Roper Lake State Park is located 6 miles south of Safford in Graham County in southeast Arizona and sits at the base of Mt. Graham. There are three different campgrounds for lakeside camping as well as fishing, bird watching and water activities. This park is home to a large variety of bird species, offers great seasonal fishing, and is within close proximity to one of Arizona's most beautiful "Sky Island" mountain ranges. Comfy camping cabins dot the shoreline, and neighboring Dankworth Pond State Park offers hiking trails and more water access.

Roper Lake State Park Campground

My husband, myself and our 2 small dogs live in Tucson, AZ. We recently acquired a roof top tent and we’ve been trying out various campgrounds across the Southwest. 

Water recreation areas in AZ are sparse, so this place holds a certain appeal. The facilities are nice and clean but if you’re not careful you could end up with only a view of your neighbors. We didn’t stay at the tent cabins, but they also looked nice. I’d come back to stay in the cabins with a group of friends or as a one night stop on the way somewhere else. It’s a great place to stop, swim, shower and hit the road for another adventure. When you haven’t seen a shower in days, they are so beckoning. 

Pros: larger sites and further spaced out then your typical RV park. Several sites include a covered picnic table(most in the Gila Loop do not). All sites have water, a fire pit and a table. Also- fishing! $20 a night for non-electric site is a good price since you can take free hot showers in the park. Cell phone service (T-Mobile) and WiFi). 

Cons: Most sites don’t have much of a view. Very few trees. Only a few sites are suited for tent camping. Busy park, expect to see a lot of other campers. Hot tub is permanently closed. 

Nice area- if you get the right spot

Very nice campgrounds, close to the lake. Plenty of space between campsites. Kids were able to ride bikes on the numerous paths around the campgrounds and lake. 

Nice campgrounds, very kid friendly

This State Park is very well cared for and a pleasure to stay in. It has three campgrounds, with sites for tents and RV's, as well as eight camping cabins for rent. The lake has fishing, swimming, and is perfect for kayaks and SUP's ... no gas powered motors allowed. The restrooms are nice and clean, with showers. There is also a dump station for RV's to use. There are several miles of walking paths - the wildlife and bird-watching is good. There is also a charming spring-fed natural stone hot tub!

Fantastic Getaway

Two night stay. Visited Mt Graham, picnicked and hiked. Enjoyed the hot springs hot tub in the campground. Clean, beautiful and friendly staff

Has become my favorite so far

great visit. even though it was semi crowded and the sites are close together, people were quiet. way hot during the summer, but you can swim in the lake. fair warning: dogs are not allowed on the swimming beach, which was kind of a bummer. campground though has been great!

nice campground 

Roper lake state park is a beautifully well kept state park. It's $20 a night for tent camping, $30 a night for full RV hookups. (which is kinda high for this area and amenities offered).

This is my local state park so I visit almost every weekend and kayak the lake. There is a lot of fishing, swimming, and hiking available. There are also some really nice cabins available to rent!

The camp sights are a small size but offer some privacy from other sites. There are fire rings in every site, as well as a Covered pick-nick tables!!!

They also offer some full hookup sites, as well as sewage dump and potable water.

There is a group sized hot tub available for public use that is filled with natural hot springs water as well as a swimming beach and day use area.

Small Oasis in the middle of Southeast Arizona

This is a VERY easy campground to get to. It's all paved and the sites are easily accessible. We got a site on the end of a loop so we had a little privacy but overall the spaces are kind of close together so plan to hear your neighbors.  You can get campsites within 100 feet of the water's edge (and they have cabins for rent too). The pits were well kept and had the built in BBQ grate.

  

The bathrooms were clean and had hot showers. There was a nice loop around the lake you could walk/hike or in our case ride with the bikes. We didn't try fishing but there were a lot of people fishing from the pier. I don't think you can do much shoreline fishing just because of the grass/weeds. 

  

They have a visitor center/gift shop that you should check out. it sounds like they do special activities occasionally also.

  

The are had very active raccoon presence so be sure to lock up your goodies when you aren't in camp.

A Nice Getaway

Loved it.Great family friendly camping! Very clean and well kept park, beach swimming area is very large and never felt crowded by people!  Plenty of shaded picnic areas, campsites big, and on site bathrooms very clean and showers have hot water and great water pressure! Only downfall was the hot springs was closed, but not necessary when campinge in Arizona!

If you like fishing you mihght be a bit disappointed. you could see a ton of fish around the dock, but sadly none of them were biting or we just didn't have the right kind of bait.We don't come here too often because you have to pay each time you come unless you get a pass. But it's a fun place to swim and fish and be by some water when it's ridiculously hot.  

Loved the pool and cabins even though we have a camper

Gorgeous AZ park!

