Rose Canyon Campground

October 18, 2024. A very new experience for me. Born and raised in Idaho lived in Montana, have camped my entire life have family members who are fire fighters, and actually started a fire station in Utah. We are extremely protective of the earth, knowing how important it is to be in charge of your fire when you are in the woods. That brings me to my experience. We drove several hours to arrive at our destination very excited to enjoy the day in this beautiful area. However, we parked at a day camp area that was covered in on cement Ground . It had a huge built-in fire pit. We built the fire to roast marshmallows, and enjoy our time. Out of nowhere, a man walks up to us with a bucket of water . We all said hello and then he abruptly throws the bucket of water . It hitting a family member and soaked her body. Of all the people in our family she is not healthy. This person never said a word. He just threw water . If he would’ve said something, he would’ve gladly put the fire out ourselves, although there was nothing out of control. I ask why he would ever treat anyone so rudely . He told me I was stupid and so was everyone in my group! We were a group of six completely surrounding the fire pit, watching it carefully. As he was yelling at me and telling me how stupid I was it upset my grandson so bad he couldn’t control himself and said don’t ever speak to my grandmother. that way . We ask him to apologize. He said he’s not apologizing to anyone. We packed up our stuff, only relaxing for about a half hour and decided it was time to leave. As we drove out of the campground, we stopped and talked to other campers one of which was a family who were either Retired or were at present firefighters. They told us that he came up and threw water on theirs as well ! as we approach the entrance and ask for our money back, his wife was the person who took our money she scream at us and told us she quits. She is not putting up with this and she said we were all stupid. I asked her. Why did she call me stupid she said I didn’t call you stupid , I called you all stupid. We ask her if she would like to fill the wet clothes and see what her husband did and as she stormed off , she said we have no idea what is like to deal with people. Absolutely no apology. The fact is, I do know how to deal with the public. I work with them on a daily basis and for most of my life, I can’t imagine ever treating another person that way. That being said after driving such a long time and starting to enjoy the absolute beauty of this area and then be treated so unbelievably rude. I have to say I wouldn’t tell one person to go there . As far as I’m concerned the Park needs to review their employees or who they have in charge because they are not running it properly . As we were leaving, there were five or six other people from other groups that were upset and saying the same thing. Here is a picture of how far he through the water, soaking her legs and feet.

The campgrounds are great and the small lake is nice, however the “staff” completely ruined our experience. We drove 2.5 hours to visit the picnic areas here for the day to get out of the city and enjoy nature. Upon arrival we were charged $11 for parking and not given any other information. There were no signs posted regarding fires other than “no fireworks” We drove to one picnic area and when the camp host came up to us he rudely asked, “what do you think you’re doing??” And told us we could only park in a designated area about a mile away. We packed up and went to the designated area. When there, we stayed on a concrete area with a built in fire pit and made a fire. A few hours later, the host drove up to us, parked, filled a bucket with water, walk to us, and THROW the water towards the fire and completely drenching my friend. We told him his actions were inappropriate and that he owed my friend an apology but he refused and berated us and called us stupid. We asked if there were no fire signs and he refused to answer. We have the entire interaction on video. We would have happily complied if he had simply asked us to put the fire out, even though there was no need. His only claim was that it was “windy.” After speaking with other campsites that had similar experiences, former fire fighters confirmed that our controlled fire was no danger. When we went back to the gates the hosts wife also continued to call us stupid and stormed off. Thankfully another staff member refunded us, but the hosts are completely out of control and did this to multiple picnic areas and campsites. Here is a photo of our fire we were so “stupid” for having on a concrete area in a regulation fire pit.

Gorgeous spot, the drive up from Tucson is magical! You round a bend with rocks and desert all around, then suddenly … boom Pine Forest. Bullfrog tadpoles were all over in Rose Canyon Lake. Found a patch of snow at the top of the mountain in early May. Never thought that would happen in Arizona.

This campsite should be renamed mount sour for the sour attitudes of the host. Im very disappointed. Our group drove 2.5 hours to have a day trip and enjoy the outdoors. The staff that monitor the camp sites are very rude. There were no signs that said no fires. We had a fire in the fire pits provided and without warning or any conversation, a man (staff member) walked up and doused our fire with a 5 gallon bucket of water, he also doused my friend with the water, not caring that he could have burned someone from the steam. He refused to apologize for soaking my friend and repeatedly called us stupid. If he would have asked us to put out the fire, we would have done so, but instead we had to leave because my friend was soaking wet. I’d like to mention there were no signs that fires are not allowed. We used the provided fire pit, and were not being irresponsible.

We attended a wedding here this past weekend. The hosts, Shane and Vicki, were very accommodating and friendly. The bathrooms were well maintained. They were selling ice at the little store by the lake, which was a relief. With fire restrictions in place, make sure you bring propane grills (and possibly fire rings). Also bring shade tents, as some sites don’t have a lot. This was a lovely campground experience that we would recommend.

Rose Canyon Campground is, and has always been a beautiful place to camp. However, I wanted to take a minute, and say THANK YOU to the people who manage, and maintain the campground. The campsites are meticulously cleaned, the restrooms are spotless, and they are only too happy to help in any way to make sure you enjoy your stay. They actually add to the experience, if you're fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with them! Again, Thanks for doing such a great job, it is appreciated!

We camped at site 24. It was perfect. The weather was amazing. The lake was great, even though we didn’t catch anything. My only negative was that there were a ton of yellow jackets.