Payson sits on SR 87 below the Mogollon Rim: Tonto Natural Bridge to the north, Green Valley Park and the Rim Country Museum in town, the creeks off Houston Mesa Road, and the Rim lakes up SR 260. Hours, fees, passes and the way up, from Arizona State Parks, the Forest Service and the Town of Payson.
No rankings here: the Tonto National Forest does not publish difficulty ratings for these trails, so they are listed, not ranked.
1 Payson · 2 Tonto Natural Bridge entrance · 3 Shoofly Village · 4 Water Wheel and the crossings · 5 Upper Tonto Creek Campground, the Horton Creek trailhead · 6 Mogollon Rim Visitor Center · 7 Woods Canyon Lake. Pin 1 is the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names point; 2 is Arizona State Parks'; 3 to 5 are the Tonto National Forest's; 6 and 7 are the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest's. The museum and Green Valley Park have no published coordinates. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The Town of Payson calls itself the home of the World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo, held every August at the Payson Event Center. It sits at about 5,000 feet below the Mogollon Rim.
The Town of Payson puts it about 70 miles north on Highway 87 from Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale. In a straight line it is about 69 miles from Phoenix City Hall and 63 miles from Mesa City Hall.
No. Entry is $10 for adults 14 and older, $5 for ages 7 to 13, and free for 6 and under.
Arizona State Parks says all of its trails are steep and strenuous. The Waterfall Trail is about 300 feet with uneven steps, and the Gowan Trail about 2,200 feet down and back to an observation deck. A paved path runs along the top of the bridge.
Yes. The park is 10 miles north of Payson on Highway 87, open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4 p.m.
In 2026 the World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo ran August 20 to 22: a Thursday night barrel race, PRCA performances Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., with dances after the night shows. Parking is $10 cash at the Payson Event Center.
No. Swimming, wading and full body contact are prohibited because the lakes hold treated effluent. Fishing is allowed, and boats may run sunrise to sunset without gas motors.
Yes. The First, Second and Third Crossings and Water Wheel on Houston Mesa Road are a fee site: $8 per vehicle per day bought from an office or vendor, or $12 at the on-site machine. A Tonto Discovery Pass or America the Beautiful pass also works.
No. Woods Canyon Lake is in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, not the Tonto. Its Forest Service page does not post a fee. The lake is open May through November.
The trail is, but its trailhead parking at Upper Tonto Creek Campground is closed through December 31, 2026 for bridge work on FR 289. The Forest Service says to reach Horton Creek by the Derrick Trail from the Horton Day Use Site.
Local history and a replica of Zane Grey's cabin, dedicated in 2005 after the Dude Fire destroyed the original in 1990. It is at 700 S. Green Valley Parkway, open Thursday 1 to 4 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Memorial Day through Labor Day, Thursday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is on SR 260 about 32 miles east of Payson, just past milepost 282.
Living in the Valley puts the pines about 70 miles up the Beeline. If you are weighing a move or a second home, I can walk you through the areas that fit how you live.
Checked 27 October 2026. Tonto Natural Bridge hours, fees, trails, bridge, history and weather: Arizona State Parks, park history and weather. Rim Country Museum and the Zane Grey Cabin: Rim Country Museum. Green Valley Park: Arizona Game and Fish. Shoofly Village, Water Wheel, Horton Creek and its closure, Derrick and Highline trails: Tonto National Forest. Rim Visitor Center and Woods Canyon Lake: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Rodeo: Payson Pro Rodeo. Town events and trails: adventurepayson.com, the Town of Payson's tourism site. Distance and alternate route: Town of Payson. Elevation: Arizona State Parks and the town's tourism site. Road work: ADOT. Straight-line distances: each city hall's Maricopa County Assessor point to the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names point for Payson. Left off: which Tonto Natural Bridge trails are open (the park's pages differ), the rodeo's founding year (the organizer says over 140 years, not a year), the Woods Canyon Lake fee (not posted). Photo: Tonto Natural Bridge, ksblack99, 2010 (public domain, Wikimedia Commons). The questions answered are ones people search on Google, each answered only from the pages above.
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