I loved this park. The staff was friendly and the camp hosts were so helpful. I stayed for 7 nights at the A site, B site, and Ringtail Loop. A and B have back in’s and pull-thru’s, & water/electric. There is a dump station and several picnic areas, plus short hiking loops and horse trails. AND the VIEW of the Catalina mts is stunning!
In general its a lovely state park with good provisions. Ended up in the group site, which appears not be an actual group site, as sites are individually reservable and functions as overflow camping. You are unfortunately....right on top of each other. We had maybe 8 ft between us and the camper van next to us. That said, other campers were quiet and respectful.
The campsite was totally packed, lots of kids but a good environment. There are camp supervisors that keep the camp in line. But my favorite part was all the trails!
I stayed here for two nights on 12/30/20 and 12/31/20. The first night was full and very quiet. The second night was a bit louder but quieted down by 10:00 PM. I expected it to be louder since it was New Year’s Eve. The bathrooms were cleaned multiple times throughout the day. The sites were also well taken care of. Water and electric at most sites and there was trash and recycling as well. Views of the mountains were awesome. I recommend making reservations early since they fill up fast. You can not burn wood either. You can use a propane fire pit or burn a duraflame type log in the grill.
Great views. The back-in sites around the outside of the loops are more private, particularly in Loop B. Definitely worth a visit.
Beautiful State Park. It is apparent that those running this park take great pride in its upkeep. Good space between sites. Extremely clean facilities.
We stayed at this campground for 2 nights in late October 2020 while visiting Saguaro National Park. We highly recommend this state park-- it was one of the best campsites we've experienced at a state park!
Pros:
-Sites are large and have space between them. Our site (B45) had a good amount of space between us and our neighbors.
-Plenty of room on the site for our 1 tent, but you could have had several
-Sites have power and water in addition to a picnic table and grill
-Mountain views from the campsite!
-Tress and shrubs around the site provided shade-- even a place to hang our hammock!
-Shower house is modern/updated and was always clean
-Nice touches such as a bulletin board with announcements by the shower hours, a "little free library" with books, and a dishwashing station by the shower house
Cons:
-Honestly none really. There was a sign that the campground can flood in rains.
Highly, highly recommend this campground!
Loved this state park, and really enjoyed our campsite (A11). The campsites were spaced apart with some privacy and all had great views of the hills. They have campsites with electricity and water but no sewer (but they have a sewer dump).
I only wish we had more time here. We will definitely come again!
Quite place. The area I was in, the camping spots were spread out. The Catalina mountains were right behind us and made a beautiful back drop. Bathrooms seemed to be far away, especially when you really have to go. I do have reservations to go back in October. One down side is that though dogs ARE allowed in the park, they are not allowed on the hiking trails and since I didn't know that ahead of time and I couldn't leave my dog alone at the camp site... No hiking for me =(
Tucked at the base this is a great way to experience both Tucson and the great mountain!
Great location for both riding and hiking.
Campsite is clean and very easy to reserve ahead of time on the supported website which is very easy to use and see all the items open.
Extra bonus for this Campground, should you need to, you can cancel your reservation up to 1-2 days out.
The views are unreal! It's nestled up against the Catalina mountain range with great views of the mountainside. The park entrance is not very obvious until you come right up to it and then you see the large entrance signs. It's very convenient to local shopping but yet very removed once you enter. The RV section is very clean and the spaces are wide apart for privacy. The hiking trails are well maintained and graded. The evening we stayed there was an outdoor concert that we did not attend but sounded fun from the notice the friendly attendants handed out at the gate. This was a very popular park even for day use so plan ahead. The river stream was running due to the recent snow storm the previous week and although the mesquite trees were still bare, the ground was covered in grass. Overall very nice state park in the spring. We made it to one of the easier hikes called Montrose Pools which was very picturesque and a great place for a picnic stop.
Fantastic views and lots of fun trails. They also have a lot of activities and entertainment to attend at various times each month. 30& 50 amp with water and no dump on their"B" loop sites with restrooms and showers. The"A" loop sites have some with and some without power. There are also 2 easy to access dump stations in the park. Very close to town.
