Gordon Hirabayashi Campground
Gordon Hirabayashi Campground is a national forest campground in Arizona.
- Type
- National forest campground
- Location
- Arizona
- Coordinates
- 32.33917, -110.71696
- Map
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Website
- www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coronado/recreation/rec…
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 1942. He challenged the constitutionality of internment based on race or ancestry. He turned himself in to the FBI rather than report for relocation. He was convicted and sentenced to serve at the Federal Honor Camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains. In 1987, Hirabayashi's case was overturned. A federal commission determined that the internment had been motivated by racial prejudice and wartime hysteria. In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan, which acknowledged the injustice and apologized for the internment. In 1999, the Coronado National Forest renamed the site
Cell coverage
No coverage data for this location yet.
Nearby RV services
- Dump station
- None mapped within 50 mi
- Water fill
- Tucson Parks and Rec · 17 mi
- Propane
- Arizona Propaine · 16 mi
- Low clearances
- None mapped within 10 mi
- Off-road routes
- 82 designated routes (110 mi) within 10 mi
Other places to stay nearby
| Name | Type | Distance | Fee | Hookups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Hirabayashi Campground | Private campground | under 0.1 mi | — | — |
| Molino | National forest group campground | 1.3 mi | — | No hookups |
| Molino Basin | National forest campground | 1.5 mi | — | — |
| Molino Basin Campground | Private campground | 1.5 mi | — | — |
| General Hitchcock Campground | Private campground | 3.2 mi | — | — |
| General Hitchcock | National forest campground | 3.3 mi | — | — |
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Sources. USFS and BLM recreation sites. Updated June 2026. Facility facts only; DryRig does not publish ratings or reviews on this page.