19 campgrounds · Check availability for any dates.
Despite extensive data collection, no dedicated horse corrals or equestrian facilities appear in the campground information near Avondale, Arizona. Skyline Regional Park and White Tank Mountain Regional Park permit hiking, biking, and horseback riding on designated trails, but neither offers dedicated horse accommodations such as corrals, stalls, or tie-outs. White Tank Mountain features shaded horse hitching posts with automatic waterers at trailheads. Both parks welcome pets on leash, but specific horse camping infrastructure is absent from the documented amenities.
Trail systems throughout these parks accommodate multiple uses with designated horseback riding routes connecting scenic desert vistas. The trails at White Tank Mountain Regional Park include several options suitable for riders with varying experience levels, with some trails designated for multiple uses including horseback riding. Day-use facilities for horses exist at park trailheads, but overnight equestrian camping requires horses to be contained within the standard camping areas. Trailhead parking lots accommodate horse trailers, though space may be limited during busy periods. Water access for horses remains restricted to designated horse watering stations near main trailheads rather than at individual campsites.
"This park is so close to town, but far enough to get some quiet night sky! There are standard campsites and a more primitive camping area."
"This park is so close to town, but far enough that you feel like you are way out. There are standard campsites (water and electric) as well as tent camping area. The sites can fit good sized rigs. "
"Lots of trails for all skill sets. Great for bikes. Horse trails. Water and electric sites with a dump station. My site was backwards for my trailer but was still good."
"We stayed two nights at the Willow walk-in sites (W10). Despite our campsite being close to the bathroom it exceeded our expectations. Campground is well organized with friendly staff."
from $15 - $45 / night
Check Availability"Moved to Buckeye in Oct of 2018, when exiting off Watson road off I-10 always seen the signs of the Skyline Regional Park."
"I was a little surprised that the picnic tables did not have shelters as it gets quite hot in Arizona (the day-use pavilions were covered). Restroom: Two-stall, one-sink restroom."
"It kind of poked off the main loop away from other neighbors which is why we picked it, very close to the mtb trail and easy access to the trail leading to siphon draw. Very little shade."
"Close to town and funky roadside attractions. No WiFi but decent cell. Very clean, well maintained and quiet. Lovely hiking in the park."
from $35 - $99 / night
Check Availability"Outstanding layout, great hosts, spectacular location. "
"Campsite 6 is the first one on the right, across from the Camp Host site, and as close to the entrance has you’re gonna get."
"Very pleasant .there is no sewerage hook ups you have to drive to dump ech time .the people were friendly there as well"
"Gorgeous views, very spaced out sites, and access to great mountain biking and hiking trails. Even the overflow area where we had to spend a couple of nights has a very nice bathroom and shower."
"Lots of hiking and bike riding trails with a bike course! Playground. Pet friendly. Very clean and friendly hosts. Close to fountain hills if you need anything in town."
from $32 / night
Check Availability"Great location! Nice views of the compound which normally hosts car and horse shows. Electric and water available as hookup. Common dump site available upon entry as well as during your stay."
"This is a great place to camp if you are attending a WestWorld event since you will be right next to all of the facilities."
from $57 / night
Check Availability"22 is all by itself on the corner of the outside loop. It’s kinda close to 1-8 but it wasn’t bothersome. It gives you something to watch as you soak in the sun."
"Amazing stargazing and close to the Highway. If you decide to tent camp, you’ll hear road noise but in my camper van, barely heard it. Definitely would stay again!"
from $10 - $35 / night
Check Availability
ScoutGreat location! Nice views of the compound which normally hosts car and horse shows. Electric and water available as hookup. Common dump site available upon entry as well as during your stay. Fabulous shopping restaurants all in close proximity in North Scottsdale. Also convenient to highway system!
TravelerThis park is so close to town, but far enough to get some quiet night sky! There are standard campsites and a more primitive camping area. The Willow Canyon site is big enough for a full length Sprinter, though the office says 16’ is the length limit.
