Best RV Parks & Resorts near Catalina, AZ

This 55+ RV park and resort is well maintained. Most people appear to stay long-term, but they have short term spots available without reservations. We aren't in the "55+" age bracket, but if you call ahead, they will likely let you stay without any questions (we're 2 adults and 1 dog). 

The park has a large number of park models in the back; the RV spots are in the front of the park, closer to the I-10. Most sites are pull-through sites, with some back-in sites. All sites have a view of something. Most sites have white fence panels between for privacy, but if you're staying over it might be worth driving through to check out the available sites before choosing one. 

That brings me to the procedure for overnight camping here. We arrived on a weekend, so the front office wasn't open. Next to the office door, there are two clear boxes -- one with envelopes and the second with maps. The envelopes have site numbers and are available for short term stays. You can compare the site numbers to the map to make sure you get a spot perfect for you. Most sites have both 30 and 50 amps, but the map will identify the ones with only 30 amps available. 

The road and train noise is noticeable outside, but not a big deal inside the camper. We did hear the trains sometimes at night, but nothing obnoxious.

The amenities are amazing: putting green, pickleball, horseshoes, dog runs, pool...you name it. The residents were friendly -- lots of golf carts, electric-assist bikes, and small dogs. Despite some large political signs, it was welcoming. We'll be back.

Most of Rincon Country West RV Resort is really for folks who are living them permanently or seasonally in their park model homes. Only in the far back corner is there really parking for JUST RVs.(Although even that"back corner" is probably home to well over 100 spaces.) So it feels like driving through a miniature suburban subdivision. It's location is in the heart of Tucson, so there's NO feeling of"getting away from it all" by staying here. In fact, your hear planes, helicopters& traffic. It's a city. But for us, spending 5 days exploring the area, it was a fairly central jumping off point for our explorations.

We had a"deluxe" pull-through site, which got us a nice patch of grass, a charcoal grill, a picnic table, good water pressure, clean electricity and a site with two different dump spots. There was cable TV available and wifi, but we just used my Verizon hotspot for streaming some Netflix and that worked great. We were close to our neighbors, but not TOO close. The more "normal" spaces near us would have put you in much closer proximity to your neighbors. For us, it was worth the extra$5 or so per day. (Having said that, the place really is pretty pricey.$70 per day is near the top of what we've paid.) 

The place has many amenities, none of which we availed ourselves of. We were really only there in the evenings and for sleeping. But pools, sports courts of all kinds, several nice dog parks, rec center, auditorium, etc. etc. I would think someone longterm would find lots to do. The security here is pretty stringent, which is nice. We'd certainly stay here again.

I stayed at South Forty RV Ranch for a month and enjoyed it immensely.  Its location within the city limits makes it the perfect place for lodging while exploring Tucson, Green Valley, Tombstone and Tubac.  It is a small park with 233 sites, but it is very well kept and has mature landscaping, with plenty of palm trees, huge azalea shrubs, saguaros and lots of flowering bougainvilleas.

They have both pull-through and back-in campsites for RVs only (no tenting), with a variety of lengths (from 22' to 68').  I had a back-in site that had so much width to the side that I could set up my "patio" with awning, chairs and a picnic table beside my RV, park my car along side that and still have room to fit another vehicle in, if necessary.  Some of the longer pull-through sites were narrower, but used for big rigs of 35' to 45' +. 

The park has a beautiful heated swimming pool and hot, a clubhouse with pool tables, exercise room, library and laundry.  There were plenty of planned activities going on, including a Friday night Happy Hour and live music!

Cell service was great, as I have Verizon on my phone and use AT&T for my internet.  TV antennas can pick up more than 20 stations without using satellite or cable.  There are three satellite shower houses scattered around the property that were always spotless! The staff was extremely helpful and quick to respond to guests' needs, and the atmosphere around the park seemed to be relaxed, with satisfied customers.

This park, along with many I found in the desert southwest, is an Adult Park Only, accepting residents of 55 years and older only.  If you are pulling a toad, you will have to detach in the parking lotand ALL RVs are escorted through the park upon check-in and check-out.

Beautiful state park campground. Huge, level, paved sites. All the sites in the B loops have water and electric( 20A, 30A, and 50A). Picnic table and bbq. No fire pits. Dump station near exit of loops and another near state park entrance. Nice selection of pull through and back-in sites. We had a back-in on outer edge and had beautiful views. Plenty of space between sites and with clever positioning and trees, you have some privacy. Was very quiet (with the exception of the coyote's at sundown 👍) Nice clean bathrooms and showers. Many sites have some trees that may provide some needed shade in warmer months. Great hiking and biking in park. Bicycle paths in Oro Valley area are also awesome.

