State: Arizona
Open: Seasonal
Number of Sites: 14
Elevation: 7077
County: Cochise
Free: No
About: This high mountain campground and group day-use area is located on a site that was once occupied by the old mining town of Reef. That remote outpost got its name from the nearby Carr Reef, a tall band of quartzite-bearing cliffs that form the Huachuca Mountains’ dramatic eastern front. Mining activity along the Reef began during the last few years of the nineteenth century and proceeded in fits and starts all the way into the 1950s. The property occupied by the mines and the town was returned to public ownership in 1970, and in 1988, the Forest Service constructed a campground on the townsite. A number of picnic tables and tent pads were placed within the visible outlines of old cabin foundations.
Many relics of Reefs mining history, including the remains of the towns old water system and miscellaneous features, are still visible in and around the campground. Evidence of old mining digs and foundations for an ore mill provide points of interest along a three-quarter-mile interpretive trail which begins and ends at the northeastern end of the campground.
Fees: $10
Water: Yes
Restrooms: Yes
Directions: From Tucson, drive east on Interstate 10 to the State Route 90 (exit 302). Drive south 25 miles through Sierra Vista. Eight miles south of Sierra Vista on State Highway 92, turn west onto Carr Canyon Road (FR 368).