Lots of trails for hiking, biking and horses. Brand new showers, restrooms and a dishwashing area. Dogs allowed too!
I’m on Verizon and only got a single bar in the park. The library is near the entrance if you need to get your WiFi fix!
LegendThis area is best for its hiking and photo ops, in my humble opinion. As with most desert campgrounds in Arizona, there is not much privacy between the sites but take advantage of the beauty. The waterfall trail is an easy hike and very doable with kids. You can only bring a stroller so far unless it's an off-roading stroller but the hike is worth it (especially if there's water flowing). There's a playground across from the trailhead in case all else fails and someone stays behind with he little ones. Restrooms are thoughtfully placed here. DO watch for rattle snakes on this trail and all for that matter. Also, bring a lot of water and then some. Stop at the Visitor Center and library on your way in. You're not far removed from civilization so anything you need is just a brief drive away.
GuideOur site was at the top of the loop closest to Mts but furthest from restrooms. It was a 1/3 mile hike to restrooms. Keep that in mind with kids! Our site itself (120) was perfect for one tent and our car. It kind of poked off the main loop away from other neighbors which is why we picked it, very close to the mtb trail and easy access to the trail leading to siphon draw. Very little shade. Actually close to park edge we could see peoples houses to the SE. would camp at this campground again, but for this site would do RV with own restroom. Even in late April early May need EZ up for shade or almost too hot. Fun family stuff at ghost town across the highway.
TravelerGreat spots for your horse and trailer. Good size corral. More space on the pit side. Stay a week or month! Great trails out from camp. Water at corrals. Nice showers and restroom a short walk away. Plan to go back!!
TravelerConstellation Park campground is a clean campground located in a Sandy area near the town of Wickenburg. Fee is $8 a night at a self pay station. There is trash service and there is water across the street at the horse trough by the rodeo grounds. You can fill jugs, but there is not room to fill a trailer. People with horses are given preference in the spaces with corrals. There is no host. Sites are large, widely spaces with plenty of desert shade trees. Cell service is good. Just a mile to McDonalds. Don't try to stay here when the rodeo is scheduled.
RangerThe have a few electric and water sites, then more dry sites. Also horse corals, its neat being able to walk right into town, well worth a stop, sites are hard dirt, but adequate, spaced a little more apart on the dry sites, the electric/water sites back up to the town small railroad tracks and are much closer together. This is a great alternative when the lost Dutchman is full. 20 dollars to dry camp, but being able to walk into town was pretty cool. Seen roadrunner, quail, and doves, rabbits. A few coyotes howled at the moon at night, which was pretty cool to, off in the distance. I'd stay here again for the convenience.
GuideSkyline Regional Park, Buckeye AZ
www.skylineregionalpark.com and camping page www.skylineregionalpark.com/camping/
This is a brand new park in the city of Buckeye, AZ at the south end of the White Tank Mountains and is located about 20 miles from White Tanks Regional Park in the Maricopa County Parks district (see my review). The park itself is very pretty, all of the amenities are new and fresh, and several of the trails are under active construction.
This is a very popular and BUSY park for mountain bikers - I was surprised to see the trailhead parking lot nearly full (almost 2 dozen cars) on a Thursday late afternoon/evening, and as people came back to the lot to leave nearly all of them were mountain bikers, with a few hikers mixed in.
The good -
It’s neat and clean, nice new restrooms with flush toilets and sinks that also have motion lights to conserve energy - they stay dark at night, so there are fewer bugs swarming around the entrances, although the restrooms are marked with bee warnings.
The campsites are level, evenly spaced away from each other on a long loop, and have big sturdy concrete picnic tables along with a fire ring and standing grill. The parking spaces are easy to back into and help to block the view of some of the campsite from the road.