Lots to see.. Stayed In the open camping community sights.. Very nice and clean
We have stayed here a couple of times on trips to the West Coast. The park is beautiful at the foot is the mountains overlooking Tucson. The elevation is fairly high up. So, the temps are quite moderate compared to Tucson. They have a mix of reservation and non reservation sites all ranges from large RVs to tent camper. Great showers and restrooms and good roadways all the way into the sites. Tucson is just minutes always and the State Park Entrance is near a residential neighborhood. The mountains are beautiful in the morning. I would highly recommend this site if you are wanting to camp near Tucson, Arizona.
Nice little park. Staff was great. Sites are too close together for my liking but lots of trails off the park. Dropped in on Memorial Day weekend, sites were mostly full (1 site left) but the neighbors had little dogs and we have 2 big German Shepherds so that wasn’t going to work so we asked if we could stay in the equestrian area since there was only one person in there & they agreed. It was PERFECT for us. Not sure we’ll stay again if we can’t use that area!
Great stop in an AZ state park within minutes of civilization at Tucson. Plenty of hiking trails nearby, great campsite amenities. Showers, clean bathrooms, water at every campsite.
Showed up on a Monday afternoon with no reservation and picked up a non-electric site no problem. $20 fee or $30 with electric hookup.
Would definitely stay here again.
Catalina State Park was beautiful in a very unique way. The campground sits at the base of the Catalina mountains and it made for gorgeous views. The landscape is pretty standard desert. There was a lot of plant life but not a lot of green. There are a ton of ants and other desert crawlies (just be prepared). Most of the spots are not well shaded so I don't think this is a very good summertime campground unless you are in an air conditioned camper of some sort. Some of the sites do have electric and water which is a nice perk. The campground is literally right on the edge of town. The road you take to get into the park is at a stop light intersection with a shopping plaza on the other side. Even with the close proximity tot he highway and town I didn't notice any unwanted noise.
The bathrooms were really well kept and had showers that even in the cold of November were putting out hot water. There are a ton of neat little hiking trails through the park (and quite a few geocaches). I could totally see this being a fun place to take pictures just because of the views. If you are looking for a large group event they had some facilities that could accommodate. My biggest dislike about this campground is they do not allow wood fires at all. It makes sense because EVERYTHING there is super dry but with the cool night temperatures (even when it was hot mid day) you couldn't warm up with a roaring fire. As a workaround you can use the fake logs in the BBQ pit (but they didn't seem to put off enough heat for us) and it looked pretty silly having 5 people standing around a BBQ pit trying to warm up!
This is by far the cleanest campground I’ve ever seen. The park rangers were very helpful. The bathrooms were spotless and the showers are huge and clean better then the ones I have at home. Everyone was very friendly and my 2 dogs loved it to stayed 5 days can’t wait to go back!
Campground Review
Catalina State Park is just a bit outside of Tucson Arizona, and more importantly, Saguaro National Park. We used this State Park as a jumping-off point for our trip to Saguaro and it was a pretty good location for that.
Oro Valley is a modern area with tons of shopping and dining options right outside the park. This was very convenient for us to pick up McDonalds or grab something we forgot from the store.
The Park itself is stunning. Right up against the mountains, the views are gorgeous, especially at sunset. We were in campsite #A-23, which was AMAZING. Perfect for tent camping, the space is large and flat. You could easily fit several tents in this site.
We drove around campgrounds A and B and found the sites to be much more spaced out in A. Most of the sites were occupied by RVs, which made for a very quiet and non-stressful night!
Our site had electric hook ups and a water faucet. Also a BBQ grill and picnic table are provided. Wood fires are NOT permitted in the park.
Overall we LOVED this place. We will for sure return in the near future!
The Park also has a lot of amazing trails, including a very short hike to see Hohokam ruins which were so cool to see!! The kids loved this hike and the views were amazing.
