Deacons

Montlure Church Camp Work Project

Montlure Church Camp is located in the White Mountains near Greer, Arizona, on land leased from the Apache National Forest. The camp sets on the east side of a valley created by the East Fork of the Little Colorado River at an elevation of approximately 8500 feet. The camp buildings are surrounded by a mature stand of fir, pine, spruce and aspen timber and overlook a beautiful meadow bordering the river. Elk grazing in the meadow are often seen in the evening and sightings of deer, bear and wild turkeys are common. Camp buildings consist of:

Residence for the camp managers
Main lodge with large kitchen and dining facility
Administration building
Medical building
Seven cabins
Girl’s central bathroom facility
Boy’s central bathroom facility
Large meeting/classroom building with bathrooms and a small kitchen
Maintenance building
A couple of smaller buildings used for storage with one currently being converted to an eighth cabin

The Presbyterian Church has used Montlure Camp for their summer youth program for over 80 years. Nearly 600 youth attended the camp last summer.

The lease agreement with the National Forest requires the Presbyterian Church to maintain the facilities and fund any desired improvements. Over the last four years Mission del Sol has funded over half the material cost and provided volunteer labor to replace the prior asphalt shingle roofs with metal roofs on four of the cabins and the medical building.
BEFORE	AFTER
They have also provided significant volunteer support for facility maintenance each spring prior to the arrival of the first summer youth group. For those interested in becoming involved in this volunteer effort there will be a signup sheets each Sunday on the kiosk at MdS for the weekends of April 22-23 and April 29-30. Lodging will be provided at the camp along with use of the kitchen. Because of the age of the facility and the normal accumulation of fallen limbs, needles and other winter debris there is a host of work to be done before the first youth arrive for summer camp.

There are two main routes to the White Mountains from the East Valley. One is through Payson to Showlow and the other is through Globe to Showlow. From Showlow take Highway 260 to the junction with Highway 73, a distance of about 52 miles. Then turn right onto Highway 73 and proceed to County Road 1121, a distance of slightly over 4 miles (about a ¼ mile before entering Greer) and turn left onto County Road 1121. Follow County Road 1121 until it ends at the camp, a distance of 2 miles. During the first week in October when the aspen leaves are turning it is the prettiest drive in Arizona. The camp is open year around and visitors are welcome.