The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Bowie. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Bowie is surrounded by family-friendly activities. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Bowie camping trip.
"At the entrance you’ll find a vaulted toilet pit and a couple of trash barrels as of the time of this review."
"A beautiful, serene location not too far from I-10 and Fort Bowie. We arrived at around 10pm in our Sprinter van and found a quiet location."
"I didn’t see anyone else here when I went and didn’t see/hear any wildlife besides birds. I also didn’t have any cell reception (T-Mobile), which was fine by me!"
"Turkey creek flows right next to the campground and offers fantastic hikes along it's banks. There are multiple small waterfalls and pools to splash in."
"Each tiny site had a picnic table, fire ring, and bear box. A beautiful creek down the hill from the campground had crystal clear water for filtering and washing up. "
"This would be perfect if it wasn’t so close to the road. You get loud traffic noise."
"Nice, small campground with pit toilets, fire rings and bear boxes. Saw many deer and turkeys in the area."
"Nice clean bathrooms, picnic tables, fire pit, and bear box. Campgrounds are next to a creek with a trailhead leading to a waterfall, couldn’t ask for more for a free campsite."
"No trash. Verizon in and out. 4x4 needed to exit. Road is a couple miles, rough, and one shallow water crossing."
"Various campsites on Rucker lake. Close waterfalls and plenty of hiking trails. Near fort Rucker and up the road from a few other campsites and hiking trails."
"Found a beautiful dispersed camping spot beneath the Aspens and Ponderosas on the north side of FR803 about a mile west of the Riggs Flat Lake Campground."
"All are shaded by scrub oaks and surrounded by towering rock formations. The sites have picnic tables and grills. There is no water available so bring your own. No electricity or other facilities."
LegendCochise stronghold campground is a rugged campground in a deep canyon. The canyon was the refuge for the Chiricahua Apache leader, Cochise. This is a National Forest Service campground. There are Eleven campsites and two group campsites. All are shaded by scrub oaks and surrounded by towering rock formations. The sites have picnic tables and grills. There is no water available so bring your own. No electricity or other facilities. There is a bathroom with flush toilets. There are food storage lockers due to bear activities. It is dog friendly (on leash). This campground is a little hard to get to, with several water crossings. I would not recommend attempting to drive without a high clearance vehicle. Sites are first come first served. Limit 6 people per site. $8 per night.
GuideStayed on a Sunday in mid January and lucked out on a last minute site that was available. It’s a small campground, so reservations are ideal if you can plan ahead.
There’s no fire rings but there are small grills to cook food and/or have a small “fire” in.
Food storage boxes and bear boxes are available! Some sites have their own and others share the boxes.
Bathrooms are modernized and super clean.
Overall a great campground and would definitely stay here again!
GuideThis site was very private and expansive for the location. There is the lower campsite however it is a bit down from the area where the tents were set up. There were multiple fire rings set up around the camp and the rangers who visited us informed that we may not use them and they were going to be dismantled once we left. There is a "main" fire ring near two tables and a bear box. The restroom being close and CLEAN was a bonus but is the only restroom for both the upper and lower campsites. There are great hikes and trails in the surrounding areas especially if you want to venture off trail to a lookout point nearby. Highly recommend this site for families and new to camping campers.
LegendBonita Canyon Campground at the Chiricahua National Monument is a quiet little campground in a scrub pine forest. Chiricahua National Monument is a “dark sky” park, so there is very little light at night. Bring flashlights but leave lanterns at home! There are 36 sites with picnic tables and grills. There are community water faucets, but all were turned off when we were there. There are bathrooms with flush toilet, but no hookups or showers. Most sites are small and could accommodate tents, a small class C or van campers. 25’ is the max length and 14 days is max stay. The sign said the campground was full but there were empty sites. All sites are reservable through the www.US.gov web site.
LegendBonita Canyon CG- Chiricahua NM: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)
Overall Rating: Campsites in outer loop are more nicely spaced(rate 4) and trailer adds to privacy. Inner loop sites are often a bit close (rate 3).
Price 2024: $ 10 w interagency
Usage during visit: Very full, especially weekends.
Site Privacy: No
Site Spacing: Outside sites are spacious
Pad surface: Gravel
Reservations: Yes
Campground Noise: Very quiet.
