Camp Tontozona — Hotel in Four Corners States

This is a perfect retreat for true Sun Devils who have toiled outside in the summer sun during the hottest week on record. I attended ASU and so did both my kids. The thought of spending 4th of July weekend at the famous Camp Tontozona (now called Tonto Creek Camp) in the cool pines powered me through the week long blazing inferno of 118 -115 degrees heat. My family was greeted by our friendly host Thomas who showed us the way to our cabin and gave us a welcome note card with his cell phone number include. My daughter's six month old puppy was no problem, Thomas only requested good pet etiquette and clean up anything. ||Our two bedroom cabin, Sparky's Den overlooks the spring fed pond and lush green football field ringed by shady trees. It was such a pleasure to wake up every morning and jog a few miles around it and think about all the legendary ASU football stars who must have done the same. Danny White, Jake Plummer, and Pat Tillman to name a few. We then drank our coffee on the shady wrap around porch and savored the cool 60 degree mornings. I led the first hike to the Waterfall on Tonto creek with my 89 year old mother and brother in law who was still recovering from a near fatal car crash. We were all delighted to be alive and enjoy such a spectacular view of the red rocks and plunge pools. ||For a busy holiday weekend, ASU's Tonto Creek Camp felt very quiet and secluded. When we hiked over to Kohl's Ranch to check out the horse stables it was very loud and raucous, and we were quite happy to hike back home to Tontozona. ||I had read that the upper practice field had an archery set up so we had brought our bows and arrows. Brad the archery/geology camp instructor saw us and opened up the archery shed and let us borrow any equipment that we needed. So wonderful! Brad tutored my husband on how to aim (spouses can never teach one another anything, can they?) We shot arrows until our arms were tired. Afterwards we saluted Kush Mountain and used the "Exceptional" athletes path that leads back down to the lower Performance football field and our tribe sprinted across all 100 yards back to Sparky's Den. We found the grills behind the pumphouse and asked Thomas for permission to use one. We had brought charcoal so we grilled dinner every night and had chicken kabobs, steaks and chops outside on the picnic table. Payson has a spectacular 4th celebration fireworks at Green Valley park. All too soon it was time to scrub down the cabin and leave it as nice and clean as we found it. After all it's like using a good friend's older cabin, we bring our own towels, sleeping bags, bar soap and whatever. Thanks for the memories, Arizona State University and please hang on to Camp Tontozona, it's one of the best...

This is a perfect retreat for true Sun Devils who have toiled outside in the summer sun during the hottest week on record. I attended ASU and so did both my kids. The thought of spending 4th of July weekend at the famous Camp Tontozona (now called Tonto Creek Camp) in the cool pines powered me through the week long blazing inferno of 118 -115 degrees heat. My family was greeted by our friendly host Thomas who showed us the way to our cabin and gave us a welcome note card with his cell phone number include. My daughter's six month old puppy was no problem, Thomas only requested good pet etiquette and clean up anything. ||Our two bedroom cabin, Sparky's Den overlooks the spring fed pond and lush green football field ringed by shady trees. It was such a pleasure to wake up every morning and jog a few miles around it and think about all the legendary ASU football stars who must have done the same. Danny White, Jake Plummer, and Pat Tillman to name a few. We then drank our coffee on the shady wrap around porch and savored the cool 60 degree mornings. I led the first hike to the Waterfall on Tonto creek with my 89 year old mother and brother in law who was still recovering from a near fatal car crash. We were all delighted to be alive and enjoy such a spectacular view of the red rocks and plunge pools. ||For a busy holiday weekend, ASU's Tonto Creek Camp felt very quiet and secluded. When we hiked over to Kohl's Ranch to check out the horse stables it was very loud and raucous, and we were quite happy to hike back home to Tontozona. ||I had read that the upper practice field had an archery set up so we had brought our bows and arrows. Brad the archery/geology camp instructor saw us and opened up the archery shed and let us borrow any equipment that we needed. So wonderful! Brad tutored my husband on how to aim (spouses can never teach one another anything, can they?) We shot arrows until our arms were tired. Afterwards we saluted Kush Mountain and used the "Exceptional" athletes path that leads back down to the lower Performance football field and our tribe sprinted across all 100 yards back to Sparky's Den. We found the grills behind the pumphouse and asked Thomas for permission to use one. We had brought charcoal so we grilled dinner every night and had chicken kabobs, steaks and chops outside on the picnic table. Payson has a spectacular 4th celebration fireworks at Green Valley park. All too soon it was time to scrub down the cabin and leave it as nice and clean as we found it. After all it's like using a good friend's older cabin, we bring our own towels, sleeping bags, bar soap and whatever. Thanks for the memories, Arizona State University and please hang on to Camp Tontozona, it's one of the best...

I have attended this camp twice with my children’s school as a chaperone. I attended 3 years ago, and more recently in October 2024. While there is nothing glamorous or fancy about this camp, it is an amazing experience for the children. They get to spend so much time with their classmates doing outdoor activities, focusing on teamwork and engineering. When I came to camp 3 years ago camp was organized, hosted by truly passionate people, and well run. The bunks and housing are older and perhaps on the rundown side, but overall still a great experience. However, this recent trip was nothing like the past experience. It was disorganized, our rooms were still being “cleaned” when we arrived, and the staff left something to be desired. The kitchen staff was friendly and responsive and a guy they call Bigfoot was incredible with the children. Very kind, patient and encouraging. Marylou seemed interested in making it a great experience for the children as well. There was one staff member, Chrissy or Christy, who always had a look of distress and she was constantly muttering to herself. She seemed uninterested in helping the children, off in her own world, or downright bothered they were there.

I can’t remember the name of the man that was running the camp 3 years back, but I hope he is able to come back and get it running smoothly again. This is such a great opportunity for our elementary school children and it would be a shame for them to have to miss out on it. Even after this experience I would love to be able to return to the camp with my son and have him get the experience he should have gotten the first...