Bear Hide: Homestead Ruins, Bear Sign & a Hole in the Rock Nobody Can Explain

Rachel Joel
May 14
4 min read

By Rachel Joel · AZ Places · Tonto National Forest

There are places in the Tonto National Forest that show up on maps but give very little away about what's actually there. Bear Hide is one of them. Near the community of Bear Flat, about 14 miles east of Payson on Highway 260, down an easy forest road through the pines, sits a genuinely layered and rewarding dispersed camping area in central Arizona that keeps drawing us back. We have been back multiple times — in 2017, 2018 and most recently October 2025 — and discovered something new on every single trip.

Getting There & Camping

Turn off Highway 260 just past mile marker 266 onto FR 405, then head east toward FR 405A. The camping section of the road is easy — suitable for most vehicles, winding through ponderosa pine with dispersed sites spread along both FR 405 and FR 405A. Tonto Creek and the Bear Flat Trailhead are further down FR 405, past the camping area, where the road narrows and descends steeply with abrupt hairpin turns and drop-offs. That lower section is a day activity drive from camp — not the camping road itself. The Forest Service has installed mirrors at the sharpest turns on the lower road to help drivers see oncoming traffic.

The Bear Hide Group Site

The Bear Hide Group Site is our favorite site on forest road 405 and one of the more interesting dispersed camping spots we have come across in the Tonto National Forest. It is genuinely large and genuinely private — across multiple visits we have only once shared it with another camper. What makes it remarkable is what it holds: the remains of an old homestead. Stone foundations and partial walls still stand in the trees. An apple tree that no one planted recently still produces. A blackberry patch grows nearby — wild and productive in August, when we have picked fruit directly from the canes. Wild grapes also grow in the area, beginning to ripen by late August and early September.

Down the Canyon

A trail leads down the canyon from Bear Hide Group Site to a spring — a reliable water source worth knowing about. This spring is not tapped for drinking, but worth soaking your feet in or your hat. Beyond the spring the canyon continues toward Tonto Creek and the Hellsgate Wilderness, but there is no established trail past the water. We have explored this stretch on foot, pushing through the brush, but have not yet completed the full route to Tonto Creek. That is still on the list.

Along the way we found a large hole excavated in the rock. Not a natural formation. Someone dug this by hand, deliberately, at some point in the past. What they were looking for we have never determined. It sits there in the canyon, purpose unknown, waiting for someone to figure it out.

Bear Country

The name Bear Hide is not decorative. In 2017 we discovered a downed trail camera in the area — still containing photos of elk and bear. In 2025 we found a burnt log near camp with claw marks scored into the charred wood, consistent with bear activity. We have found bear scat on multiple trips and there have been moments on the ridge hikes where the sensation of being watched was difficult to dismiss. Standard bear country protocols apply — store food properly, dogs on leash, stay aware of your surroundings. The wildlife here is real and present.

The Ridge Hikes

The hills surrounding the camping area reward those willing to climb them. Hike to the ridgeline and the views open dramatically — canyon country in every direction and a clear sightline to the Mogollon Rim in the distance. In October 2025 the cottonwoods and sycamores along Tonto Creek below were blazing orange — one of the better fall color displays we have seen in central Arizona. In May wildflowers and cactus blooms fill the lower terrain. The area gives something different in every season.

Bear Flat Trailhead & Hellsgate Wilderness — a day hike from camp

At the end of FR 405, near the Bear Flat community along Tonto Creek, sits the Bear Flat Trailhead where a campground once existed. Camping is no longer permitted at this location, but it is well worth the drive down the lower road as a day activity. The trailhead provides access to Bear Flat Trail #178 and the Hellsgate Wilderness beyond.

The trail begins with a crossing of Tonto Creek via concrete stepping stones, then climbs immediately and steeply through pines and junipers with no switchbacks — straight up on pea gravel for the first quarter mile, rated strenuous. At the top the trail enters the Hellsgate Wilderness and the terrain opens into grassy meadows with manzanita, wildflowers and sweeping rim country views. The Hellsgate Wilderness covers 37,440 acres established in 1984 — accessible only on foot, no motorized vehicles permitted inside its boundaries. Bear Flat Trail #178 runs 8.4 miles end-to-end through the wilderness. Tonto Creek holds rainbow, brown and brook trout. Best fishing is in hidden pools at higher elevation — stealthy approach, quiet first cast.

A Place That Rewards Return Visits

Bear Hide does not announce itself. There are no signs pointing to the best spots. But for those who make the drive and take the time to explore the canyon trail, the homestead site, the ridge above camp and the hike into the Hellsgate, it is one of the most genuinely interesting dispersed camping areas in central Arizona. We keep going back. There is still more to find.

Bear Hide is part of the AZ Places bucket list. See the full location guide → AZ Places offers guided camping trips across Arizona — view our hosted adventures →