We stayed at Crazy Horse RV Park for about 2.5 months, November to January. The park is definitely in need of some updating. The grounds in general are extremely clean and well-maintained. Park staff was very friendly and accommodating, particularly Claire in the office, and Mark and Russ in grounds maintenance. The pool is nice and clean, and it is heated. There are nice chairs and tables in the pool area. There are doggie bag stations throughout the park with garbage cans attached to dispose of dog waste.

As for the sites, they are a tight squeeze with not much space. You are absolutely stacked in. It would be difficult in most sites to even park a second vehicle. Park staff does come and help you pull in during business hours. There did appear to be picnic tables, but only at some sites. You are not allowed to have fires. There are both back-in and pull-through sites, along with some covered spaces.

The laundry facility has 8-10 each of washers and dryers, $2-$2.25 per wash, and $2 per dry. They do sell quarters in the office. There are three shower stalls in both the men’s and women's facilities, along with toilets. Both the laundry and the bathroom buildings were very clean.

The park does have a nice recreational hall with a pool table, and they do some activities, including coffee and donuts twice weekly, a game day, bingo, and pizza and taco nights. There is a pop and snack vending machine inside as well. Aside from the pool, there isn’t anything in the park for children to do.

One major complaint we had was that people drive way too fast through the park. We were backed up to an access road with a posted speed limit of 7.5 MPH, which people regularly drove 25 down despite several speed bumps. Another issue is Craycroft Road, which the park is on, is extremely busy and very noisy. We nicknamed it the Craycroft drag strip. The neighborhood across the road is very run down, there are dogs barking over there nonstop, and there’s lots of litter everywhere. We also heard gunshots on more than one occasion.

We did have several water outages while we were there, a couple due to sewer issues, and one due to upgrading water hardware, but did not experience issues with electricity. Electricity was about $60 per month for us, in a 34 foot trailer, in the winter months where we were not running AC.

Dollar General, Circle K, Pilot, and a taco truck are all within walking distance. There is also a large community park within walking distance. The park is easily accessed off of I-10. The Pima Air and Space museum is within a couple of miles, and East Saguaro National Park is about 20 minutes away.

We would return to this park in the future. Overall, we had a very positive experience there.

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!

I typically rate campgrounds as they fit into 1 of 5 categories. This campground will be rated as a Regional/Public Park — Grounds that are on public lands, and have a cost for entry and/or overnight stay. Ratings for this category are based on: Cost: 5 Allure of the park/lands: 5 Amenities as available (bathrooms, showers, hookups, etc): 4 Layout and privacy of sites: 5

Catalina SP is at the Northern end of metro Tucson. It’s about 30 minutes to downtown and 1 hour to either division of Saguaro National Park (East or West).

Reservations during January for a short-term (2 night) stay were surprisingly easy to obtain via their online booking tool. Longer stays should book far ahead of time, max stay is 14 days, I believe. Price of $30/night +$5 booking fee was very reasonable for RV Electric and water hookups for the stay.

Check in was easy with the attendants and there is no extra cost for park admission for campers, which is a nice bonus for AZ state parks (many states charge the fees outside of the cost of camping).

The sites were huge, very big-rig friendly, and private. Additional signage for numbered sites would have been helpful, but it’s not hard to find your spot using the power of deduction. Backing in our 25’ trailer was easy. Electric and water hookups were available at our site (30) in the B Loop. No sewer hookups and the dump stations were crowded when we left at 11:45am on checkout day. Restrooms were open, and require masks. They were spotless! Water pipes at the campground froze overnight on an evening where temps barely touched 32 degrees. They were defrosted and flowing by 8:30am. There were also dish cleaning stations outside the restroom.

Very nearby are grocery stores, gas stations and other shopping/eating spots, but the proximity to commerce doesn’t impact the natural feel of these grounds... night at the campground is very dark.

The hiking accessible from the campgrounds is fantastic with tons of desert landscape and saguaros dotting the skyline. Low mountains add to the scenic view and trees throughout the campground contribute to privacy from your (fairly distant) neighbors. Yet another fantastic reason to choose state parks for your camping/rving adventures!