violations to tax evasion to bank robbery.

This ia a trailhead for some good hikes, and also a small and quiet campground. Check out online for the largely off trail hike to Gibon Mtn. if you are up for and capable of off trail navigation. There is an interesting story to the name. Hirabayashi was a Japanese citizen who challenged the internment of the Japanese during WW2. He lost the case in the Supreme court, but the decision was repudiated in 2011. He was also a Quaker and was convicted of draft resistance, serving a sentence of hard labor (building the highway) at a low security Federal prison camp at the trailhead location - a number of old foundations are there. Read about it on the wiki, interesting story. It is a very scenic location at least to spend a prison sentence, and reasonable temp in the summer.

Nice place to camp, hiking areas, lots of trails, ruins you can check out

Very open location. Not so much shade, but the trails are beautiful.

Awesome history here. Definitely worth stopping and reading all the history of this place

Great history hidden on out Mt

Water and nice place for day trip.

Very nice area to park for free and start a bike ride road or mountain bike

Nice easy hike. 7 miles up the road to My Lemmon. Not a lot of shade.

GREAT HIDE AWAY FOR LOVERS

One of my favorite trails. Lots of fun wildlife on the Arizona Trail

Climb, hike and take in some history! Great winter get away

This is my favorite way to enter the Santa Catalina Mountains. The climbing here is great, the trail is clear and well maintained. When the campground is open you can park at the trailhead but when the campground is closed you can just park at the entrance and walk through the campground. The Arizona Trail (AZT) crosses directly at the beginning of the trailhead. If you go right you head up into the Eastfork area of the mountains. If you go left you head downhill to Molino Basin. My favorite way to go is to, Prison Camp, otherwise known as Soldier Canyon, a small box canyon that is great for climbing. To get there you go right at the trailhead. At the first marked junction go left towards the Soldier Trail but instead of taking the taking that trail you pass into the creek bead and head downcreek. Just past the concrete slab you go to the right out of the wash and then down a rocky gully to the lower sandbar. When water is flowing there is a beautiful waterfall here. Climbing can be found here and further down the canyon as well. Enjoy!

Great hiking from here, look for deer.

Basic National Forest camping amenities in a cozy setting.

More of a camp host presence for the facilities would be nice.

Awesome biking, hiking, and daytime/nightime picnicking/camping!

Beautiful sites

Nice and interesting it got some history to it

Great exploration and camping location

Great place to camp

Great hiking and climbing

It was hot and very interesting

Wish there was more information available

BEAUTIFUL

Beautiful hiking trails and wildlife

Sad. Make a point to visit this monument to our national shame.