Best Tent Camping near Douglas, AZ

Nice little place to shower, and relax. Lots of wildlife. Though I would say tent sites are a bit pricey, compared to all the free camping in the area. Extremely affordable for RVs compared to area though. Bisbee is a wonderful town and I’d def recommend checking it out while you’re around. An air bnb in the area would be spectacular!

Small campground with 28 level sites. All hookups avail. Tent sites offered dry or with electricity. $17.00 - $20.00. However, those sites are next to club house. We elected to take a full hookup site, although We only needed electricity. $27.00 + tax with Good Sam discount. 1 shower for all and 1 ea toilets for M& W. Nice club House with pool tables, TV’s, etc. Great wi-fi and cell coverage (AT&T). Great accommodating host, clean facilities, great views.

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.

Beautiful and unexpected. The drive getting there is pretty disappointing however when you arrive the land scale completely changes. We have camped here twice. The first time tent camping in site 3 which was good but not a ton of privacy. The second time in our 23’ travel trailer In Site 11. Super cool very private spot (next to amphitheater but with COVID nothing was scheduled) may not be as private when people are attending amphitheater. but this site is NOT intended for trailers, the site is intended for tents however we had the reservation for so long they allowed us to attempt to stay and park the trailer. We did but other ground was very uneven. GREAT campground, quiet, cool hikes. They have blue birds that look like the angry birds and they are a nuisance dropping twigs in your food and coffee and tormenting your dog if you bring it. STILL AWESOME.

If approved by congress, Chiricahua National Monument will become Arizona's fourth National Park.  While the current monument  is a compact area geographically,  it definitely has the uniqueness of a national park and warrants the added protections.  It will however make a very special place more popular, so you might want to visit sooner than later. 

If you camp in a tent, van, micro-camper, or small travel trailer you will find Bonita Canyon Campground to be a memorable and wonderful place.  Don't try to bring any big rigs as they simply won't fit.  Reservations are a must. 

The campground is small, beautiful, shaded and right in the middle of some incredible scenery providing easy access to the fantastic hiking and wildlife viewing that is all around you.  Hosts were professional and friendly, bathhouse small but super clean, and the site boundaries were mostly marked with fences which is somewhat unique.  This is an old CCC built campground.  From the campground you can easily walk to the foundations of the original camp located nearby.  

Pay attention to fire regulations and status.  If permitted, campfires are limited to the raised grills (no rings) but you can bring your own solo type camp stove. You will need to bring your own wood and ice.  Pay attention to your fuel levels in your vehicle as this is a remote place.  

This is premier birdwatching country.  If you can, I would highly recommend taking  one of the guided walks provided by the rangers and park biologists.  We learned a bunch and I am not even "a birder" and enjoyed it.  The nearby visitor center will have the details. 

The Arizona Coatimundi's are a very unique mammal and frequently visit the campground.  Deer, turkeys, quail, and other wildlife are in abundance and easy to see from the hikes.  The views of the night sky are unparalleled. 

A short drive away provides access to some incredible trails for hiking or simply viewing the surrounding Wilderness areas.  The rock features found in this area make it unique. 

This continues to be one of our favorite places in Arizona to camp and hike.

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! 

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Various Oaks and Alligator Junipers abound at this cute little National Forest campground tucked in the Dragoon Mountains, another of Arizona’s beautiful “Islands in the Sky.”  Named for the late Apache leader, Chief Cochise, this campground sits at the base of a few absolutely gorgeous hiking trails and rock climbing areas.

Each site has a good amount of space but oddly a small amount of space for tents and RV’s longer than 24 feet won’t fit in most of the sites.  There is no privacy in between sites, but each site has good tree coverage (almost too much for our solar suitcase on an extension cord). Each site has a huge cement picnic table, fire ring, and grill and there are a couple composting toilets.  There was no drinking water available at the campground (the website says there is water), but there is a creek you can pull water from for filtering, so come prepared.

Important note:  If there is rain in the forecast, be aware that you may get stuck in this campground for a couple of days, as you have to cross numerous washes on the road to/from the campground. We were there for 3 days before it was safe to pull a small camper across the “death wash” that grew to 6 feet high and 20 feet wide during a 24-hour rain event!

Super underrated and amazing national monument on the south eastern border of Arizona. Definitely worth a stop in!

My 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.

The campground is beautiful and the national monument feels very spiritual. If you have not explored this southeast corner of Arizona, you are missing out!

As long as you go when it's not snowing! There's hundreds of beautiful, well maintained and overgrown trails throughout the mountain range. Tons of wildlife and big trees. It's a forest wonderland compared to the surrounding Arizona desert.

Moderately rough road out for non 4x4 vehicle road, but fine going slow. Good spots off the road, fairly private and not too many other campers nearby. Lots of animals nearby very loud waking up and ants on the ground, we were glad we were in a roof tent not on the ground.

The campground is in the Sulphur Springs Valley at an elevation of 4200 feet. Located in the shadow of the Mule Mountains it is only a little over eight miles from the quaint, mining town of Bisbee. Old Bisbee is a charming, mountainside town that is often referred to as little San Francisco. The historic downtown has restaurants, shops and galleries that also make it an artists paradise. The area has four seasons with a pleasant, dry, high desert climate. The mild winter is sunny with temperatures that are usually in the sixties with desert nights that want to make you snuggle. Bisbee has been voted as having the best year-round climate in Arizona. Whether you are on a vacation, extended stay or just for the day, Desert Oasis Campground is a great place to have a wonderful time!

Bonita 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.

This was a favorite of ours on the Arizona campgrounds we visited this winter. With Covid restrictions in place, the town was pretty empty when we visited in January, 2021. 

Even so, the gunfight show went on every hour (last one at 3 pm), and we were able to do the money tour (highly recommend). We visited the Tombstone Brewery, and Oriental Saloon. All of this from the convenience of this parking lot. 

It is located at the end of the street beside Tombstone City Hall. (Which is at 306 E. Fremont St.)

We saw roadrunners back here, and found a small caves, too. Stayed 2 nights and checked out the copper mine in Bisbee, about 40 minutes away. Food shopping in Sierra Vista.

My 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.

Dog friendly hiking opportunities from this campground on the Cochise Trail. I recommend arriving during daylight hours. We left after work, and it was harder to navigate the primitive roads back to the campground in the dark. You do have to cross the stream several times to get the the site. When we crossed the water was 3-6” deep and a few crossing are over rocks (not pavement). We had no issues in our F250, but any vehicle with a normal amount of clearance should be fine. We saw several small SUVs/crossovers, small trailers, a dirt bike and a Prius.

It’s a popular place and we were lucky to get the last site available that night. There are also dispersed camp sites (also popular) along the W Hunt Rd loop.

The campground has pit toilets (with 2 stalls each). Each site has a picnic table, a nice fire ring and a tall BBQ grill. The sites are close together. No water, so bring your own.

We will definitely return to the Cochise Stronghold area.