About Gordon Hirabayashi Campground
This site is also known as Prison Camp.The site was a Federal Honor Camp beginning in 1937 to house federal prisoners supplying labor to build a road for access into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Prisoners had been convicted of federal crimes ranging from immigration law violations to tax evasion to bank robbery. During World War II, many of the prisoners of this camp were conscientious objectors whose religions prohibited them from serving in the military. Some were Japanese Americans protesting the Japanese American Relocation, the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. History that started after the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Over 100,000 Japanese Americans, many American Citizens, were imprisoned in internment camps for fear they would conduct espionage and sabotage along the west coast. Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in…
- Fees: Single site: $20. With Golden Age/Access or Interagency Senior/Access pass $10. Group site: $50 plus $10 per vehicle. Payable with cash or…
- Season: November – April
- Managed by: USFS - Coronado National Forest
- Where: 5 mi north of Tanque Verde, AZ · 32.33887, -110.7187
Official page for this camp (fees, closures, booking)
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: Apr–May & Aug–Oct (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: None.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Trails near camp
| Trail | Open to | From camp | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bug Springs | Horse | 0.1 mi | 4.7 mi |
| Molino Basin | Horse | 0.1 mi | 2.4 mi |
| Sycamore Reservoir | Horse | 0.1 mi | 3.5 mi |
| Soldier | Hiking | 0.3 mi | 2.5 mi |
| Babad Do'Ag | Hiking | 0.5 mi | 2.5 mi |
| Molino Vista | Hiking | 1.4 mi | 0.1 mi |
Straight-line distance from camp, from Forest Service, BLM, state and OpenStreetMap trail data.
Good to know
Verizon 5G · AT&T 4G · T-Mobile 4G
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way is clear overhead but fades toward town glow.
Class 4 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Dump station: 14.5 mi
Water fill-up: 14.6 mi
Propane: 11.5 mi
Camps nearby
- Molino 1.3 mi
- General Hitchcock Campground 3.3 mi
- South Rim Campgrounds 3.5 mi
- Upper Rim Campgrounds 3.6 mi
- Rose Canyon 4.2 mi
- Camp Whispering Pines 4.3 mi