Best Equestrian Camping near Gila Bend, AZ
Looking for a place to camp near Gila Bend with your horse? Camping with your horse in Gila Bend just got easier. You're sure to find the perfect site for your Arizona horse camping excursion.
Looking for a place to camp near Gila Bend with your horse? Camping with your horse in Gila Bend just got easier. You're sure to find the perfect site for your Arizona horse camping excursion.
Skyline Regional Park located in Buckeye, Arizona is an 8,700 acre park in the southern White Tank Mountains. The park features 16 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Seven camping sites are also available to rent.
$10 - $35 / night
$15 - $45 / night
Located near the meeting of the Gila and Agua Fria Rivers in the southwest Valley, the park includes seasonal wetland or riparian area during our winter and monsoon rains. The majority of the park remains pristine desert, very similar in appearance to the landscape seen by the first settlers and explorers. The Sierra Estrella range, or Star Mountains, was once within the Mexican border, and remained so until the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Today, many amenities are available to visitors, including the only grass picnic area (65-acres) in the Maricopa County Park System. Show less
If you want to set up a nice little camp on private property come on over! I have 5 acres available with some services . 55 plus neighborhood and only quiet,well behaved dogs welcome. There are trails and recreational areas right across the road to explore. Horses are allowed if you have your own set up.
$10 - $20 / night
Pretty, some freeway noise from the 8, great camp host. Hiking trails. Just porta potties and dumpster, but you can dump and get water 4 miles away. Most any sized rig can fit. Dirt roads are in pretty darn good shape.
Pros:
Cons:
General: Very small (7-site) campground. One site is ADA-accessible and paved (the rest are gravel) but there are no hookups at any site.
Site Quality: Generous-sized gravel driveways; Site D sloped uphill slightly. A concrete picnic table, BBQ grill, and fire pit complete the site. I was a little surprised that the picnic tables did not have shelters as it gets quite hot in Arizona (the day-use pavilions were covered).
Restroom: Two-stall, one-sink restroom. No showers. This restroom is also used by the day-use area so by the end of the day, it looks like it has been well-used. It was cleaned at night. It looked like the sink was clogged, but it was just slow draining.
Activities: Hiking! There are several hiking trails directly accessible from the campground and all the trails are well-marked. There is a short (.6 mile) ADA-accessible trail. Horseback riding and mountain biking are also activities although we saw neither in our two days at this park. There was also a wildly popular star-gazing event while we were there.
Final thoughts: IMO, the best sites are B, C, and D. Site D especially has no visible neighbors on either side. Kudos to the city of Buckeye – they could have easily crammed a half-dozen more campsites in this area, but I am glad they did not! As I mentioned, this is a popular day-use area and by 7 am on a weekend in early April, the day-use parking lot was completely full. Despite this, we did not see too many people on the trails.
Very nice campground. Level site. Great view of mountains and cacti. Go slow, road have big dips to allow water runoff.
This park was so beautiful and so well kept the host was amazing and so helpful. She took care of everything we needed and answered all our questions. Also the support through their email was also very helpful and answered all my questions flawlessly. The bathrooms were clean and stocked and were a great amenity I will stay here whenever I need that fix to go camping again :)
All in all, I really enjoyed my stay there, but there are some things of which campers should be aware.
Pros: *Easy to get a reservation *Very nice desert landscape *This is a very very nice park with very very nice trail system. I think there’s something for all hiking, skill levels. *The sites are in expensive. *convenient to gas, rv dump, hardware, grocery, restaurants.
Cons: *There is no water. Neither potable or non-potable. *If you use off air antenna for TV, you won’t get any channels here *The campsites need to be better taken care of. For example, there were tall weeds growing up underneath the picnic table and its benches. *If you use Verizon, there is little or no signal most of the time. *From time to time there’s a bit of jet noise (not necessarily a negative) *This park is very very popular with local, hikers and they start before sunrise and finish after sunset. So it’s very busy right next to the campground.
Great views, bring water and watch out for the heat🫠
Limited spots so try and reserve but very worth the short drive out of the city.
