You really can’t miss with Maricopa County Parks. The landscape and appeal of Lake Pleasant is quite a bit different from places like McDowell Mountain, Usery, and Cave Creek. It may seem strange to say we were fortunate to be at Lake Pleasant in inclement weather but it brought out insane levels of dramatic beauty looking out over the saguaros. We were only able to score two nights there but boy howdy we got a show. 

The sites at Pleasant Lake are a bit more difficult to manage than other Maricopa parks. The terrain is more challenging in terms of slope and they are not as spatially generous, also because of slopes. Still totally worth it but you’ll have to work harder to get into your site. We had to hastily block the road while we dropped the toy hauler ramp to unload the sidecar before we could back in properly. We were fortunate in that no one came by in the time we feverishly did that, sensitive to not messing up others’ experiences and creating a roadblock, even for a few minutes. 

Because it’s tight, we had to summon our best marshalling skills to back in and not tag the palapa at the site. But once in, the site was very level and no more work was needed to get settled. Cue up happy hour! 

Sites are paved and restroom/bath facilities are in line with all of Maricopa parks. Which means, well-maintained and very agreeable. But because Maricopa parks are well-deservedly popular, book hella in advanced for peak season. They’re popular for a reason. Note for those who carry“toys”: on the way out we made use of a larger, group parking area to load the sidecar. Depending on your site, you may want to consider unloading your tow-in/hauled vehicle at a larger parking area before getting to your campsite. Next time(now that we know the site challenges), we certainly will.