Luna Lake
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading
- A night
- $26From, per site
- Sites
- 5932 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 15Opens May 15. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Luna Lake Campground is a pleasant vacation site with open forest, lush meadows, a lake with great fishing, first rate mountain scenery and additional recreation facilities located within easy travel distance. This friendly campground is located in an open stand of ponderosa pines within walking distance of Luna Lake and 5 miles east of the town of Alpine, Arizona, close to the New Mexico border. Keep reading
Recreation
Fishing, horseback riding, boating, mountain biking and hiking are some of the activities enjoyed by campers. A non-motorized trail system is open to horse, bicycle and pedestrian travel. Visitors should be aware that although horses are allowed on some of the trails, livestock is not permitted in the campground. Fishing is available in the lake, and a boat ramp provides easy access to the water. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout. The lake is used for irrigation during the summer; fishing is best in spring and early summer. A marina, fishing pier, bait shop, boat rentals and picnic area are located in the day use area. Families can also learn about the many cultural and natural features of the forest by attending educational programs in July and August.
Facilities
The rustic campground is located a short distance from Luna Lake. Three group campsites are available for reservation, one fits up to 40 people, another up to 56 and one large group site that can accommodate up to 120. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided.
Natural Features
The area sits at an elevation of 8,000 feet in the scenic Apache National Forest in eastern Arizona. The campground is near 75-acre Luna Lake, surrounded by a ponderosa pine forest. A large wetland for nesting waterfowl lines the lakeshore, providing good wildlife viewing opportunities. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (928) 537-8888.
Nearby Attractions
The town of Alpine is convenient for shopping and services. The area is also rich with cultural history, outdoor recreation and sightseeing opportunities, including the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway and Escudilla Wilderness. 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
Standard Single Family sites: Recreation Use Fee allows ONE camping unit ONLY.
Extra Vehicles: Cannot be paid for in advance - upon arrival coordinate with the host for payment and where to park.
Late Arrivals: campers are not considered a "no-show" until 24 hours after arrival date check in time. Our policy is that your site will not be released before that.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE sites must be booked in person. DO NOT call to determine availability, as they are only available on-site.
Opening and closing dates are weather permitting, please call 928-537-8888 for more information, or email camping@rrmofa.com, please specify campground name.
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.
Click here for more information on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
This is a high elevation facility, use caution when traveling from lower elevations.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 59 · 3 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 192 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…site that can accommodate up to 120. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Natural Features…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…accommodate up to 120. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Natural Features The area sits at an…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Meadow
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 19th darkest of 262 in AZ
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 26 km away
- Peak color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 32 of the 59 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
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.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $26 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
60 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 32 mapped sites2 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.
All 60 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 55 of the 60 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 59 of the 60 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| LUNA | A1 | type not stated | 35 ft | 1,901 ftLittle Creek | 320 ft | $33.97 | |
| LUNA LAKE | Group Site A | group standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 632 ft | 976 ft | 2,135 ft | $75–$200 |
| LUNA LAKE | Group Site B | group standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 470 ft | 975 ft | 1,516 ft | $75–$200 |
| LUNA LAKE | Group Site C | group standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 424 ft | 1,309 ft | 1,205 ft | $75–$200 |
| MAIN | 0013 | standard nonelectric | 70 ft | 97 ft | 1,169 ft | 559 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 002 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 103 ft | 1,715 ft | 362 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 003 | standard nonelectric | 128 ft | 92 ft | 1,621 ft | 321 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 004 | standard nonelectric | 69 ft | 92 ft | 1,623 ft | 410 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 005 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 72 ft | 1,518 ft | 423 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 006 | standard nonelectric | 52 ft | 72 ft | 1,531 ft | 486 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 007 | standard nonelectric | 100 ft | 100 ft | 1,387 ft | 602 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 008 | standard nonelectric | 130 ft | 100 ft | 1,307 ft | 591 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 009 | standard nonelectric | 27 ft | 116 ft | 1,213 ft | 816 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 010 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | 80 ft | 1,097 ft | 876 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 011 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 80 ft | 1,044 ft | 860 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 012 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 97 ft | 1,184 ft | 580 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 014 | standard nonelectric | 136 ft | 134 ft | 1,345 ft | 422 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 015 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 90 ft | 1,451 ft | 289 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 016 | standard nonelectric | 128 ft | 81 ft | 1,555 ft | 236 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 017 | standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 81 ft | 1,537 ft | 200 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 018 | standard nonelectric | 90 ft | 70 ft | 1,531 ft | 193 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 019 | standard nonelectric | 98 ft | 70 ft | 1,483 ft | 243 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 020 | standard nonelectric | 68 ft | 77 ft | 1,400 ft | 324 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 021 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 77 ft | 1,415 ft | 319 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 022 | standard nonelectric | 75 ft | 78 ft | 1,307 ft | 423 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 023 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 78 ft | 1,267 ft | 480 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 024 | standard nonelectric | 192 ft | 190 ft | 1,300 ft | 641 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 027 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 190 ft | 1,195 ftLittle Creek | 828 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 028 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 97 ft | 922 ftLittle Creek | 1,004 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 029 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 97 ft | 1,007 ftLittle Creek | 909 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 034 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 314 ft | 1,140 ftLittle Creek | 782 ft | $26 |
| MAIN | 039 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 1,460 ftLittle Creek | 556 ft | $26 | |
| MAIN | 040 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 1,460 ftLittle Creek | 556 ft | $26 | |
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 001 | type not stated | 1,891 ftLittle Creek | 325 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0025 | type not stated | 1,221 ft | 621 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0027 | type not stated | $33.97 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0032 | type not stated | 1,027 ftLittle Creek | 891 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0033 | type not stated | 1,135 ftLittle Creek | 774 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0035 | type not stated | 1,199 ftLittle Creek | 715 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0036 | type not stated | 1,235 ftLittle Creek | 708 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0037 | type not stated | 1,335 ftLittle Creek | 606 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 0038 | type not stated | 1,300 ftLittle Creek | 662 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 026 | type not stated | 1,300 ft | 641 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 030 | type not stated | 835 ftLittle Creek | 1,068 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 031 | type not stated | 1,007 ftLittle Creek | 900 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 041 | type not stated | 1,085 ft | 1,497 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 042 | type not stated | 997 ft | 1,373 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 043 | type not stated | 1,072 ft | 1,411 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 044 | type not stated | 1,167 ft | 1,402 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 045 | type not stated | 1,296 ft | 1,417 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 046 | type not stated | 1,250 ft | 1,469 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 047 | type not stated | 951 ft | 1,445 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 048 | type not stated | 877 ft | 1,383 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 049 | type not stated | 933 ft | 1,275 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 050 | type not stated | 1,084 ft | 1,278 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 051 | type not stated | 1,168 ft | 1,259 ft | $33.97 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | GR1 | type not stated | $33.97 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | GR2 | type not stated | $33.97 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | GS3 | type not stated | $33.97 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | XXX | unnamed record | 99 ft | $33.97 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It types it MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
25 of 60 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
From Alpine, drive 5 miles east on U.S. Highway 180 and turn north (left) onto Forest Road 570 just east of Luna Lake. Follow the gravel road one mile to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Alpine, AZ
Typical weather
Typical May night 32°F, day 69°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 32°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Luna Lake 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 →