Benny Creek Group Area
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 15:56 UTC
- Sites
- 10In the agency’s record
- Season
- May 15Opens May 15. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Benny Creek Campground offers group camping in the remote and scenic White Mountains of Arizona. A perfect outdoor retreat for small to medium group gatherings, the campground is situated in a pine forest above Benny Creek and within walking distance of Bunch Reservoir and Greer Lakes. Picnicking, fishing, hiking and boating are often enjoyed by campers. Keep reading
Recreation
Excellent creek and lake fishing for trout draws anglers to the campground. Hikers can seek out the Squirrel Springs trail nearby. Those wishing to relax on a scenic drive can explore the White Mountain and Coronado Trail Scenic Byways.
Facilities
Three group camping areas are available for groups up to 24 or 32 guests. When not reserved, these sites may be available on a walk-in basis, and there are several individual sites that are also first-come, first-served. The campground can accommodate tents, trailers and small motorhomes up to 24 feet. A dump station is available across the highway at Hoyer Campground.
Natural Features
Benny Creek Campground sits in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona at an elevation of 8,250 feet. Campsites are fairly open under a canopy of ponderosa pine. Abert squirrels and chipmunks are common campground residents, and mule deer and elk inhabit the area as well. The nearby reservoir is one of three area lakes on the Little Colorado River. Summer temperatures can be very pleasant due to the elevation. However, the rainy season often brings afternoon thunderstorms from late June through August. Visitors should come prepared for rain and cool nighttime temperatures. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (928) 537-8888.
Nearby Attractions
The nearby town of Greer offers gas, groceries, restaurants and equipment rentals. Visitors can explore endless vistas and take part in many outdoor activities in the surrounding Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, which encompasses 2 million acres of magnificent mountain country in east-central Arizona and New Mexico.
What the agency tells you
Reservations are only available for small groups. When not reserved, single family sites may be available on a first-come, first-served basis. DO NOT call to determine availability - they must be booked in person.
Extra Vehicles: Cannot be paid for in advance - upon arrival coordinate with the host for payment and where to park.
Opening and closing dates are weather permitting, please call 928-537-8888 for more information.
Everything else this campground posts · 3
This is a high elevation facility; use caution when traveling from lower elevations.
Bears frequent the area; please obey all food storage rules and regulations. Check with your host for details.
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 10 · 9 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Night sky · 45th darkest of 262 in AZ
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 22 km away
- Peak color
Nothing to book until it reopensread 15:56 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Every line of the receipt · 11
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 4
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Benny Creek Group Area closed this Friday and Saturday night. The U.S. Forest Service has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 3
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Rolfe C. Hoyer CampgroundApache National Forest · 0.7 mi
- Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area CampgroundSitgreaves National Forest · 39 mi · walk-up
- Cosmic Campground International Dark Sky SanctuaryGila National Forest · 49 mi · walk-up
recreation.gov availability, read 15:56 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
10 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 9 mapped sitesAll 10 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 9 of the 10 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 01 | group standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 583 ft | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 019 | group standard nonelectric | 65 ft | 392 ftBenny Creek | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 019.5 | group standard nonelectric | 14 ft | 345 ftBenny Creek | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 02 | group standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 515 ft | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 020 | group standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 318 ftBenny Creek | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 03 | group standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 544 ft | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | 04 | group standard nonelectric | 110 ft | 449 ft | $60–$80 | |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | GS1. | group standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 15 ft | 530 ft | $60–$80 |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | GSB. | group standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 14 ft | 355 ftBenny Creek | $60–$80 |
| BENNY CREEK GROUP AREA | Management | type not stated | 35 ft |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
HoyerApache National Forest · 0.6 miRolfe C. Hoyer CampgroundApache National Forest · 0.7 mi
WinnApache National Forest · 5.8 mi
BrookcharApache National Forest · 12 mi
Rainbow (AZ)Apache National Forest · 12 mi
GraylingApache National Forest · 12 miFrom Show Low, Arizona, take Highway 260 southeast 42 miles to Highway 373. Follow 373 south for 2.5 miles to the Benny Creek Campground entrance on the left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Greer, AZ
Typical weather
Typical May night 33°F, day 66°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Benny Creek Group Area is in Arizona’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Eli Crane (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →