Best Cabin Camping near Chiricahua, AZ

The 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.

It's very rustic, has been upgraded with electricity, fully stocked modern kitchen and hot water. We stayed January 7-11 2023

If you set your expectations too high, you'll be disappointed. this is not an Airbnb.

We were not happy that it wasn't cleaned well by previous renters. We cleaned about 3 or 4 months of grime. there were too many mice, could not keep up with their droppings. the water pressure for toilets was slow so we had to use buckets of water to fill the tank in order to flush.

A space heater in dining room was broken as well as a lamp. make sure to bring your own bedding.

So everything in Tombstone is pretty much a theme draw trying to get you to spend a little but I will say that when we found this campground it was a little chuckle because all the different rows are named for different aspects of the western world which is known to be Tombstone. ( Like Lariat or Marshall)

What wasn't old though was the feel of the facility which had modern amenities such as a pool and nice restroom facility. I can only imagine in this area things are highly competitive so keeping to theme but also meeting needs of campers is very important.

Sure it is a little dusty like the west, but you are in Arizona so it can be expected.

They do have rustic accommodations and cabins for those wanting to get the real old west feel and also accommodate both RV and tent campers like myself which was really nice to find out. In fact there was an entire row just dedicated to the good old tent hombres (lol, we will keep in the western theme as well).

Everyone seemed very nice around camp and many were exploring in town at night at one of the many saloons and even asked us if we wanted to come with. They do offer a shuttle service as well for those not wanting to get swept up in the attempting to find a non-pay parking stop.

We paid $25 but had full service at the campground which also included laundry and ice availability without having to get in the car to find a different location. That combined with the pool made it worth every penny!

TIPS:

• Remember everything has a price tag here so find the deals by researching in advance. There is one ticket for $10 that gets you a show, free souvenir and viewing of the diorama.
• Take advantage of the propane at this stop if you are in an RV!

We wanted to get away for a few days during Covid and wanted to stay south where it was warmer so we found Rusty's RV Ranch in Rodeo New Mexico. It was quiet and friendly and just what we were looking for. While visiting we went exploring and visited the Chiricahua Desert Museum & the Apache Museum next door. Enjoyed all of the displays and history as Geronimo surrendered nearby.

We took a ride over to the Coronado National Forest and coming from the wide-open desert we felt like we had stepped into another world. Definitely worth the trip. We tried to drive the loop around the area on the first day but the directions weren't very good and we didn't go all the way. We went back the next day and went the other direction and went through the little town of Paradise. It was a long bumpy gravel road this way and really wasn't worth the trip....enjoyed the paved road in the National Forest much more. 

We needed some supplies so we drove down to Douglas AZ at the Mexico border. Visited Walmart and got some tacos that were excellent. Not much between Rusty's and Douglas but was a good drive with little to no traffic. Did see a number of Border Control agents on patrol.

Rusty's RV Ranch was very clean and well maintained. You could tell that they have made a concerted effort to make the grounds nice from the Swan & Duck pond to the bird enclosures and Koi pond. Loved the hiking trails that went around the entire property and we used those a number of times.

The space was huge and very private. We didn't have to unhook our toad vehicle until we needed the car which was really nice. The management was very friendly and helpful. 

We have t-mobile and I will tell you we had no service here. We hooked up to their park wi-fi but could barely check our email. We don't have satellite either so we were totally disconnected mostly.... but that was good too for a change. Fall and Winter are the busiest times here with people looking for warmer winters and avoiding the hot summers.

There are a couple of restaurants nearby and the closest has a convenience store but that is it... so be sure that you are stocked up on supplies before you go or expect to drive to get them. If you bring your pet be sure to have some flashlights to walk them at night because it is dark dark 😀

We would definitely visit Rusty's again! 

Visit our website for more.

Upon arrival, this park is absolutely gorgeous. Check-in was swift and easy, and we were escorted to our site by a friendly staff member. Although the park is big rig friendly, we found the turn into the row very tight for our 37ft 5th wheel and long tow vehicle (about 55ft total rig length). Once in the proper row, the turn into the pull through sites is easy.

Full hookups were all working smoothly, and although we did not use any of the facilities, they all looked beautiful and clean. The dog park on the far end was absolutely spotless. The lighting around the campground at night was charming and appreciated. Our site had a tree with a picnic table under it.

We were only a few minutes drive away from all the best attractions Tombstone has to offer, but the location is quiet and away from all the commotion.