Thus park is nice if you like fishing or floating in the lake. The. Camping spaces are really close together and most hold could hold a 10x10 tent.. Some look like they couldn't hold a tent at all..but its still nice.. Close to town in case you forgot anything.. We had space 44. Big plus is WiFi and out phones get data and phone service no problem

Quiet and cleab

We are newer to RV camping but really liked this campground.  Fairly busy, Easter weekend, but didn’t seem like we were on top of each other. 

Nice spot 

This is, so far, my least favorite of the AZ State Parks. Maybe because of the season, maybe because of all the kids running around wild... All AZ State parks are clean and have hook-ups, water and bathrooms. There is some nice hiking around the lake and Mt. Graham is very close by, so more hiking there. I got there on Thursday afternoon and all was nice and quite and calm. 

They started to come in droves, Friday afternoon. Little kids on bicycles (many, many of them) riding in the roads like crazy people and making so much noise, it was dangerous and annoying. Saturday was more of the same but now we can add intense heat and crazy wind into the mix. I ended up staying in the teardrop, eating an edible gummy and watch the Matrix trilogy (maybe not the best idea, but in the moment it seemed good). Sunday I drove up Mt. Graham till the road turn to dirt and enjoyed the cold and quite. By the time I came back down the Mt. and went back to camp, all those little Kamikaze bicycle turds had left and it was back to quite. 

I have never experienced that much kid chaos at any of the other state campgrounds.

Close to Mt. Graham 

Camped for a week over Christmas 2020 and really enjoyed the serenity in the “non-hook up” loop? Tables, fire rings and grills, and water all available. Site 46 is on the lake which hosts a variety of water fowl. The sites are large with plenty of screening for privacy. I would not stay in the hook up loops which are more typical Arizona State Park Campgrounds offering no privacy with sites usually crammed together. Walking trails all over the place including one that leads up to the Mesa top. There’s a beach,several docks for fishing and a boat ramp. Excellent staff. 

Great in December

There is plenty to do at Roper Lake. Great spots for RVs, tents, and cabins too. This is a popular area so get your reservations in early. The lake was low in December and it was windy and cold, but we made the best of it and enjoyed the views of snow capped Mt. Graham. Campground was clean and very dog friendly. They have a dog park. The have a junior ranger program... fun for the little ones! We did notice that many weren’t following covid protocol in bathrooms and around the campsite. But we had no problem social distancing and keeping to ourselves, even with our loop completely full. We felt safe and comfortable. 
Your stay also includes access to Dankworth Pond State Park, a 10 min drive down the road. The pond is small, but you’ll catch more fish here. There are also great educational hiking paths with information &amp; replicas of tribal villages. Worth the drive!

Desert Terrain with Moutain View 

Went 7-6-2020. Campsites are good size. Had power and water hook ups. Virtually no spots have shade. Pop up AC couldn’t drop the temp below mids 80’s. 
Lake is small. Has a little “beach” area to swim. Water felt great. Fished that night and son caught and released a big ole carp. 
All in all a decent little lake. Might be a better relaxing weekend during the winter. 

Clean,small....hot! But big ole carp! 

We found the ranger to be very helpful in terms of outdoor activities (hiking, fishing, etc.) The park has great spaces for tent campers and big rigs, with electricity for 30 and 50 amp campers. They also have several cabins right on the lake. 

  

Our spot had a picnic table and was right beside the beach. There is a great hike only minutes from the campground where you can see Mt. Graham. 

  

The bathrooms, showers, and sinks were all well maintained. Also, the spot is great for stargazing.

  

We are looking forward to returning. The town of Safford is charming and has some nice restaurants too.

Well maintained, great hiking

We visited in November, so temperatures ranged from the 80s during the day down to the 40s in the night. The campsites were very clean and well-maintained, and at the time we visited, the campground was **very** quiet. Waking up early to watch waterfowl on the lake at sunrise is going to be one of my most memorable camping experiences.  

  

They had some minor plumbing problems related to other people flushing improper things down toilets, so nothing I'd fault the campground itself for. There was internet access, although I didn't use it very much.

Clean, quiet, comfortable

It's on par with other state parks in AZ. Kinda pricey but you do get electric and water. The men's showers are not working but it's Thanksgiving so probably no one around to fix the problem. We have ATT and four bars. 

An Arizona State Park

We stayed there for three nights in Fall 2022.  Wonderful quiet lake and walking trails.  Near to shopping if needed. Great birding!

Roper Lake State Park

This was a wonderful place to camp. The restrooms and shower areas were very clean and the park was quite and beautiful. 

Beautiful Place 

For starters the staff here is very friendly.  The facilities are immaculately clean.  I mean the cleanest campground restrooms I’ve ever seen.  We stayed in a cabin and it was nice and quiet.  We will definitely stay here again.