Product Review
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - at Catalina State Park we had the opportunity to try out the Wenzel Camp Quilt (or 2!). These quilts are so great! Our old camp blanket had to be carefully folded in a particular way and then zipped up. These quilts come with stuff bags and you can just stuff the quilt in them when you are done! I now keep these in the car with me at all time, because you never know when you need a picnic blanket, or something to keep you warm!
For us, it is a no-brainer to just toss one or two of these in with your camping gear. Here in Arizona, the temperature drops fast once the sun goes down. Although it was over 100F during the day, it was still FREEZING cold in our tent at night. We were so grateful to have these quilts to snuggle up and keep us warm!
Campground Video
So close to Tucson! Take in a game at U of A. Go shopping. Explore the area. This park is in a prime location. Large sites, hiking trails for all levels.
Nice RV hookups but great tent sites as well. Desert vegetation so don't count on much shade. Best in the fall or spring. Summer is Hot!
Stayed here for a scout outing and I am not sure how I've managed to stay away since.
Honestly because this park is basically in my backyard is the only reason I haven't returned. I know that sounds stupid, but you know how we take our local area for granted. Otherwise, I would love to spend a weekend or two in this spacious, clean jewel. Nice facilities and paved roads make it easy to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Don't forget your bicycles either. Regardless if you just pedal around the park or if you venture out into bike friendly Tucson you will love it here.
This such a nice quiet park.. stars are great at night! Hiking trails nearby, bicycles, horse trails. Nice big private sites.
Nice campground with shower and toilets. Dogs are allowed on a leash. Water is available.
Love this campground! Close enough to civilization for first time campers, rugged enough for experienced outdoors families. Plenty of hiking available, trees for shade, and room for activities. The bathroom and showers are big, spacious and incredibly clean.
We stayed 2 nights at Catalina State Park in early May. We were in site B48 - this site was at the edge of the loop so it was nice and fairly private - but there was very little shade. I probably wouldn't pick that site again in the warmer months! There were a lot of other sites that had some trees around them and seemed much shadier. Campground was very clean. Bathrooms were spotless with giant free showers, which was awesome. The bathrooms were a pretty long walk from our site (there is only one bathroom facility for that loop). There are some trails in the park. We saw (and heard) coyote, prairie dogs, and a rattlesnake eating a prairie dog along a trail right behind our campground loop! We explored nearby Tuscon (interesting town with really cool murals and a great craft beer scene) and Saguaro National Park (about 30-45 minutes away). The park is very quiet and peaceful, yet very close to stores and a main road if you need anything. The campsite we were in had full hookups for electricity and water (we were in a campervan and didn't need them but it was nice to have access to).
Camping in Catalina state park is pretty standard camping. It is well maintained and very clean. We found the sites to be pretty spacious and there were fire rings and picnic tables which always makes cooking and eating way more enjoyable.
This campground is a great place to camp if your going to enjoy Saguaro NP and wanna see that fancy cactus. We were here in December and there were hardly any people. There are showers here which are huge while you living out of a van. Get your showers in while you can. We saw a giant praying mantis while we were here and some coyotes. Theres definitely a bunch of wild life around the park.
Cheers!
Group site with 20 people. Close to the trailheads and bike trails.
Large area with plenty of room for everyone to spread out. Each site come with the the filling amenities:
-Large Pavilion - solar powered night light
-Plenty of picnic tables
-Trash and Recycling bins
-Fire Pit
-Running water
-Amazing Bathrooms - SERIOUSLY AWESOME!
Catalina SP is amazingly beautiful! The group camping areas are set up very nicely being easy to do all camp activities in a large space. The camp is nestled into the mountains so it's so green and great for nature walks! We saw a pair of owls keeping their nest safe. Side note: the showers were awesome!
We camped in the overflow area of Catalina State Park. The campground was full, the there were a lot of cars, but everyone pitched tents in a large open area with a single large fire pit and picnic shelter. The campground had Very clean bathrooms with flush toilet and showers. The hiking trails were close by the campground and were really great hikes, with Romero Pools being our favorite.
Another amazing AZ state park at the base of mountain with beautiful view and hikes! Clean new bathrooms with free hot showers!
