Best Cabin Camping near Black Canyon City, AZ

If the sites had a little more privacy, I'd give five stars. Whenever I take my family, I remind myself I'm not there for the actual tent camping, I'm there for everything else the state park offers. There are about eight small cabins as well. This park offers a much needed break from the Arizona heat in the spring and summer months. The "lakes" are really more like ponds but plenty large enough to fish in as is the Verde River, running through the park. Make sure to go down and take a dip during the warm seasons. They've recently improved the playground for young ones and offer horseback riding as well. Facilities are always clean. If you're tired of camping food, drive down the road to Cottonwood and be sure to visit Larry's Antiques (if you're into that of course).

We stayed at this campground for 3 nights in mid-October and recommend this state park for camping in the Sedona area.

Pros:

-all sites in the Blackhawk Loop where we stayed had a level pad for tents (either small gravel or a wood platform), picnic table, and fire pit (though they could not be used due to a fire ban

-can easily fit 2 smaller tents on the tent pad or 1 jumbo family tent

-good amount of shrubbery in between sites so it didn't feel like you were right on top of your neighbors

-driveways have space for 2 cars if needed

-shower house was fairly clean and had hot showers

-dishwashing sink behind the shower house was a nice perk

-usable cell phone service (T-mobile)

-no tent sites with power if you need that.  We filled up an air mattress using the outlet in the bathroom which worked fine.

Cons:

-sites really vary in terms of how far back from the road they are.  Our site (122 in the Blackhawk loop) was a bit back from the road and had plenty of shrubbery, but some don't have as much privacy

-not a ton of water fill up stations, but our loop was pretty small, so it was fine

-you have to pay $15 per night for a 2nd car, which was a little steep, but given the campground is reasonably priced, this was fine

Came out for some camping, hiking, and fishing with the extended family. Wasn’t much of any of this at this campground.

Camping area was without any shade and made up only a few square meters of the complex. Site caters to the RV crowd, which is just fine as some of our group was looking for this and others rented a nice little cabin along the river. Only problem was that the facility was overrun with the annual crowd, which spent more time glaring and sneering, than minding their own. A few nice souls about, but more of the bitter old timers.

Hiking trails were advertised, but they were short and combined to less than 3km. Many were partial trails as they are undercutting them to add more RV parking. Hiking along the river is possible with the gate code you can get from an employee, but it is overgrown and not suited for small children.

Fishing is possible with a hike of less than a 1km and following the wash makes this a good morning activity for the entire family. A friendly resident was kind enough to hike the trail with us, showing us the waterfalls and fishing holes.

The facilities themselves, were actually quite nice. As expected from a retirement complex, there were daily activities, pool, billiards, shuffle board, and a Wi bowling league. Plenty of coffee, clean restrooms, free WiFi, and friendly staff were to be found every morning at the main lodge. Well maintained roads, cabins, and grassy areas(marked common areas, but locals claim them as their own and attack like rabid dogs if you walk on them), made the place acceptable.

Information listed on website is not accurate. Some of the sites you had to park across the road from your camp. Had to pay for WiFi per day and even then it was spotty snd only worked for a short time. No firewood, no fires allow and no fire pits. Not all sites have picnic tables (our didn’t). Sites were right on top of each other (good thing other campers where friendly) Dump station was about 20 feet from our site and sometimes the smell was so bad we had to take a walk. Ask to move site and the host was not very nice in telling us no. When we booked our site we had originally plan for 7 nights on our trip we made some changes. When we arrived we asked to cancel our last night. Which they don’t do and the host was not nice about letting us know this. Besides the misleading information the location was pretty and peaceful.

Dead Horse Ranch State Park is a perfect place to stay if you want to visit, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, Old Cottonwood, Red Rock State Park, Jerome and the many Sedona attractions. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot are pet friendly although if your pet doesn’t like stairs Tuzigoot may be a little more difficult walk for them. The price of one ticket covers both National Monuments and Tuzigoot is only 4 miles from the campground. Within the campground, there are three lagoons and miles of trails to hike or bike. The bathrooms are well maintained, and the showers had great water pressure. We were in site 91 which was a large site and level, but the metal picnic bench needs to be replaced. Brush between the sites adds privacy. Staff and the camp host were all very friendly and helpful. Firewood can be purchased for$8 cash from the camp host. The dump station is on the way out of the park is easy to access. Overall, we enjoyed the park. It was very quiet and a great location to multiple attractions.

We planned a last minute trip for a first time visit to this state park. We can not say enough great things about it. You have electric and water hook ups. Each spot doesn’t have a lot of room in between but this didn’t bother us as we enjoy hiking and being out and about. There is a table, fire ring and charcoal bbq grill. There are 20+ different trails throughout the park. There is 3 small lagoons that are stocked with fish. Dump station available for free if camping in park. I highly advise reserving a spot online. Playground with zip line down by the lagoons and many day use areas available.

The forest was closed in Northern Arizona so I decided to camp out at Dead Horse Ranch SP.  I was pretty pleased overall with my trip.  My campsite was comfortable and private enough, considering how close the sites are at this campground.  I had some shade trees to help keep my travel trailer cool but definitely needed to run the AC all night in order to stay comfortable.  The RV sites here have fresh water and power, but no sewer.  There is a dump station at the park entrance that is easily accessible when both entering and exiting the park. I enjoyed fishing, hiking, and bike riding while I was here but had to limit my outdoor activities to the morning hours due to the heat.  

One afternoon I went into old town Cottonwood, which is only a couple of miles from the park.  It's a great place to visit if you're into antiques or wine tasting.