Payson Lakes Campground
1¾ T$/0
Payson Lakes is a great place to camp, bike and play in the water. But it keeps pretty busy in the summer on weekends. There are lots of places to camp for free just off the highway below and above the two turnoffs to the lakes. We had our summer camp there this year and last year (2018 & 2019) and had a blast. Big East and McClellan Lakes are the best of the three. The far side of McClellan is better for swimming, fishing and boating in a low water year. There is a $9 fee per vehicle to enter the lake parking areas and an annual rate for about $30. But you can park at the Loafer Mountain trail head just below and walk to McClellan Lake.
Pay camp sites are $21 for up to 8 people and reservations must be made at least 5 days in advance. Extra vehicles are $8.
for reservations or http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/alerts-notices/recarea/?recid=9844&actid=33
Most of the sites don't have room for more than one tent. Some of the bigger camp sites are 13b, 3c, and 22c (could add adjacent 19c for more people) and double site 27c-28c. There are a lot of group sites at Black Hawk campground a few miles further up the highway, but I believe it was hit by a fire in fall 2018. They run over $100 per night. The best site would D1. A5 and A6 are good too.
Mountain Biking: There are some great bike rides where you can drop people off at the top and pick them up at the bottom. Several easier ones all end at the lower Jones Ranch trail head. The easiest one starts at the upper Jones Ranch trail head above the Payson Lakes Guard Station. It starts with a short steep walk to the top of the ridge and then all downhill from there. The Rock Springs trail head just below the Guard Station has a long gradual climb to the top of the ridge and then downhill from there. The harder of the three starts further up at the Frank Young Canyon trial head. It starts going downhill on a jeep trail, but you must exit left onto a single track that only has a sign '097' on it about 1/4 mile down. After going downhill for about a mile it goes uphill through some rocky areas and then merges with other trail going down. For a more advanced thrilling ride, start at the Loafer Mountain trailhead just below the lower Payson Lakes turnoff and take the first left (Bernie Creek cutoff) and ride all the way down to the Grotto. But this trail was closed in 2019 due to the fires. All of these rides take about a half an hour each.
To get there take exit 215 in Payson, take a left on first north and a right on 6th east and head up the Mount Nebo Loop.
Go past Maple Dell scout camp until you see the Payson Lakes turnoffs.