General: Located less than an hour from Phoenix, this campground is an easy getaway. There are two campgrounds: The Family Campground (40 sites) with water and 30/50 amp electric hookups and the more“rustic” Willow Canyon Campground (19 sites) with no hookups. This campground is good for tents, campervans, or small (16 feet or less) trailers. There was a gate attendant when we checked in around 6 pm on a Monday and we were given an information packet with information on the campground, nearby facilities in the town of Surprise, and trails, which was very helpful considering we were not familiar with the area.
Site Quality: We stayed in the Family Campground so we could take advantage of the electric hookups. The sites are gravel, a good size, well-maintained, and spaced a decent amount of distance apart. Some are pull-through and some back-in. In addition to the aforementioned water and electric hookups, each site also has a picnic table, bbq grill, and fire pit. Some have covered picnic shelters but not all. Most of these also have space for tents.
Bathhouse: Is located in the center of the loop and was clean. Sites on the inside have paths leading to the bathhouse but if you are on the outside of the loop, access is via a path between sites 34 and 36 or sites 11 and 13. Three stalls, one sink, and one shower. One sink is not really adequate for 40 sites, but I did not encounter more than one other person at a time. Soap dispenser, rack, and air dryer. The way the water faucets are is wasteful: once you turn them on, they run for quite some time before turning off. Hot water was appreciated. Did not use the shower so cannot comment on that.
Activities: Several hiking trails. The most popular one is the waterfall trail, but you need to drive to the trailhead for this. It is paved for the first half mile (shortly after the petroglypghs) and then it is a rocky, gravel path. The waterfall only runs after heavy rain (I would think this would make access very challenging). There was water in the “pool” and it is scenic so it was worthwhile to go despite no running falls. There are restrooms, a picnic area and a playground near this trailhead. Some of the other trails are used by mountain bikers or horseback riders. The information you receive at check-in details the usage for each trail.
This campground was mainly an overnight as we continued to head west but I am glad we took the time to hike the waterfall trail before leaving. If you need groceries or other supplies, the town of Surprise, about 8 miles to the east, would have everything you need. Note there is a nearby air force base and you will hear jets flying by, although this was during daylight hours.
We had a wonderful visit at our large site set up for a big group. But it still only costs $10. We had a very large ramada with 3 picnic tables, and built into west wall were 4 bbq grills. #22 is all by itself on the corner of the outside loop. It’s kinda close to 1-8 but it wasn’t bothersome. It gives you something to watch as you soak in the sun. Beautiful desert landscape with nearby mountains and blm land for biking and hiking. The Dwarf Car Museum is nearby and a must see for free. The camp host is a delightful, helpful woman that assisted us to keep our site when we had to extend our stay waiting for a package. Nearby circle K in Stansfield has an Amazon drop box if you need it.
Close to I8 and the BLM Sonoran National Monument. This is a Pinal County park and there are about 19 sites, most are nice large pull thru sites. Well maintained dirt gravel roads. 14d limit and $10 nite for standard site with a shade cabana, table and bbq grill. Camp host on site. However there is NO potable water, no electric and no RV dump. There are dumpsters and scattered potta-potties for toilets. Cell service is excellent on all carriers. There is a huge cattle feedlot about 6 mi to east and east winds will be smelly. Also the truck traffic on I8 will be noticable at night. No services for fuel, water and food except in Stanfield 10 miles away and that is just a Circle K and a Family Dollar. Three stars due to lack of water, smelly feedlots, interstate truck noise. Note: locals told me they go to Maricopa for groceries and fuel.
Stayed closer to highway bc kids make a lot of noise and we didn’t have to worry about bothering anyone. Views are great and sites well maintained.
Super regional campground in the west Phoenix area. Clean hot showers and bathrooms. Solid mtb and hiking trails in the park.
We picked this campground on a whim based on reviews as a halfway point to our next destination. We're so happy we did.
We stayed two nights at the Willow walk-in sites (W10). Despite our campsite being close to the bathroom it exceeded our expectations. Campground is well organized with friendly staff. Clean bathrooms and showers. Hiking trails galore!
Cell phone connection was spotty (TMobile) at our campsite but connection was better in other areas of park.
Would stay again.
