Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Gila Bend, AZ

Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Gila Bend, AZ

229 Reviews of 46 Gila Bend Campgrounds

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  Feb. 6, 2022

  Painted Rock Petroglyph Site And Campground

  Great low-cost camping!

  BLM Painted Rocks Petroglyphs Campground. 26 miles west from Gila Bend. Very large campground about a third of sites can be reserved online at recreation.gov. Sites are very cheap only $8 / $4 senior rate. However there is NO WATER and no RV dump. Cell service on Verizon and ATT are excellent, but TMobile is poor extended. Vault toilets, tables, fire rings and dumpsters. Bring firewood from Gila Bend at Chevron Station. Camp host onsite is very friendly and the petroglyphs site is walking distance. Ebikes are very useful in this campground as it is very large and spread out from the two vault toilets! Note that there is NOT a 14d limit to camp here, will let you figure it out. And UPS and FedEx will deliver and the camp host will keep your packages at their site for you to pick up.

  Only 4 stars due to no potable water available or would have given 5 stars.

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• 

  Stefanie N.

  Scout

  Apr. 9, 2023

  Painted Rock Petroglyph Site And Campground

  Painted Rock Petroglyph Site and Campground

  Beautiful and quit stop. Close to Gila Bend. There is a great paved road to this remote spot. Every spot has a table and a fire pit.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  Jan. 30, 2022

  BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument - BLM road 8035 access

  Overlander access only

  This is a two track road that leaves Interstate 8 at about MP 124. There are no signs and EXTREME CAUTION is advised trying to access these BLM roads from the freeway without an exit ramp. No TTs or RVs are recommended. Road goes thru a gate out into the flat desert. Dispersed camping areas are scattered around but since this is close to Gila Bend there is evidence of dumping in this area. Cell service is good. No water, toilets, tables, fire rings or trash bins.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  Jan. 18, 2022

  BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument - Vekol Road Dispersed Camping Area

  Vekol Exit 144 free BLM dispersed

  This is free dispersed camping on the BLM Sonoran National Monument. At Interstate 8, Exit 144 go south. BLM starts in about .6 mile. Note that the gravel road then will pass thru some pvt land that the Dyrt does not show, before the BLM again at the road fork to the Vekol Ranch (2.1 miles in from hwy). See attached screenshot from the BLM monument map. Lots of sites scattered along the main graded gravel road. There is an info kiosk at junction of road going to the Vekol Ranch. Most of the campers seem to be in this area to avoid interstate truck noise. Excellent cell signal on all carriers. No water, marked sites, tables, fire rings or trash dumpsters. Nearest services are in Sanfield (poor), Maricopa (best) or Gila Bend (fuel, RV stuff) so come prepared. Maricopa has a Fry's Market and gas. Sanfield has a Family Dollar and Circle K gas. Gila Bend has most services but not a major food market. Not much Sonoran cactus vegetation by the kiosk sign in in this area, no cholla and very few Saguaros, area is just a wide flat creosote palo verde sandy plain.

  Update: if you go another mile or two south (uphill) on the main road you can camp at the #8007b and #8007c road spurs and #8045 spur. More Sonoran vegetation there and very scenic...lots of Saguaro cactus to camp with on flat open desert pavement. Farther away from the hwy noise is a plus!

  If you are concerned about potential safety issues from illegal smuggling warnings, then staying down close to BLMat the .6 mile mark is likely best.

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• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  Jan. 19, 2022

  Sonoran Desert National Monument Camp

  Free dispersed BLM exit #140

  This is a free dispersed camping area in the BLM Sonoran National Monument. Take Interstate 8, Exit #140 and take gravel road to south. The gravel road is rough washboard first section, then gets narrower and just rough. Camping areas seem to be just within less than a mile of the Interstate so truck noise will be an issue. No services for 30 mi back to Gila Bend or 20 mi back to Stanfield. No water, trash, tables. Cell signal is excellent on all carriers. This area is more difficult to access with a TT or RV due to the rougher narrow roads, compared to the Vekol Rd camping area at exit #144.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  Jan. 28, 2022

  BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument - BLM road #8032 access

  Overlander types recommended

  This two- track BLM road leaves from the westbound lanes of Interstate 8. EXTREME CAUTION is advised and TTs and RVs are not recommended for these unmarked two tracks along the Interstate.

  You go thru a gate and this area is to west of the wilderness area and is not restricted by the wilderness buffer road issues. The road splits in a couple tens and there are several camp spots along the way, but best to get farther away from the freeway truck noise. On the map this #8032 roads goes all the way to hwy 238 between Gila Bend and Maricopa. No facilities, no water. Cell signal was couple weak bars but ok for txt email.

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• 

  Chandra D.

  Guide

  Jan. 11, 2023

  Sonoran Desert RV Park

  Well maintained and very friendly

  Important: If you plan to arrive after hours you must call ahead so you can get the gate code. They gave us a temporary spot that was pull thru due to the time of our late arrival. Then at noon they escorted us to our site to set up for the duration of our visit. I included an images of daily, weekly, and monthly rates for 2023 and full list of amenities and the winter activities. There are also deluxe sites available. This camp ground is pet friendly with a dog park area and offered daily planned activities. We participated in game night, line dancing classes, aquatic aerobics in the heated pool, and the New Years party. The showers are very clean and the laundry room was immaculate. The sites have full hook up 30/50 amp and sites up to 100'x55'. They offer propane services. There isn't anything to do in the town.

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• W

  Winnie K.

  Guide

  Jan. 6, 2021

  Palms Mobile Home RV Park

  Probably Not

  CAVEAT: As a woman traveling alone, I didn't feel comfortable stopping to ask questions here, much less stay, but your experience and comfort level may differ.

  Gila Bend is a charming little bump in the road between Phoenix and San Diego. It has a very Mexican feel to it, with souvenir shops and a good old-fashioned carneceria, and is also home to the Space Age Restaurant, which some consider a must-visit.

  This particular RV park, however, would probably not be your first choice of places to stay, even though the other cheap choices here would be the parking lots at Pilot (east end) or Love's (west end). Someone has tried to liven up the fence line with new bougainvillea plants, but in general the place looks rundown/slumlike, and is mostly fixed-in-place mobile homes, not RV spaces. There are one or two places where mobile homes have just been left to decay where they sit, and there was a large trailerload of debris outside the office that looked like it had been there for quite a while. Given that the beautiful and pristine Painted Rock BLM park is only 30 minutes down the road and about a fifth to a third the cost, I'd give this one a miss.

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• S

  Stuart K.

  Guide

  Sep. 2, 2023

  Sonoran Desert RV Park

  Beautiful Pool

  Perfect Stop outside of Phoenix area. Clean and very well manicured RV campground. Our late arrival reservation was handed graciously and info was easy to understand. The pool is beautiful and the shower/restroom was so pristine. Nice dog park.