Best Glamping near Holbrook, AZ

The KOA in Holbrook, AZ, is conveniently located just west of Petrified Forest National Park. A quick 10-minute drive to the SW entrance will reward you with a quiet, easy entrance to the park. From there, you can drive through the park and end up at the main visitor center on the northern end, near the Painted Desert.

This campground has a nice, yet older, playground, a swimming pool (open seasonally), and offers full hookups (including cable for an extra fee), tent sites, and cabins. The "kamping kitchen" is open for cowboy cookouts, including dinner and breakfast (at extra charge), and we sampled their all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, which was the best one our 5-year-old ate on our entire trip! Right near the kitchen is a sampling of petrified wood to get you in the spirit of exploration. The owners are very friendly, and even in June this campground felt uncrowded. Sites are a bit close together, but with our small 17-foot trailer, we had plenty of room, a picnic table, and fire ring. The owners were also helpful about giving directions and suggestions about all the attractions in the area. There is also a laundry room on site.

After driving some 3 hours from our last destination and exploring the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert in the harsh wind, we were exhausted upon pulling into our campsite at Holbrook Petrified Forest KOA. Seeing how windburn we were from the journey, we were offered an upgraded "super tent" site upon our arrival for only a $5.00 charge. The appeal was such that we jumped on the opportunity.

To those unfamiliar with KOA campsites, they offer a variety of options for campers from primitive camping to improved campsites for both tents and rv campers. Super tent sites include electricity and runnin water as well as private yard area for campers. At this particular site it offered a wind shield fence and private treed yard which made for a much more camp friendly experience after the long day.

We had neighbors on the other super tent site which were delightful and we greatly enjoyed conversations with them throughout the evening. The campground was filled with friendly faces! 

Perhaps one of the most exciting features for us after such a long cold journey from our previous campsite was the amenities throughout the grounds which included a cook station open to the public and heated bathroom and shower facilities. The grounds were well kept and easy to navigate by foot.

In the evenings and mornings there was a cook on duty which offered everything from hot dogs to New York strip in the evening and all you can eat pancakes or other breakfast items.

🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

All in all we give this site a 5 of 5 Bunnies because of the cleanliness, friendliness and overall amenities.  There were no real areas of improvement we could see to make our stay better!

I typically rate campgrounds as they fit into 1 of 5 categories. This campground will be rated as a Basecamp — grounds that offer a comfortable home base that you’re happy to return to after a day of exploring the surrounding area. Ratings for this category are based on: Value to cost: 3 Overall grounds: 3 Utility of sites (hookups, layout, accessibility): 3 Local Attraction Proximity: 4 Reservation Process/Ease of Getting a Site: 5 Amenities: 3 Customer Service: 4 Cleanliness: 3

We’ve come to expect about the same consistent standard for most KOA Journey Campgrounds in which we’ve stayed. Reliable hookups, level sites, minimal privacy for standard sites, limited space between sites and basic amenities. This KOA fits comfortably into this standard. Sites were pretty close together with just a few young trees between, but the grounds were only about 50% full during our visit, so it felt spacious. Our site was level and hookups were steady but a little beat-up (electric box, water spigot). WiFi was very good, only got a little spotty in the evenings. The only amenity we used was the pool, which was large and a nice temperature, but not frequently skimmed and not much on the pool deck for lounging. Great for a dip, though. The nearby playground looked like it left something to be desired, though we didn’t test that theory. There was no road noise, the grounds were silent at night.

The front office was nice enough, no complaints, and the reservation system was straightforward, as always. At $50/night on average, there wasn’t a whole lot reinforcing the cost, but proximity to Petrified Forest National Park was certainly the reason to visit. It’s about 25 minutes To the park and it’s totally worth at least a half-day visit to explore, even if you’re just passing through. There are lots of reasonably priced gas stations, rock shops and fast food options nearby, but Holbrook doesn’t offer much more. I’d say the best option for any nearby proximity to the park, stay for 2 nights if you’re able.

Since there are no developed campgrounds inside Petrified Forest National Park, you have two options: choose a private campground outside of the park, or grab a permit and set off into the backcountry. We did both during our visit in August 2015.

We were pleasantly surprised with our campsite at the KOA outside of Petrified Forest. Typically, we prefer campgrounds that are more scenic and rustic, but after a few weeks on the road, we enjoyed the amenities (hot showers, coin laundry, wifi, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast) and convenience (less than 30 minutes to the park) of this KOA. We chose the “deluxe” tent site, which, for $2 more than the regular tent site, offered a covered picnic table, hot & cold water, and electricity at the site. The campground was nearly empty at this time of the year, so although the sites are close together, we felt alone. The only downsides would be the less-than-inspiring scenic views and the cramped sites during peak season.

The proximity and position of this campground to the national park allows for easy visiting and minimal backtracking. We’d suggest starting your trip along Highway 40 to the northern Painted Desert Visitor Center to get acquainted with the park, then making your way south and exit near the Rainbow Forest Museum. Simply return to the campground via Highway 180.

Inside the park (north to south), here are the must-sees: the Painted Desert National Historic Landmark (try to time it and attend a free ranger guided tour), the Blue Forest, Jasper Forest (below this overlook was our favorite trail of the park!), Crystal Forest, and the Giant Logs area. Don’t forget to stop at both visitor centers for more information about this fascinating geologic anomaly.

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Petrified Forest)

Stayed in a cabin here and had a terrible time. Nothing like getting rained on due to a hole in the roof of the cabin. I had cabin H. We also got woken up by people trying to get into the cabin. I can't blame them the cabin didn't have a letter clearing marking it as cabin H. Also we had a hard time finding the cabin in the first place due to signage being wrong. Shrubs are grownup were it is difficult to get to the door of the cabin.

I also heard one of the maintenance people talking about some cabins that the hot water heater wasn't working correctly.

If you run into trouble don't expect help or understanding from the manager or staff. While writing about my experience on other sites i kept wondering how these folks got good reviews in the past. then i saw a post dated around 2 months ago saying that they had new owners. so be forewarned.

We added in Petrified Forest National Park at the last minute and needed a place to stay. We arrived after sunset, showered with hot showers, kids played at the playground, enjoyed pancake breakfast the next morning.

The site was basically a gravel parking lot with picnic table. We were in a camper van and the hum of RV ACs was very loud. We were hot, even after night fall, but it got them job done. If I had known there was camping closer to the Natinoal park, I would have done more research and stayed there. Oh well.

Very nice park , pool is nice, lots for kids to do, camp sites are close together not much shade, but very nice park with lots to see and do in area

Easy to park, many kind of services. Full hook up to separate spaces with grills and tables. Bathroom are very clean and hot water showers. Fun to stay. Convinience Store with everything inside.