I planned on staying about 5 miles away on some public land but upon arrival, I didn’t have service (remote worker) so I quickly found this place. Arrived in the dark and pulled up the reservation site (all online). It’s $10/night plus a $2 processing fee. Spots were spacious, had a picnic table with an awning over it and a grill. There’s porta potty’s throughout the area if you need them. There’s also a trash bin in the very back. Had excellent cell service and felt very safe. Met the host upon arrival and she was very kind. Amazing stargazing and close to the Highway. If you decide to tent camp, you’ll hear road noise but in my camper van, barely heard it. Definitely would stay again!
Well separated level sites in a desert setting. Good views of the mountains and the Valley of the Sun. Most sites have electric and water. Good Hiking in the mountains during cooler weather.
The park has an excellent nature center, great hiking, archaeology and good water/power hook-ups.
A bit far from restaurants etc. but that’s good.
This park is quite large and has many camping options: day passes, tent camping, semi-developed sites, and fully-developed sites with awnings for big rigs.
There are many hiking trails too, for every level of difficulty.
The nature is splendid, with hummingbirds, chipmunks, and plenty of chollas and prickly pear cactai.
The ambience is quite festive, much more than what I am used to (although the noise may be due to the fact I went on NASCAR weekend).
This is my go-to local campground, a quick 20 minute drive, and I’ve been camping here for years! The facilities are always clean, and the other campers are generally quiet and respectful here. The sites are spaced out nicely, and it has never felt crowded to me even during the busy season.
Beautiful area, but it seems that everyone else thinks so too. I waited 15 min in line to get up to the check in booth just to get in the park and when I left the next day the cars were backed up again. This park would be a 5 star plus if it wasn’t for the amount of people and the price for a rv site in a county park. The rv park within was nice, not too close together. The semi developed park is what I was looking for, no electricity or water at the sites, potable water in the area but only allowed 16’ trailer or less so that left me out. The developed sites all had electric and water at each site and one or two had sewer, but at a premium. It cost an additional $8 per night. Their was a dump station at the entrance of the rv park for everyone else.
This is a nice place to visit is the cooler months of the year due to no shade and low elevation. We visited in January which was perfect. There is a nice trail to Waterfall Canyon which is heavily used but worth it. There are a number of petroglyphs from the Hohokam culture that you can see.
Pinal county park and has no amenities so be prepared to dry camp. Price is $10/ day - day use is free. All but 1 or 2 site are pull thru with shade Ramada’s and picnic tables. County does a great job at keeping the gravels roads in the park well maintained, however during the rainy season be prepared for some washouts.
Sites are quite far apart from each other giving the feel of open space. There are some short hiking trails. Entire park is wedged between AZ 84 and I-8 but yet highway noise is very minimal. Approximately 15 min drive to Stanfield and 30 min to Maricopa or Casa Grande. I- 8 ramp is 1 mile west onAZ 84.
This park is so close to town, but far enough that you feel like you are way out. There are standard campsites (water and electric) as well as tent camping area. The sites can fit good sized rigs. There is a ton of trails for hiking, biking, and horses. Brand new showers, restrooms, and a dishwashing area. Dogs are allowed, but please keep them on a leash and pick up after them so we don't lose the privilege!
Here is a link to the Maricopa parks with maps: https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/maps/
Lush desert campground. Quiet and well run. Very clean.
This park is so close to town, but far enough to get some quiet night sky! There are standard campsites and a more primitive camping area. The Willow Canyon site is big enough for a full length Sprinter, though the office says 16’ is the length limit.
Lots of trails for hiking, biking and horses. Brand new showers, restrooms and a dishwashing area. Dogs allowed too!
I’m on Verizon and only got a single bar in the park. The library is near the entrance if you need to get your WiFi fix!
Another Maricopa County parks campground which is great for hiking and relaxing.
Very well taken care of. The park has beautiful hiking trails and a great nature center, which offers activities and the regional library. There are a couple of playgrounds in the park as well.
Some hiking trails are within walking distance of the campground, others you will need to drive to. Maricopa trail runs through the park.
The campground itself is very clean, including the restrooms and showers. It is quiet and the campsites all have electric and water hookups, picnic table and fire pit. Sites are far enough from each other so it doesn't feel crowded. Not much vegetation on the campground itself, so sunshine in abundance.
From beginning to end always great views from the trials. I can go for a few hours hike or all day.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Gila Bend, AZ is White Tank Mountain with a 4.6-star rating from 15 reviews.
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