Best Campground With Amenities

For years, "Rosey" has entertained nature lovers, anglers, campers and those seeking to escape Valley heat--to the point where summertime weekends looked like the clown car at the circus with its never-ending stream of occupants. "This lake attracts some 50,000 visitors a year," according to Steve Romero of the Forest Service's Santa Catalina Ranger District. "From May through September, 2,000 people a week come here to camp and fish." Not anymore--or at least not for the foreseeable future (BOT voting took place before the Aspen Fire). Thanks to recent mountain fires, much of the pine needle groundcover is gone, a lot of nearby brush and timber is singed or dead, and the lake (built in 1959) is a mud bog from erosion detritus that has flowed into the little put-and-take trout pond. Which makes it a double shame as the lake had just begun to recover from massive flooding and silting caused by July 1999 flooding that wiped out hiking trails, bridges and picnic areas.

Runners up:

2. Mount Lemmon (general)

3. Patagonia