Outside Road Noise: None
Through Traffic in campground: No
Electric Hookup: No
Sewer Hookup: No
Dump Station: No
Potable Water Available: Yes. Spigots are scattered, locations clearly marked
Generators: Allowed, but other than ours, I never heard one.
Bathroom: Built by CCC. Clean and rustic. I like them.
Showers: No
Pull Throughs: I didn’t notice any
Cell Service (AT&T): No. WiFi at the visitor center
Setting: Woods
Recent Weather: 70s to low 80s.
Solar: At our site with good positioning, we were able to bring in 12amps per day with 400 watt fixed panels.
Insects: None now
Host: Yes, 2 couples
Rig Size: Limited to 24’.
LegendMy husband, myself and our 2 small dogs live in Tucson, AZ. We recently acquired a roof top tent and we’ve been trying out various campgrounds across the Southwest.
This is still one of our favorite National Parks to stay at. The sites were “pull though” so it’s perfect for our Roof Top Tent set up. Plenty of trees and hiking opportunities. Honestly, it’s worth the trip just to see the coatimundis. They are ADORABLE!
Pros: Coatis! Scenery. Easy to access. Water. Bear boxes.
Cons: As typical in National Parks, the majority of hiking trails are not dog friendly. No showers. no fire pits, just BBQ that can be used for cooking with fire.
LegendMy husband, myself and our 2 small dogs live in Tucson, AZ. We recently acquired a roof top tent and we’ve been trying out various campgrounds across the Southwest.
The drive up scenic highway 366 is worth a trip regardless. There are some amazing views of the Pinaleños. Since it’s still February, the road to the top of the mountain was closed to us so we decided to stay at Arcadia since it’s open year round.
We were the only people staying overnight, which surprised us since it was a holiday weekend. We did see a group picnicking when we first arrived though. Also, we could hear sports cars on the highway at night. Probably racing down the tight switchbacks.
No water, so make sure to bring your own. Toilets were clean, pit toilets and there were 2 sets. Campsites are pretty spread out. Some were 30-50 feet from the main road and wouldn’t really suit our needs as RTT campers. Lots of trash cans and a few bear boxes. Each site has a fire pit with a cooking grate and a cement picnic table. For camping in AZ, it is well suited for tent camping. We stayed in site 12. Most other sites wouldn’t not be ideal for RTTs.
I would definitely return to the Pineleños, but I’m going to wait until April, when we can access the sites at the top of the mountains.
Overall, it’s a nice wooded area, but with only 1 hiking trail (to Shannon Campground, 10mi r/t) and no vista views from the site, I don’t think it’s worth $20 a night. We decided to only spend 1 night here.
LegendThe Cave Creek Canyon on the western edge of the Chiricahua Mountains is a spectacular area that will completely take you by surprise. This cute campground tucked into the trees will charm your socks off!
Each site has the standard picnic table, bear locker, fire ring and lots of shade. The bathroom is a vault toilet, kept clean by the volunteer camp host, staying at Sandy Flat. This campground is rather small with just a couple small RV sites and lots of shade. Perfect for tent camping though. Great for warmer months, not so great for solar charging due to the shade, so we moved up the road to Sunny Flat campground. There are two small cabins available for rent near the forest visitor’s center, check with the Coronado National Forest, Douglas District office.
The area is a birder’s paradise and at certain times of year can get very busy. Great opportunities for hiking, biking and wildlife viewing throughout the entire mountain range. All the campgrounds are first-come, first-served.
There's not much in the area for food and gas, so come prepared. There is one small grill/basic grocery store down the mountain, but if you are looking for real groceries, shop before you come.
LegendThis tiny little campground is perched on the side of the road in another of AZ's Sky Islands. Just 3 campsites, not big enough for large RV’s, though Hamlet-sized trailers and camper vans are fine.
Passable pit toilets available for use, but no drinking water. Each tiny site had a picnic table, fire ring, and bear box. A beautiful creek down the hill from the campground had crystal clear water for filtering and washing up. Completely FREE and first-come, first-served!
Great hiking around the whole area, complete with snowy peaks in early April and waterfalls. Saw many road cyclists riding up the very steep, winding road, as it is lightly traveled. This sky island s a great place to head in the summer when the desert is too hot to enjoy it.
Closest town with supplies and services is Safford, AZ, about 20 minutes north.
Tent camping near Bowie, Arizona offers a unique blend of serene landscapes and outdoor adventures, perfect for nature enthusiasts looking to escape the hustle and bustle.
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