Los Burros Campground

Los Burros is located 7 miles down a dirt road off Highway 260 between Pinetop and Greer. The road in was in great condition so it took only 15 minutes to get back there from the main road. There's not much around besides a 14-mile biking/hiking trail right there along with a few more trails scattered in the area. We spent a lot of time on the Los Burros Trail and also drove up to the Land of the Pioneers Trail which was fun riding, too. They haven't had rain in a long while, so the trail was very dusty. So was the campground. And although we were in Stage 2 fire restrictions, the forest service was doing a prescribed burn on the shortcut trail about a half mile from the campground. It was smoky in the evenings, overnight, and in the morning.

But despite all the dust, smoke, and unseasonably warm weather, we had a great time with our Airstream friends. The sites are spread out well, and there is a lot of shade to stay cool. Sites 5 and 3 are close enough together (as is 6), so it was a good set up for our camp. No one camped in site 6.

The campground is free, but it's very well-maintained and has a host. We were surprised that it was only about half-full over this summer weekend. The vault toilet is kept very clean.

No water on site, but the Hon-Dah RV park at the casino about 3 miles on 260 towards Pinetop has free fresh water fill and it's only $5 to dump.

We didn't see much wildlife at camp, but they may have been spooked by the fire. Saw an elk and some wild turkeys on the trail though.

We have a 38ft Class A motorhome. After reading the reviews we decided to try it. What we didn’t count on was mud and snow melt. There was a BIG area of water that almost completely covered the road just before the campsites. You could see it was deep and slippery from the tracks. Since our RV is not 4wheel drive we did not want to chance getting stuck. We backed out, looking for a place to turn around. We thought we found the perfect spot. I walked it and it felt dry and solid however, it was not, under the weight of our RV. We got stuck, for 2 days, halfway on the road but 4 out of 6 tires stuck in the mud and not enough power to pull ourselves out.

Long story short, thank you Lynn and friend for pulling us out of the mud. You are our hero’s. AAA had told us for 2 days that they would be there in 90 minutes, however, they never showed up and finally at the beginning of day 3, we will be there in 90 minutes call, they called back and said they could not help us. Gee thanks, it would have been nice to have had that info at the first call or first day instead of the 7th or 8th.

Actually, it was kind of nice getting stuck, just me and hubby, with no TV, Internet or other typical daily distractions. Of course, it would have been better not having to deal the mud and unhelpful automotive service. We did get the chance to speak with several very nice people who stopped to help.... (Thanks for checking, but AAA is on their way) Ha!

Even with our eventful mess, we loved it. It truly was quiet, we walked to the campground and if we could have made it there in our rv, it would have been perfect.

Verizon cell service is almost nonexistent, only some texts and sketchy calls. No amenities except a vault toilet. Beautiful, quiet, serene are a few words to describe it. There were horses in the pastures nearby and a lot of horse droppings on and near the roads. (Not a problem unless you step in it.) There is a trailhead about 0.8 miles up the road. We were pretty tired just walking up there, so didn’t actually walk the trails.

There is 7 miles of washboard dirt (no gravel or very little), rough road to get there. We bounced quite a bit, but it wasn’t too bad if you went slow enough. There is a cattle guard at the entrance.

All in all, we would return if no rain (it had rained the day we went there) and the snow was already melted.

The other reviews are correct about all the data and other information. My review is to simply say that I loved it for its peaceful area. Well off the beaten path. Plenty of sites. Friendly attendant. My son and I came here for a mountain biking trip from Phoenix. Although you can bike and hike the Los Burros trail, we only saw a few hikers and bikers. Can’t wait to return in the fall for the colors.

Los Burros is located seven miles up a wide gravel road from the town of McNary. The road goes by various names: Vernon – McNary Road; County Road 3140; and Forest Road 224. It is one of those rapidly disappearing campgrounds that is still operated directly by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest instead of being leased to a commercial operator. There are 12 designated sites and a volunteer camp host who has hosted at this campground for three or four years. There’s no water, no garbage, no fee, and very nearly no cell connectivity, even with the amplifier and antenna. Both Verizon and AT&T signals would come and go. The host said he got 3 bars of Verizon 3G with an amplifier - we did too, occasionally.

There is a very clean vented outhouse, tall pine trees, and a huge, open meadow that should attract wildlife although we haven’t seen anything except an occasional squirrel. Many of the sites were hiding in knee high grass. We didn't see any sign of burros, but there are a couple small corrals if you bring your horses along. I suspect it would be a very popular place during hunting season.

Unfortunately, BJ's allergies went on the rampage so we pulled up stakes after three days and headed further east.