Best Tent Camping near Arivaca, AZ

Loved this spot for a night. Practically in the NP, hard to tell the park bounds of Saguaro. Camp hosts were orderly and extremely friendly and available. Grounds were tidy! Bathrooms were clean. Felt really safe as a solo camper. Tent only sites are secluded to themselves. I was in B2 and I’d book that one or B3 if I ever go back. This tent site cluster has a little shade whereas the other two tent sites down the road are pretty exposed.

Great place, if you don't mind occasional helicopters and A10 Warthogs in the distance. Lots of places to choose from for RV and tent camping. The road is a little rough but definitely done in a passenger car. Nights are beautiful.

Patagonia Lake Campground is well maintained. Very busy in the Winter months so you must make reservations well in advance. The visitor center is great if you have children, they have all kinds of activities for kids, and a junior ranger program. The RV spots are full hookups no sewer but there is dump station there on the premises. They have tent camping right by the lake as well. Cabins will be completed in October 2018. Staff very friendly and the grounds are well maintained. One of our favorites.

Fun place to spend a couple nights :) The camping area seems designed with RV campers in mind, but tent camping is possible as well. I would say the sites a a bit close together for my taste, but still manageable. Site #16 treated us well! The amenities were very nice and clean! A nice feature is the lake and boat rental within the park. Bird watching is very popular here we learned as we talked to others at the park. (There are also a few boat in camping site, which seems like it would be a fun adventure! We did not explore this on our visit.)

May, 2019 we visited Saguaro National Park near Tucson AZ. We had planned to hike into the park at one of their few campgrounds but the office informed us that there was a controlled burn and recommended we not stay in the park and suggested Gilbert Ray as a good option. Gilbert Ray Campground is a great location for visiting the National Park. We arrived to find the office closed for the summer, so self serve option was available, at 10.00 per night for tent camping you can’t beat the price. The bathrooms were clean and as an added plus they have a dishwashing station. We stayed in the A loop. There are no showers and the campsite it all gravel making it next to impossible to put a tent stake in. The sites are fairly close together, for example, I could hear our neighbor unzip his tent. All sites have picnic tables. Cell service is good.

General: Large KOA campground laid out in typical RV style with no privacy/separation between sites. There is every imaginable kind of site here from tent sites (with water and electric) to back-in sites with water and electric to FHU sites, some with covered sites to sites with private pet areas or play structures. There are also cabins sprinkled throughout. 

Site Quality: Most sites are gravel; some have grass. All are level. Amenities vary per site. Ours had a round table with four chairs (in lieu of a picnic table) 

Bath/Shower: In okay condition but then I saw a sign that they were scheduled to be remodeled a few months after our stay. 

Activities: There are so many offerings including two pools, a hot tub, a fitness center, corn hole, putting green, basketball, and bike/surrey rentals. Also a daily “schedule of fun” with daily classes including Zumba and yoga, arts and crafts, bingo, etc. 

Other amenities: On-site restaurant (delivery to your camper available), laundry, little lending library, pet wash.

This campground is located in a less desirable part of Tucson with very few (if any) grocery stores, restaurants, etc. nearby. There is nothing scenic about the area and the campground is located on a busy street so you will hear road noise (and an occasional train). While we appreciated all the amenities, we prefer campgrounds with more privacy and scenery. This was a last-minute reservation when our plans changed and worked for an overnight stay.

When spending time on the road many times you will find campsite after campsite that is welcoming but not quite like home away from home. But when you drive through Tucson, there is a mecca filled with winter bird campers and long term campers which create a home away from home.

With only tent sites available on the facility, we were fortunate to find a site, however when we arrived we were so excited by the facilities we extended our stay by a day.

Office staff immediately greeted us and let us know about the facilities, which happened to feature a mini golf course, an indoor events facility, 2 swimming pools and hot tubs, an indoor recreation area and multiple on camp fire chinineas. In addition there was a fishing pond and dog park area.

Each of the 4 campsites were considered to be regular campsites instead of upgrade sites but when we arrived it was the most delux sites we had encountered along the way.

Pad sites were large and the first to actually accommodate our large tent and the ground was u like any we had seen before at a site. The soft mulch was similar to that of a modern day playground and made for a much more comfortable sleep over the two days we were there.

In addition to the standard picnic table of most facilities, this campground offered a kitchen facility at each campsite including a large copper sink and food storage as well as electricity and overhead lighting in the pergola designed to allow shade from the harsh Arizona sun.

It was the closest thing to glamping we had encountered by far!

Then as an added bonus, fresh fruit trees abounded ready for the picking. The front desk informed us of the allowance to pick what you want as everything was in season! An amazing treat on the road!

We spent many hours at the pool facility, enjoyed amazing neighbors, used the wifi and even did a load of laundry while in Tucson. The facility really was like a home away from home on the road.

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If the scale went higher we would rank it more Bunnies. There were no real areas we could see for improvement. Staff was very accommodating, long term and short term residents of the facility were amazing and this was a desert oasis like no other!

Sites available for groups, RVs, tents, etc. No restrooms, but well maintained roads. Lots of border patrol. Hiking, hunting, off roading allowed.

Most sites have a lake view. Seems like Arizona takes good care of her parks. Lots to do in the area.

I thought the sites were all decent sized. Almost the entire campground is set up for RV's but most of the sites don't have anyone behind them and are spacious, so tents would be fine in those spots if you don't mind an RV a site over. The couple tent spots they have are okay. All 5 of them are right off of the road so they have more noise traffic. I think our spot in B2 was the most private and away from the road. The restrooms are clean. There's also a nice dishwashing sink. The location is ideal for exploring the west side (Tucson Mountain District) of Saguaro National Park. The stars here were great and I love the sound of the coyotes in the night.

Most tent and RV sites have electric, which is wonderful, and some of the sites are really close to the water. There are semi-clean bathrooms, but the shop is wonderful. And the water is a great way to cool off.  You can rent boats. Take your dogs out to other parts of the water, NOT the beach. There are stores right there so you don't have to go into town.

Tucson Mountain Park offers an amazing opportunity to camp among the saguaros, just outside of the west side of Saguaro National Park. The actual park doesn’t offer developed camping, so this is the best option for exploring the area.

Benefits of Tucson Mountain Park include its cost ($10/night for a tent), proximity to the park (less than 10 minutes), and scenery (saguaros everywhere!). The only downside is that during peak season, the park fills up. Luckily, when we visited in February, there were still a few sites left available for our tent.

Our biggest reason for visiting the area was to see Saguaro National Park, and camping here offered easy access to the park. We loved the west-side scenic loop drive at sunset, hiking in the east district, and attending as many ranger programs as we could to get a better understanding of these desert giants. We also spent one night backpacking in the eastern district, which was an incredible way to dive in deeper to see the desert ecosystem up close.

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Saguaro)