Windy Hill Campground

There was only a handful of people here when we started this week. Only two small loops are open right now, though you can see rigs in the gated off areas so I’m not sure what that is about. The lower coyote loop is where we stayed and it barely had enough internet for work. Download was ok, but upload wasn’t good at all. I am pretty sure the higher elevation upper loops had better signal and thus the good internet reviews here. Kids loved the playground. It could use some more signage because we got turned around inside trying to get out a few times. The host was very friendly. Showers not open right now. Perfect for visiting the Cliff dwellings.

Windy Hill is a nice and large campsite great for tailer or tent camping. We decided to try it since School House Campsite was almost full just down the road. I was charged $25 per night for a single site (pay station available as you enter.) I felt $25/ night was a little high for no hookups and also no dump station available. There are options available on Thurs - Friday, but not open on the other days of the week. Overall there are plenty of places to bike and hike. We found a nice trail around the lake for a small hike. It's perfect for kayaking, fishing, or boating. There were other campers who brought their jet skies. I guess not too chilly if you have wet suits. Our campsite was clean, nearby trash bins available. The campsite was Coati space 40. There were only 2 other sites occupied in that area, so it was super quiet. Nearby Tonto National Monument of the cliff dwellings is awesome. It's a small hike up a path 300 feet high to the remains of cliff dwellings, it's a must-see. It cost $10 per person or the annual pass for all national parks is $80.

Our rate reflected a senior discount. We stayed in the Coyote campground, site 290. Beautiful spot with views of the lake and sunset. It was very level, with a covered picnic table and fire pit. There were only 3 of us in this loop So it was very quiet. Though I imagine it would be crazy if it were full as the sites are close together. This area has flush toilets and Bathrooms were old but clean.

The Windy Hill Recreation Site is in the Tonto National Forest. It’s next to Theodore Roosevelt Lake, a beautiful and gigantic lake that is the most vibrant blue color. In front of my site is the Salt River, which is equally enchanting. The campsite is lovely with everything you need, along with a flushable toilet nearby. There are lots of places to explore on foot. I'll be back for sure, but prepare yourself for a crazy drive to get here.

This was our first stop in Arizona, coming west from NM.
We loved the drive and seeing the saguaro cactus's and wild flowers along the way.
Our site was fairly private and close to the restrooms.
We only stayed one night so didn't take advantage of the lake or the hiking trails.
The sites are high on a hill looking over the lake.
We stayed in the area that allows only smaller rigs and had a peaceful nights sleep even though some inconsiderate person ran their loud generator well into the night.

While this review applies to the Windy Hill campground, the bulk of it also applies to most of the other campgrounds near the reservoir.

Overall this was a great campground. It was uncrowded, which made the experience so much better and we were able to snag a site with a great view.

Cost: Nominally $20 but $10 of that is for access to the park. If you have an America the Beautiful pass, or another annual pass good for national forest access, then camping is $10 a night.

Sites: The sites are fairly spacious, level and gravel. All have a picnic bench, steed awning, and fire pit. Most sites have trees. Only the host sites have hookups - this is dry camping.

Most sites can fit larger RV's with no problem (we had plenty of room for our 40-foot class A plus our minivan toad), but some of the curves could be a challenge for larger RV's and some of the trees could also be a problem.

Facilities. Windy Hill has showers and flush toilets, a very nice bonus. There are also plenty of water faucets and dumpsters scattered around. There is, however, no dump station - it's located up 188 at the Tonto Basin Dump Station.

Internet Access: This site is remote, but we had good internet access. However, signal throughout the campground is highly variable and you can go from no signal to 5 bars within a short distance. Those who need internet access should check at available sites. We had good access on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile:

AT&T: This area is an HSPA+ area. We generally got around 4Mbps peak, slightly slower in the evenings.

Verizon: LTE is available but we only got about 7Mbps peak - around 5 was more typical.

T-Mobile: T-Mobile was about the same as AT&T but latency was quite a bit higher for us.