Best Equestrian Camping near Catalina, AZ

Catalina State Park in Tucson, Arizona, is a fantastic campground that offers a perfect blend of natural beauty and convenience. The campsite is surrounded by stunning desert landscapes, with majestic saguaro cacti and rugged mountains providing a picturesque backdrop. 

The well-maintained facilities and spacious campsites make it an ideal destination for both novice and experienced campers. What sets Catalina State Park apart is its remarkable proximity to the town of Tucson. Just a short drive away, campers can easily access the vibrant city to explore its cultural attractions, dine at diverse restaurants, and shop for supplies. 

This accessibility makes it an excellent choice for those who want to enjoy the serenity of the outdoors without sacrificing the convenience of urban amenities. Whether you're into hiking, stargazing, or simply seeking a peaceful getaway, Catalina State Park offers it all. The stunning natural beauty combined with its proximity to town makes it a top-notch choice for a camping adventure in Tucson, Arizona.

This campsite is in the heart of the Sonoran Desert on the outskirts of Tucson. You are minutes from the city, but still tucked into the valley of the Catalina Mountains. The perfect place for a desert retreat! Across the street (5 min drive for the campsite) you’ll find in ‘n out, Walmart, and other retail stores. Just down Oracle Rd. you’ll find great local restaurants... El Molinitos, Guadalajara Grill, Tap and Bottle, Village Bakehouse, and Truland Burgers. There is so much to explore in Tucson, but this campsite alone is a destination. If you’re lucky enough to be around after mountain snowmelt, you can enjoy the water. Hiking baths are aplenty as are the birds for birding enthusiasts. Campsites are clean and spacious. There isn’t much shade in the desert, so plan accordingly. Stargazing is great here. This State Park is a hot spot for locals, so hit the trails early in the morning or just stick to the campground on the weekends to avoid the crowds. The park and the adjacent mountain range suffered greatly from a large fire in the summer of 2020. Deeper into the park on hikes you’ll notice the devastation and also see desert regrowth. Be sure to check before you go as some trails are still closed from the damage.

We stayed 2 nights at Catalina State Park in early May. We were in site B48 - this site was at the edge of the loop so it was nice and fairly private - but there was very little shade. I probably wouldn't pick that site again in the warmer months! There were a lot of other sites that had some trees around them and seemed much shadier. Campground was very clean. Bathrooms were spotless with giant free showers, which was awesome. The bathrooms were a pretty long walk from our site (there is only one bathroom facility for that loop). There are some trails in the park. We saw (and heard) coyote, prairie dogs, and a rattlesnake eating a prairie dog along a trail right behind our campground loop! We explored nearby Tuscon (interesting town with really cool murals and a great craft beer scene) and Saguaro National Park (about 30-45 minutes away). The park is very quiet and peaceful, yet very close to stores and a main road if you need anything. The campsite we were in had full hookups for electricity and water (we were in a campervan and didn't need them but it was nice to have access to).

Campground Review

Catalina State Park is just a bit outside of Tucson Arizona, and more importantly, Saguaro National Park.  We used this State Park as a jumping-off point for our trip to Saguaro and it was a pretty good location for that.

Oro Valley is a modern area with tons of shopping and dining options right outside the park.  This was very convenient for us to pick up McDonalds or grab something we forgot from the store.

The Park itself is stunning.  Right up against the mountains, the views are gorgeous, especially at sunset.  We were in campsite #A-23, which was AMAZING. Perfect for tent camping, the space is large and flat.  You could easily fit several tents in this site.

We drove around campgrounds A and B and found the sites to be much more spaced out in A.  Most of the sites were occupied by RVs, which made for a very quiet and non-stressful night!  

Our site had electric hook ups and a water faucet.  Also a BBQ grill and picnic table are provided. Wood fires are NOT permitted in the park.

Overall we LOVED this place.  We will for sure return in the near future!

The Park also has a lot of amazing trails, including a very short hike to see Hohokam ruins which were so cool to see!!  The kids loved this hike and the views were amazing.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - at Catalina State Park we had the opportunity to try out the Wenzel Camp Quilt (or 2!).  These quilts are so great! Our old camp blanket had to be carefully folded in a particular way and then zipped up. These quilts come with stuff bags and you can just stuff the quilt in them when you are done!  I now keep these in the car with me at all time, because you never know when you need a picnic blanket, or something to keep you warm!

For us, it is a no-brainer to just toss one or two of these in with your camping gear.  Here in Arizona, the temperature drops fast once the sun goes down. Although it was over 100F during the day, it was still FREEZING cold in our tent at night.  We were so grateful to have these quilts to snuggle up and keep us warm!

Campground Video

https://youtu.be/yw_dUs9b7aM

Catalina State Park was beautiful in a very unique way. The campground sits at the base of the Catalina mountains and it made for gorgeous views. The landscape is pretty standard desert. There was a lot of plant life but not a lot of green. There are a ton of ants and other desert crawlies (just be prepared). Most of the spots are not well shaded so I don't think this is a very good summertime campground unless you are in an air conditioned camper of some sort. Some of the sites do have electric and water which is a nice perk. The campground is literally right on the edge of town. The road you take to get into the park is at a stop light intersection with a shopping plaza on the other side. Even with the close proximity tot he highway and town I didn't notice any unwanted noise.

The bathrooms were really well kept and had showers that even in the cold of November were putting out hot water. There are a ton of neat little hiking trails through the park (and quite a few geocaches). I could totally see this being a fun place to take pictures just because of the views. If you are looking for a large group event they had some facilities that could accommodate. My biggest dislike about this campground is they do not allow wood fires at all. It makes sense because EVERYTHING there is super dry but with the cool night temperatures (even when it was hot mid day) you couldn't warm up with a roaring fire. As a workaround you can use the fake logs in the BBQ pit (but they didn't seem to put off enough heat for us) and it looked pretty silly having 5 people standing around a BBQ pit trying to warm up!