Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Ganado, AZ has a lot to offer. Ganado is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Arizona camping adventure.
$25 - $35 / night
The Navajo Parks and Recreation Department (NPRD) manages the Cottonwood Campground and collects fees for camping. There are about 90 individual campsites available and 2 group tent sites. Each site includes a parking space, picnic table and grill. There are 3 restroom facilities that include sinks and flushable toilets, but no showers. No hookups are available, but a dumpstation is located in Loop 1. Limited services are available during winter months. GROUP SITES: Reservations for group campsites are required. Sites are for tent camping only. No reservations are accepted for RVs. RVs: Sites cannot accommodate vehicles more than 40 feet, including vehicles-in-tow. Full hookups are available in the surrounding areas of Gallup, NM; Monument Valley, UT; and Holbrook, AZ.
$14 - $20 / night
120 Acres easy access to I-40. (One mile of county maintained primitive road to property, dirt roads on property) Several boondocking/tent areas to choose from whether you enjoy wide open space or nestled near beautiful Juniper trees. Limited electric sites, we do not offer trash removal, dump station or water filling facility. Pack it in/Pack it out please. Community house open 24 hours for bathroom, showers, cooking. (donations accepted).
Recommend arriving before dark, black skies here unless you arrive under a full moon! Please follow map that we will provide upon booking. GPS wants to lead you down a "damaged road". This road is marked in RED on the map and now has a PRIVATE DRIVE sign to deter campers from entering. Please drive all the way over the hill to the north road before turning left.
We are in the challenging process of cleaning/rehabbing the property with the intentions of stewarding a working Eco-village with the focus on helping travelers/nomads. Please join our Facebook group LunaGaia Nomadic Village and/or Nomads Helping Nomads Network (website in progress).
$10 - $20 / night
$11 - $31 / night
There is no RV, car, or front country camping in the park. There is no boondocking, dispersed or “primitive” camping, or just pulling off into a parking area.
There is only backpacking/hiking into the designated Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area to spend the night in the park, at least a half mile from your vehicle. Please be prepared for this adventure! Remember to LNT.
The backpacking wilderness permit is free. You may obtain it in person from either visitor centers on the day that you want to backpack. Each vehicle must have a permit. The permits are available until 4:30 pm.
There are private campgrounds throughout Navajo and Apache Counties, in and around Holbrook, Sun Valley, St. Johns, Joseph City, and other communities.
Groups
Group camping is limited to 8. Because of the fragile soils and landscape features, minimum impact camping is very important. This includes limiting the number of people within an area.
The Painted Desert Ranger Cabin is a backcountry, off grid cabin built by Ranger Ross in 2011. Ranger Ross lived in the cabin while he worked as a resource protection ranger at the Petrified Forest National Park until 2015 when he transferred to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. Ranger Ross now allows backcountry hikers to enjoy the cabin by renting it out by the night or the week.
The ranger cabin is a rustic off grid cabin that offers almost no amenities. There is no concierge, room service, or continental breakfast. There is no linen service or fancy little bottles of shampoo. It does however, offer beautiful views of the Painted Dessert wilderness, quiet serenity, and amazing star gazing opportunities. All from the comfort of a cozy one room cabin with a queen size bed and a flush toilet.
The ranger cabin sits on the boarder of the north wilderness area of the Petrified Forest National Park. There are great hiking and exploration opportunities right out the back door of the cabin. For more information visit the park's website.
The Navajo Parks and Recreation Department (NPRD) manages the Cottonwood Campground and collects fees for camping. There are about 90 individual campsites available and 2 group tent sites. Each site includes a parking space, picnic table and grill. There are 3 restroom facilities that include sinks and flushable toilets, but no showers. No hookups are available, but a dumpstation is located in Loop 1. Limited services are available during winter months. GROUP SITES: Reservations for group campsites are required. Sites are for tent camping only. No reservations are accepted for RVs. RVs: Sites cannot accommodate vehicles more than 40 feet, including vehicles-in-tow. Full hookups are available in the surrounding areas of Gallup, NM; Monument Valley, UT; and Holbrook, AZ.
$14 - $20 / night
120 Acres easy access to I-40. (One mile of county maintained primitive road to property, dirt roads on property) Several boondocking/tent areas to choose from whether you enjoy wide open space or nestled near beautiful Juniper trees. Limited electric sites, we do not offer trash removal, dump station or water filling facility. Pack it in/Pack it out please. Community house open 24 hours for bathroom, showers, cooking. (donations accepted).
Recommend arriving before dark, black skies here unless you arrive under a full moon! Please follow map that we will provide upon booking. GPS wants to lead you down a "damaged road". This road is marked in RED on the map and now has a PRIVATE DRIVE sign to deter campers from entering. Please drive all the way over the hill to the north road before turning left.
We are in the challenging process of cleaning/rehabbing the property with the intentions of stewarding a working Eco-village with the focus on helping travelers/nomads. Please join our Facebook group LunaGaia Nomadic Village and/or Nomads Helping Nomads Network (website in progress).
$10 - $20 / night
There is no RV, car, or front country camping in the park. There is no boondocking, dispersed or “primitive” camping, or just pulling off into a parking area.
There is only backpacking/hiking into the designated Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area to spend the night in the park, at least a half mile from your vehicle. Please be prepared for this adventure! Remember to LNT.
The backpacking wilderness permit is free. You may obtain it in person from either visitor centers on the day that you want to backpack. Each vehicle must have a permit. The permits are available until 4:30 pm.
There are private campgrounds throughout Navajo and Apache Counties, in and around Holbrook, Sun Valley, St. Johns, Joseph City, and other communities.
Groups
Group camping is limited to 8. Because of the fragile soils and landscape features, minimum impact camping is very important. This includes limiting the number of people within an area.
Scout
Gorgeous place, beautiful landscape (awesome sunsets and sunrises), very welcoming hosts and a real sense of community.
This is NOT your ordinary campground.
Some sites with electrical hookups...
less expensive... quieter...
Not far from the petrified forest.
Short dirt road travel off I-40.
Traveler
Some shade. Clean facilities. Close parking even though the park isn’t full this time of year. The Albuquerque Balloon Festival was a couple of weeks ago. American pride shown here! Great camp store.
Traveler
Plenty of spaces and happy to get one with shade on my camper. $20, no pass discounts. Reasonably clean, fairly quiet. No complaints
TravelerThis is a great central location to both the north and south canyon road. Self pay at the entrance, $20 a night no services. The park was quiet, well treed and clean. A number of bathrooms, older but clean and well stocked. Lots of garbage pails. Dump station easy to access with working black tank sprayer. Park was 1/3 full by the evening.
Scout
Juste pour vous partager ma mésaventure(Mieux vautêtre averti pouréviter les mêmes erreurs;)) 2 points importants: 1- L'indien Howard Smith(qui ne ressemble plusà la photo de son site depuis de nombreuses années) n'accepte les paiements que sur place en cash- Donc si vousêtes contacter avant, ce sont des pirates! Il est au courant, cela lui arrive régulièrement, mais il considère que c'est pas de sa faute, surtout qu'on est européens, et que les pirates sont tous desétrangers... 2- Hogan- C'est une aventure en soit unique. Mais si je ne pensais pas avoir payer d'avance, j'aurais fait demi-tour. Un lit de camps, une petite planche sur des parpaings avec un matelas qui dépasse... Rien de bon pour passer une bonne nuit en soit! J'ai regretté de ne pas dormir dans ma tente au final. Sachant qu'onétait 6 et qu'on l'avait dit, On peut dormirà l'aise sur ces matelas tachéà 3, pas plus... Les toilettes sont des toilettes de camping car. Le camping en lui même est idéalement situés et les camping car sont donc surement content du séjour.
TravelerBeautiful grove of trees. Maintenance people apparently not allowed to clean up bugs in bathrooms. Floodlights at night a bit bright.
RangerStayed here for one night on our way up to Farmington. Staff was very pleasant. We paid $41 for electric and water. Site was very nice and flat. Did have showers,pool, Wi-fi and laundry
TravelerWe came on a Sunday in July and there were only 2 other campers there. Very quiet, the only thing missing was electric outlets that only worked in 1 of the 3 restrooms, but that wasn’t an issue. Great place to camp if you plan to visit canyon de Chelly
TravelerNeeded an overnight stay along Interstate 40 in New Mexico. Check-in was quick and easy, the sites are arranged so that RV doors are not facing the neighbor's sewage pipe, which is something I always appreciate. Most of the sites are pull-through. The park is well laid out and covered with an attractive reddish-brown gravel. The facilities were clean, the staff was pleasant. The park felt safe though the neighborhood around it is economically distressed. The park is family friendly; there is a dog-park, a nice pool, and attractive common area near the office with tables and statuary with a cute bear theme. The only negatives are not under the control of the park: trains pass by frequently day and night, and in the evening the mosquitos are voracious. My wife and I agree that we would return here.
GuideThis was an amazing place. Super family friendly. Amazingly helpful staff. I forgot my airpump for the bed and they gave me one they had so I could use it. Truly nice people.
ScoutA little hard to find but Janet was so helpful! There’s a shower and a communal cooking space and tons of options for camping. There’s not really designated camp spots, so pretty bare bones, but you can’t beat the price.
GuideWe trully enjoyed our stay. Close to the sights. The campground is a little rough along the edges but the sites are great. There is a great hiking trail that starts at the campground and goes to the canyon. Howard the owner is very friendly and a wealth of information.
TravelerPaved roads and pads, picnic tables, picnic fire pits, flush bathrooms, water and sewer (1 per loop), all in a beautifully trees setting. Birds singing. Conveniently located near the visitor’s centre and at the halfway point where you choose the north or south scenic drive.
RangerWe were able to make a same day reservation and the staff were very nice. Someone was in our spot and they quickly got us into a new (and better) spot. The spots are pull-through, gravel, and very close to one another. It was extremely busy when we stayed probably because the location is good and there aren’t many options in the area so there was a bit of a parking lot feel. The pool and barbecue place weren’t open when we went, but the store was open till 8 and had the basics (I didn’t use the laundromat or bathrooms). The cost with our discount was around $40 - we felt like it got the job done and would certainly stay again if we were passing through Gallup and needed a place to camp.
ScoutWe actually didn’t stay as it just felt uncomfortable. Unfortunately Janet was not there and while we spoke on the phone, the person who was to greet us was not there. No signage at all which would have been helpful. The area is somewhat unkempt - the few rigs there were in rough shape and looked as though they had been there for a while. Sites were not obvious. An old wrecked car is near the site. We were just kind of creeped out so didn’t stay.
ScoutVery laid back. Nothing fancy but everything you need. Community space with kitchen and bathroom. Plenty of space to privately disperse camp among the Junipers. Spots with electric too. Janet is an amazing host.
ScoutWonderful property.
GuideNear the entrance to Canyon de Chelly Nat'l. Monument, it was ablaze with fall colors. Nice toilet facilities and spacious sites fairly far apart. No hook-ups so I couldn't give it 5 stars, but even then it was within walking distance to a restaurant at a quaint lodge.
TravelerWell-spaced sites under gorgeous cottonwood trees in bright yellow fall foliage (beware if allergic!). Basic services as listed, except no internet that we could find. Verizon = 3 bars. Ranger told me he's never seen the campground fill up. Great staging location for both North Rim and South Rim exploration. Private homes surround the park, fairly close. Stray dogs come around but were not aggressive. $20 for camper van.
ScoutVery nice, clean rv park. Friendly staff and well organized. Nice Patriotic theme.
LegendBasic campground run by a local with various sized campsite. There's a pit toilet. Nothing around the area and about 10 miles from town.
ScoutGot in late and they waited for me to arrive. Friendly, staff, well maintained sites, good value.
TravelerFor our first place ever, this is a really great place. Janet was awesome and the places off grid, but only 5 minutes from the interstate. She was very helpful and we love it. Our dog also loves all the free reigns running. He can do, thank you, Janet for an awesome day.
TravelerWe just got here and it's amazing and semi offgrid but really close to highway. Janet is amazing and an awesome friendly host. This is our first actual camp site as we were running propane from VA to CA AND VISE VERSA.
Ranger
Backcountry Backpacking only. Get your free permit. Whatever you pack out the minimum half mile from your car is what you have, the desert supplies the rest.Be prepared for the high desert and you’ll enjoy it.
See the night sky stars, a very wary herd of pronghorn antelope, the Triassic Chinle Formation that gives the Painted Desert its name, Route 66, Pteroglyphs, Puebloan Civilization sites, and one of the largest deposits of Petrified wood on earth.
Traveler4 travelers, SUV, Ram Van, minivan pulling a 6x12 and one very big 5th wheel. All self contained. No problem in. No problem finding a spot with enough space for all 4.
Yes development is somewhat primitive but it is a work in progress.
Based on my view couldn't find a better spot in the area.
TravelerSlightly run down campground with clean bathrooms, flush toilets, no showers, no hookups. Dump station with water fill. The dispersed water fills not working. Close to visitor center but no views from campsite. Good shade trees. No problem getting site around 4:30p on a Thursday in May.
Camping near Ganado, Arizona, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and unique experiences. Whether you're in a tent or an RV, there are plenty of options to enjoy the great outdoors.
Camping near Ganado, Arizona, offers a unique blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure. Whether you're looking for a family-friendly spot or a quiet retreat, there's something for everyone in this area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What camping is available near Ganado, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, Ganado, AZ offers a wide range of camping options, with 15 campgrounds and RV parks near Ganado, AZ and 2 free dispersed camping spots.
Which is the most popular campground near Ganado, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Ganado, AZ is USA RV Park with a 4.5-star rating from 48 reviews.
Where can I find free dispersed camping near Ganado, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 2 free dispersed camping spots near Ganado, AZ.
What parks are near Ganado, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 9 parks near Ganado, AZ that allow camping, notably Canyon De Chelly National Monument and El Morro National Monument.
