Portal CCC House
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 26 of the next 26 nights read 16:43 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Portal CCC House is a five-room cabin located just west of Portal, Arizona. The fieldstone masonry cabin has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the few remaining structures from the 1930s-era Cave Creek Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Camp. The CCC House was built to serve as the camp's garage; the large vehicle entries were later filled in and the structure was converted to housing for a telephone switchboard and its operator. While the historic appearance has been maintained on the exterior, the interior was remodeled to provide modern amenities for visitors. Keep reading
Recreation
Cave Creek Canyon is located on the eastern slope of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona, about 2 1/2 hours from Tucson. Cave Creek Canyon is world-renowned for its dramatic rock formations and diverse wildlife. Birding is exceptional year-round, and particularly rewarding during the summer months. Hiking and rock-climbing are also popular activities, and the canyon has numerous picnic areas along Cave Creek for hikers.
Facilities
The Portal CCC House is a five-room cabin, suitable for up to five people. It has electricity and running water. The cabin has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a large kitchen/dining area. The first bedroom has a twin-over-double bunk bed; the second has a queen-sized futon. A table with seating for four is located in the dining area, which also has a wood burning stove (firewood is provided). The kitchen is equipped with a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, and coffee pot. Pots pans, utensils, and dishes are provided. Outside, guests will enjoy using the propane grill and furniture for outdoor dining. Although the cabin has amenities for comfortable lodging, guests will need to provide some of their own supplies, including food, sleeping bags or linens, pillows, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper, and garbage bags. It is recommended that guests bring additional drinking water and flashlight in case of emergencies.
Natural Features
The Portal CCC House is located at the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon at an elevation of 5,000 feet. The canyon's soaring cliffs, with their caves and pinnacles, are often described as "Arizona's 'Secret' Grand Canyon." Cave Creek, a perennial stream, flows nearby.
Nearby Attractions
The Portal CCC House is located approximately one mile west of Portal, Arizona. Attractions in the area include Chiricahua National Monument, Fort Bowie National Historical Park, historic Camp Rucker, the Geronimo Surrender sites, and the International Border and the border community of Douglas, Arizona.
What the agency tells you
Pets are NOT permitted inside or outside the cabin. Unfortunately, due to a history of pet owners inadequately cleaning up after their pets, pets are no longer allowed. Forest Service staff have limited time to complete weekly cabin cleaning. Cleaning service is not cost effective due to the rural location of the cabins. Eliminating the need to vacuum pet hair, neutralize odors, and pick up poop frees up staff time to cleaning cabin amenities and address repair needs.
Access to the cabin is via a driveway on the east side of the facility, accessible by passenger car. The house key is located in a lock box on the front door nearest to the parking area. The combination for the lock box is provided once a reservation is made.
A cabin manual is located inside the cabin to answer specific questions during your stay as well as provide you with information on recreation opportunities in the area.
Everything else this campground posts · 10
Cleaning service is NOT provided. Before leaving, renters are expected to clean the cabin; this includes washing dishes, sweeping floors, wiping down countertops, cleaning the bathroom & shower, and removing ALL trash.
Guests MUST provide some of their own supplies including: food, sleeping bags, linens, pillows, towels, dish soap, matches, a first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags.
Please do NOT flush anything but toilet paper to prevent clogs or damage to the septic system.
Keep the building and grounds clean to deter squirrel, rodents, bears, and other wildlife from the area.
Cell phone coverage is usually available in the area, but may be unreliable in the cabin.
The house is located in a desert environment; please be aware that scorpions, snakes, and other insects may be present at any time.
Off-Highway vehicles are only allowed on designated roads and trails.
The cabin is a no-smoking facility.
Access is subject to weather conditions.
This cabin does not honor Golden Age Discounts.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 1 electric
- Longest rig
- 20 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Not allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- Shower/Bath Type states a shower on all 1 of this campground's campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek
- Hiking
- Night sky · 24th darkest of 262 in AZ
- Bortle 2
1 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:43 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
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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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:43 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 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. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| PORTAL CCC HOUSE | Portal CCC House | cabin electric | 20 ft | 1.4 mi | $125 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Portal BunkhouseCoronado National Forest · 0.2 miIdlewilde CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 0.5 mi
Sunny Flat CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 1.4 mi
Herb Martyr CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 4.7 mi
Rustler Park CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 7.0 mi
Sycamore CampgroundCoronado National Forest · 11 miFrom Tucson, take I-10 east for 139 miles to Road Forks, NM. Turn right (south) on US 80 and drive 28 miles to Portal Road. Turn right (west) and drive 7 miles to the town of Portal. Turn left on Forest Road 42 into Cave Creek Canyon; the signed gate to the Portal CCC House is approximately 0.9 miles on the right.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Rodeo, NM
Typical weather
Typical October night 41°F, day 75°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 25°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 more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Junes are colder than the June line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Portal CCC House is in Arizona’s 6th congressional district. Its representative, Juan Ciscomani (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →