Established Camping
White Spar Campground
About
National Forest
Prescott National Forest
Overview
White Spar Campground at 5,641 feet in elevation is a short drive of 2.7 miles south of downtown Prescott and east of Hwy 89. Campers will appreciate the mild weather and the cool ponderosa pine forest the campground is nestled in. The campground's convenient location allows for many opportunities for pursuing camping, hiking, mountain biking and bird watching. Several loop trails in the area allow for multiple modes of travel. The Tri-City Community comprising Prescott, Chino Valley, and Prescott Valley has events, functions, benefits, and attractions throughout the year are all within a few minutes' drive. To make reservations click on the availability button to the right to book this site or call 1 (877) 444-6777. For general campground questions contact the Bradshaw Ranger District at 1 (928) 443-8000.
Recreation
White Spar Campground is available year-round, but campsites are limited during the winter season. Campsites are designed for RV, trailer or tent camping. Many popular outdoor activities abound in the area. Visitors may enjoy fishing, bird-watching, boating, backpacking, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing, mountain biking, picnicking and just plain relaxing.
Facilities
White Spar Campground has 52 single and four double occupancy campsites. Some campsite driveways allow a camp unit (RV, or tow vehicle and trailer) and an extra vehicle, while many limit parking to only the camp unit. Each campsite has a picnic table, steel fire ring and/or concrete block grill, and either an established tent pad or an area for a tent. Accessible campsites are available. There are five pull-through, 34 back-in, and 17 parallel parking asphalt-surfaced driveways. Services include four vault restrooms, four trash dumpsters and nine water hydrants. There are no RV hook-ups or dump station in the campground. Water is not available in the non-peak season. The facility may be closed during snow events.
Natural Features
White Spar Campground is surrounded by a forest of ponderosa pine, oak, manzanita, and a variety of shrubs and grasses. In the Prescott Basin, the campground is near Granite Basin Recreation Area, Granite Mountain Wilderness Area, Granite Basin Lake, Lynx Lake Recreation Area, and Thumb Butte. Access to these areas can either be made by several interlocking hiking trails or by driving a short distance.
Nearby Attractions
Northwest of White Spar Campground, within ten miles, is the Granite Basin Recreation Area. Granite Basin Recreation Area has several day-use areas, and Granite Basin Lake (five acres), which is known for channel catfish, large-mouth bass, and sunfish. Rising prominently north of Granite Basin Lake is Granite Mountain at 6,874 feet. The Granite Mountain Wilderness Area is comprised of the mountain's rugged topography and mixed vegetation suite. Also, within ten miles, is Alto Pit Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Campground and Day-Use Area. OHV riders of all skill levels can ride the several miles of trails that meander through the area's challenging terrain and vegetative cover. Southeast of downtown Prescott and within eight miles of White Spar Campground is Lynx Lake Recreation Area. Lynx Lake (55 acres) is an popular attraction in the Prescott National Forest that offers a variety of recreation opportunities for all age groups. Activities include fishing, boating, and hiking. West and within four miles, is the Thumb Butte Recreation Area. At 6,515-feet Thumb Butte is quite visible in the Prescott Basin. The Butte is popular for its scenic vistas, jogging and hiking. Rock climbing is allowed, but only between July 16 and January 31 as it is closed to climbing during the peregrine falcon nesting period. Birdwatching is popular outside the closed area. The City of Prescott offers several day-use recreation facilities within ten miles. To the north and northeast are Watson (70 acres) and Willow Lakes and to the south Goldwater Lake (15 acres). Each have unique qualities and recreation opportunities including boating, fishing, birdwatching and hiking.
Location
White Spar Campground is located in Arizona
Directions
From Phoenix, Arizona: Traveling Northbound on I-17 take Exit 262 onto Hwy 69 North to Prescott, cointnue on Hwy 69 for 41 miles until you arrive in downtown Prescott. Turn left on Montezuma Street (Highway 89) south for 2.7 miles. White Spar Campground is located on the left (east side of Hwy 89). Alternate route from Flagstaff, Arizona: Traveling Southbound on I-17 take Exit 278 onto Westbound Highway 169 and continue for 15 Miles until reaching the junction of Hwy 69, turn right onto Northbound Hwy 69 and continue for 15 miles until arriving in Prescott. Turn left on Montezuma Street (Highway 89) south for 2.7 miles. White Spar Campground is located on the left (east side of Hwy 89).
Address
PRESCOTT NATIONAL FOREST
BRADSHAW RANGER DISTRICT
344 S. CORTEZ STREET
Prescott, AZ 86303
Coordinates
34.5061694 N
112.4776806 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiPoor
- VerizonGood
- AT&TAvailable
- T-MobileAvailable
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Cabins
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Water Hookups
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Construction zone
This is our second visit to this campground. There is a huge construction project going on at the trailhead. We did not see any information on that when we booked. We planned to stay 8 days, we left early. The water had not been turned on yet either.water was turned on 4/1.Camp host informed us that if we had any day visitors it would be an additional $5 for each vehicle each day. We came to visit friends and family that reside there. An no information on that prior to visit. So I would suggest that you get a site away from the front entrance.
Sleepless in the wilderness
Lovely location and easy to navigate. I could have given it 5 stars except
- there was a camper running its generator all night- thats a hard sound to sleep to
- the host’s site its a big mess and looks like they have been living in that one spot too long. They didn’t even bother to put my reservation on my site or shovel the snow on the pad.
Nice Basic Campground
Campground right outside the town of Prescott AZ. Campground has water for part of the year and clean vault toilets. Sites are nice. Campground is close to the main road so you do get some road noise.
- (4) View All
Would give it 4 stars if we chose a better site
We chose site #4 to spend 1 night on our way thru Prescott heading back to New Mexico.
On arrival, we realized it was just about the closest site to the highway. If the sites further in the campground are available, that would be a much better choice.
The restroom near the site was dirty and in bad repair. Because there is a day use parking lot nearby, we are guessing that restroom gets too much use. Other restrooms in the campground were better but not great. Most had broken locks and needed more frequent cleaning.
Overall, the campground is very convenient to a great town (Prescott) and if you can get one of the far interior sites, it can be a better experience than we had.
Nice camping location close to historic downtown Prescott
The hosts are very good. Look out for you if you are late, etc. The campground is clean and there are many pull through sites. Vault toilets, trash containers and water at various locations.
Close to Prescott
Nice campground, dry camping, level site shaded, clean facilities. Quiet at night. Great place to camp to explore Prescott and surrounding areas
Quiet cold and awesome
Nice quiet and amazing it was 35 outside and ice everywhere in the morning
- (4) View All
Beautiful and private
Tucked away and lots of open space. No hook ups, pit toilets and no dump station. Lots of space for kids to explore, we happened to get his by a snow storm and loved the hills For sledding
- (4) View All
Great site
Great site with fire ring, picnic table, and vaulted restrooms nearby
Prescott’s oaisis
Early November ant it was 72°/36°- amazing. A few people taking advantage that the Host was gone. One camper complained to the police. I did not see any riffraff or scary people. We really loved this place. Road sounds in the distance. Some sites are really long I’d say avg is 30-45 feet. Some perfectly level, others not so much. All paved. Hiking and biking. Super close to Prescott. All have tent pads as well as long driveways. So
- (12) View All
Beautiful campground in the pines
We stayed at 2 sites, 36 and 7. Both were nice. There is a little traffic noise. It’s close to town, and there are many things to do in the area. This will be a regular one for me.
- (7) View All
Nicely wooded
Great campround near Prescott, AZ Visited here in April. Nicely wooded campground with multiple hiking options. Flat tent pads, long driveways, quiet, fairly private sites, drinking water available, and outhouses with pit toilets. Some cell signal on TMobile and a cell booster.
Cozy
Cozy camp site, fire pit and table at site fire wood there for me too. Out house closest to me was locked that's the only downside.
Nice spot for a Weekend Campout
First time here and overall pretty nice. I was in spot 2 which is at the front of the campground and close to the bathroom. We were fairly close to the main road so some traffic noise but not too bad. I’ll be coming back again.
- (5) View All
Fun Weekend
We stayed at white spar the first weekend of October 2020. Very nice and clean sites. We stayed at site 32. The site was well maintained and clean. We were able to easily set up a 10 person tent and still had plenty of room. The bathrooms are vault toilets and can start to smell pretty bad when we used them. We also had some bees around, but only when we were cooking dinner. We ended up just starting a fired in the fire ring and they went away. Overall it was a good site.
- (4) View All
Close to Downtown
White Spar is the closest campground to downtown Prescott. It’s located right off White Spar highway so there’s a little highway noise but not much. The campground has a combination of pull-in sites and parallel sites. The parallel sites might be tricky if staying in an RV or Van. There is water. Book early because campground is full most weekends.
There are a number of hiking and mountain biking trails that leave from the campground. I took the 9 mile loop from the campground around Goldwater Lake. It was nice and took about 3 hours.
Cell Service: ok
- (5) View All
Nice Campsite
This campsite is nothing crazy. It definitely does the job for getting outside and enjoying a nice day of camping. The area is pretty well maintained and it’s a short distance to some of the best places in Prescott.
Great campground
Everyone was very friendly and campsite was kept very clean. 4 stars because there is a lot of bees... they are all over water and food. I couldn’t even keep water out for dogs :( would’ve been perfect if there weren’t so many bees!! We were at site 9. Also we got lucky because next site was empty so literally felt like we were the only one :)
Pretty Nice
Just a little south of Prescott, this campground is located in Prescott National Forest among the pines. Campsites are decent sizes and far apart from each other. Bathrooms are cleaned three times a week and it shows. Drinking water is available. No showers. Not much to do at the campground other than enjoy the views but it’s just ten minutes from downtown Prescott with things to do. There’s Goldwater Lake about 15 minutes down the road that’s good for fishing and kayaking. Overall nice clean campground.
- (5) View All
Beautiful!
The White Spar Campground is so convenient to the cute downtown area of Prescott yet remote enough to be in the forest. Each site is well spaced from the others and has its own fire ring and table. There are no hook ups but if you come prepared this is a beautiful place from which to explore Prescott's great trails. One of the best trails in the area, 396, connects right through the campground. We love biking and hiking right from camp.
Camping in the town
This campground is very close to the town of Prescott and was quite busy! It didn’t quite give us the feel of being in nature with so many people and cars on the near by freeway. We did have a campground that backed to an open area which was excellent but still not as relaxing as other campgrounds I’ve been too. Site 15 is extremely uneven, see picture, it was our first time needing to level to this degree. Picnic table and fire pits were in good shape. Overall not too bad but won’t be returning.
Very clean and quiet
Great campground for a quick get away! Always clean and quiet. The hiking trails are nice too!
- (4) View All
Beautiful campground
We always Love coming here at least once or twice a year. There are bathrooms and water Spicket‘s throughout the entire campground. Most spots are reservable online 6 months ahead of time. There are many different hiking/biking trails throughout the campground. We stayed in spot 9. The table is on the opposite side if you Back with a trailer. It is nice that this loop as a round about at the end so no through traffic can come through to just drive by. Makes it nice with kids that like to ride bikes.
Product Review: Primus Campfire Pint and Four Seasons Mug. As a Dyrt Ranger I get to try out awesome new gear from outdoor companies. We were very pleased with both cups. The Pint is a perfect size for all beverages and does let off any condensation. We dropped the cups a few times and there wasn't any scratches or dents in them.
The Mug look extremely small when first getting it. But after putting coffee in it and drinking it, it seemed to be just fine. Kept our coffee at a great temperature also considering the 37 degree mornings. I would highly advise Primus for all gear needed.
- (6) View All
Nice campground in Pines
We love coming to this campground. It’s only 3 miles from Prescott and well maintained. There are some sites that don’t have any shade and some that are very unlevel. (15 is very uneven) We stayed in 29 and was easy to back into and get everything leveled pretty easily. There are bathrooms and water available throughout the campground. Goldwater lake is your closet water for fishing.
- (4) View All
Great camping minutes from town
Had a great stay here with easy access for backing in my pop up camper. Paved spot for parking nice bathrooms and clean fire pits with decent space between sites. This place is a must is visiting Prescott. Host wasn’t the friendliest but still ok and a wild pack of javelinas came through the campsite ant night. Still had a great time and would recommend 👍
Woodsy
My daughter and I camped over the weekend and had so much fun. We were on site 41 which was a little too small for our large 8 person tent, but a smaller tent would have fit just fine. We weren’t able to have a fire because of this, but we had a blast anyways. But it looked like site 40 had a little bigger spot. It rained the whole weekend and while our site got wet the ground was so well maintained that it drained quickly and never got muddy. Even though we had a few rude people being extremely loud at 1am bear is, I would highly recommend this campground to anyone looking for somewhere to go.
- (4) View All
Nice USFS campground
Nice sites. Nice layout. Pretty level site for RV. Fire ring and picnic tables. Quiet but we’ll see over the weekend when they are full.
National Forest and Ponderosa Pines
We visited in April. We were the only tent on our loop during the week and it was only an issue in that the RV's all used their generators at times throughout the day - particularly early morning and dinner time - On the weekend it was all reserved and our loop turned into all tenters - it was SO quiet. This was not necessarily true of the other loops that we heard in the distance. Our site #7 was fine for a tent - nice views to an open area with Ponderosa Pines shading the site and also allowing enough sun in to use our solar chargers. There are other better tent sites - #8 right next to us was wonderfully private. One can always hear the traffic noise of Highway 89 - particularly the motorcycles. The campground has recently been logged in all the surrounds - kind of weird... but understand. The location of the campground is close to Prescott which makes it very convenient if you're wanting to take advantage of Prescott offerings. The trails in our immediate area were closed because of the logging. Although not really nearby ... but for us from the midwest it was worth the trip ... take the 40 mile trip to Arcosanti Urban Laboratory off of I-17 - good to step out of ones comfort zone!
Lovely campground close to town
This is a very pretty campground with easy access to the town of Prescott. Hiking and biking trails run right through the campground. Many sites have big boulders that kids love to play on. There is some road noise but this is one of our favorite campgrounds. I've camped there in spring, summer and fall.
Beautiful close to city camping
We ended up at the beautiful campground as a second choice. Boy oh boy weren't we glad that we ended up here!! just about a mile out of Prescott there was this gem of a campground. This is a short drive to downtown Prescott. Once again Arizona does not fail us. The price was amazing at $14 a night. There is 4 vaulted toilets,which were in good condition, and at each of them there is a water spicket, with very good drinking water total of 9 water hydrates, 4 trash dumpsters as well. We brought our small tent this time since it was just a 1 night stay. spacious tent spot with plenty of room where we could of fit our 11 ft tent. We could of easily of backed a pop up and turned it around in there. We saw a few Rvs there. There were plenty of spots for bigger Rvs as well. Sites were far apart, 52 single and 4 double spots. 5 are pull through, 34 back in and 17 paralell parking. campsites were not off of one road, you are able to drive down different roads to find different sites. The sites with parallel parking didn't seem pleasing to us but to some of night. Every, and I mean every site was booked for this holiday weekend. We did not hike this trip but there was a trail near our campsite, definitely a must on our next visit there.
- (9) View All