I stayed in site D, which is at the top of the low hill that composes a loop of 7 sites (A-G) but sites E and F would be my choice next time, as they are terraced into the hill as it comes down from the peak sites of C and D - each of the sites E and F have an erosion wall that makes nice seating (see photo)
Site G is currently under construction, and was not available for reservation as of my stay in the middle of October, but will be the site closest to the restroom and trail head when it’s available. Not a big issue, as each site is only a few dozen yards from each other.
The trail head has a nice map of the available trails, covered ramadas with recycle containers along with trash receptacles, and even a shaded horse hitching post area with an automatic horse waterer. There is no potable water for people to drink in this park.
The sites are cleared of brush/cacti and have a nice wide gravel path to the restroom - I carried a UV light but didn’t see any scorpions anywhere near the road or my camp, which is certainly not the case just up the road in White Tanks Regional part, where the campsites are more desert/less groomed (but have water&electric).
The less than good -
It’s pretty boring. There are 7 sites that are basically identical with the same view of the trailhead parking lot - it’s nice that the restroom is close, but there’s not much privacy for any of the sites. No trees of any significant size, so none of the sites have appreciable shade available.
I’m not sure who these sites were designed for - they are deep enough for RVs to back in, but there is no electric or water, and they recommend driving 5 miles away to a truck stop as the closest RV dump site and pay showers, so that can’t be very convenient for non-tent campers.
The campsites have a nice flat area for a tent, but it’s next to the “driveway” rather than at the back of the site so your tent has NO privacy from the road/trailhead parking lot, and the entire camping loop is located on a very uninteresting section of terrain.
The park is far enough from the freeway (2 miles) that it’s quiet, and tucked into the foothills enough to block the city lights from Phoenix, so stargazing is quite nice. However, it’s under a flight path from Phoenix to San Diego/Los Angeles, so every few minutes a jet blinks through your sky space. It’s also apparently under a flight path for Luke Air Force Base, and I had several noisy jets pass overhead just as I was settling in for the night. I live in the area so those jets are a constant background noise in my life and they were no big deal to me, but might be unsettling for someone who was really looking for a “peace and quiet” camping experience.
There was a fire ban in effect during my stay and they don’t announce them on their website - you have to remember to call and ask before you get there. However, even during a fire ban you can use your fire pit and grill, so it’s really not a big deal unless you were planning to set up camp way out in the desert somewhere.
My least favorite -
The mountain bikers take these trails seriously and are out on the trails with head lamps and bike lights until LATE at night, and their voices carry all over the park so this is NOT a quiet place to camp.
The signage all says that the trails are open from sunup until sundown, and that the park gates close at 10pm. The reality is that the hikers and mountain bikers wear lights and stay out on the trails until far after sundown because even though my campsite reservation said I would need to use a gate code to leave the park after 10pm, that is not the case. The gate leaving the park has an auto-opening feature, so you can drive up to it in the middle of the night and it will be triggered to open and let you out. Day-use park visitors can and do stay until very late, as there is no consequence for being in the park after the trails “close” or even after 10pm, since they don’t risk being locked in. I didn’t see any park employees driving around to enforce the park closing time, and I did become a little concerned (as I was the only camper that night, and alone with my dogs) when someone drove up to use the restroom at the trailhead at 11:30pm (car headlights shining directly into my camp of course) - again, not much privacy.
All in all - I’d come back to this park to hike any day of the week. The trails are wide and new and well maintained, and it’s a new area to explore. As far as camping goes, there are plenty of nice parks not far from here, so I’d probably recommend driving an extra half hour to one of the Maricopa county parks at Estrella Mountain or White Tanks to take advantage of the same or better mountain views with more amenities.
RangerOutstanding layout, great hosts, spectacular location. Good hiking and sites nearby whether you are looking for lakes, wild mustangs in the Salt River, a scenic drive to Tortilla Flats or just enjoying the Arizona weather.
Hiking in the park to accommodate all levels.
Campsites are well maintained. Quiet in the evenings. Could not ask for more.
Equestrian camping opportunities around Avondale offer more limited options than traditional camping. The desert terrain ranges from 1,000 to 4,000 feet elevation with temperatures regularly exceeding 100°F during summer months. Local parks maintain trail systems for day-use horseback riding, with specific regulations requiring riders to bring their own containment systems for overnight stays.
Mountain biking trails: 18.5 miles of trails at Skyline Regional Park provide routes for cyclists of varying abilities. "This is a very popular day-use area and by 7 am on a weekend in early April, the day-use parking lot was completely full. Despite this, we did not see too many people on the trails," notes Lee D.
Waterfall trail hiking: 1 mile round-trip at White Tank Mountain Regional Park leads to seasonal water features. "The waterfall only runs after heavy rain. There was water in the 'pool' and it is scenic so it was worthwhile to go despite no running falls," explains Lee D. The first half-mile is paved, making it accessible for most visitors.
Night sky observation: Clear desert skies support stargazing. "At night the coyotes sing you to sleep and also wake you up in the morning. You can also see the fountain from most of the campsites which goes off every hour!" reports Larry G. about McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
Privacy between sites: Campsites at several parks feature spacing that creates a sense of seclusion. "The sites are well maintained and the visitor center is worth a look. Wonderful hiking trails around the park," writes Christine S. about Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Clean facilities: Many parks maintain high standards for bathrooms and common areas. "Cleanest flush toilets and showers (free) I've ever seen in a campground. Dish washing station. Campsites are level, clean, and include a shade over a concrete table, fire ring, and hammock hooks for three," says Ryan W. about West Pinal County Park.
Desert wildlife viewing: Early mornings and evenings offer opportunities to spot native animals. "Very nice peaceful park. At night the coyotes sing you to sleep and also wake you up in the morning," notes Larry G. from McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
Summer heat limitations: Temperatures regularly exceed 100°F from May through September. "This is a nice place to visit in the cooler months of the year due to no shade and low elevation. We visited in January which was perfect," advises Christine S. about Lost Dutchman State Park.
Limited shade coverage: Most campgrounds have minimal natural shade. "No shade here at all but otherwise pretty decent. My spot had water and electric. Nice dump station on the way out too," explains Chris P. about Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Varied cell service: Connectivity fluctuates throughout the region. "Cell phone connection was spotty (TMobile) at our campsite but connection was better in other areas of park," reports Becbecandbunny O. from White Tank Mountain Regional Park.
Desert safety precautions: Pack extra water and sun protection for children. "Bring lots of water. Though there are fresh water stations around, the water seemed to have an odd taste to me," advises Crystal C. about White Tank Mountain Regional Park.
Pet considerations: Be aware of desert hazards for animals. "We stayed at the Willow Campground for two nights while visiting family and friends. Didn't do any others as our dog had an encounter with a stray cholla ball. This would be the only concern for those traveling with pets," warns Teresa A.
Off-leash areas: Some parks provide designated spaces for dogs. "A large, fenced area for off-leash dog exercise" is available at West Pinal County Park, according to Lisa K., making it suitable for family camping with pets.
Site selection strategy: Research carefully to match site dimensions with your vehicle. "Large sites with excellent views in all directions (mountains and desert one way, iconic saguaros and city lights in the other)," notes Ryan W. about West Pinal County Park.
Utility access planning: Water and electric hookups vary by park. "The campground has great size spot for each group. They have well kept bathrooms and lots of activities!" reports Easton B. about Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Dump station locations: Plan ahead for waste disposal. "Our site was a pull through...more a side of the road spot. No shade here at all but otherwise pretty decent. My spot had water and electric. Nice dump station on the way out too," shares Chris P. about Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Avondale, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Avondale, AZ is White Tank Mountain with a 4.6-star rating from 18 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Avondale, AZ?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 equestrian camping locations near Avondale, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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