Best Tent Camping near Lake Havasu City, AZ

Got to this campground because lake havasu was full. It’s about 20 minutes from Lake Havasu city and I liked how it’s not so crowded compared to there. There’s a nice beach area and bathrooms/showers were clean!

First, you get what you pay for, this tent site was 5.00 per night! The location is great, right on the Colorado River. We made reservations ahead of time using reservation.gov. We knew there were no amenities but were ok with it.

I use a rating scale based on amenities, location, cell service, cleanliness and campsite.

There is no running water available at the site, only one vault toilet, obviously no showers.

The campsite itself was great, nice shady spot with a grill, picnic table and did I mention right on the water.

Cell service was spotty, usually one bar with AT&T.

There are wild burros that roam the area and we were quite surprised that they walked through our campsite down to the water.

We stayed on a Friday night and there were people riding motorcycles or ATVs through the park chasing the burros, making a lot of noise. Also people on the river all through the night making lots of noise.

We rented kayaks in Parker AZ, Parker watercraft and it was great, we loved every minute.

While there we also made the quick trip to Lake Havasu city to see the London Bridge.

Popularity must be worth something. If you're drunk enough to ignore the filth of the bathrooms and the lack of any amenities, this is the place for you. The setting is pretty but there are plenty of other sites along the Colorado River between Blythe and lake Havasu City that I see no reason to ever return.

Great way to afford enjoying Lake Havasu. Note this is an Arizona State Park so daily vehicle rates do apply if just visiting and/or camping. Located on the east side of Lake Havasu side in Arizona state border. California to the west separated by the Colorado River/Lake Havasu. Lake Havasu City is 19 miles away and the Parker strip is 8 miles away (Lake Havasu separated by the Parker Dam). Remember you're camping in a hot, dry desert climate and limited shade as only palm trees and small shrubs. Campground has showers and restrooms as well as RV dump station. If you're looking for a place to enjoy Lake Havasu, lounging in the water or boating, highly recommend Cattail Cove State Park. A little more remote than right in the city.

This is a small campground located right next to the Colorado River. This site has a motel, RV and what looks like tent sites. Looks clean and has views of the docks right on the water

This park is a hidden gem, a little rustic. Campsites built by CCC, old stone cabins, walls, and trails. There's RV parking away from park, a few campsites for small trailers, and beautiful tent sites.

I wanted to find a site as close to Oatman as I could. It took me three trips that way to find this campground and finally I was happy I did. Located only about 8 miles away from Oatman, it allowed me to have a full day to explore Oatman and surrounding areas including the many mines which are closed but "open" to the person wanting to really explore.

This place is a smaller park and though mostly they do have RV campers they do accept tent campers. The owners are very friendly and you meet them when you check in, this is not a chain so they take pride in what they give in way of service to those passing through.

My space was clean and level for camping in a tent. I only paid $15 which was very reasonable and like I said location was key!! My site had a picnic table and was pretty basic but it was peaceful and I had a great night there as a result.

They do offer long term RV camping at a very reasonable rate, however when I was there it didn't look like they had a ton of that traffic at the time. I will say that unlike a lot of long term lots which appear to be a bit trashy this one was maintained.

TIPS:

• Use this as a basecamp for going to Oatman where there are a lot of stores, a great cafe, mines to explore and of course pictures to take.

• Bring what you need with you. The closest full grocer is in Kingman which is about 25 minutes away so if you don't want to have to drive into town then just pack it in your car.

Lots of flying bugs 30 min before and after sunrise and set but they all go away. Not many camping spots but close to water and clean restroom with hot showers. Boat launch, lots of RV parking dog friendly with a dog park. Get good water shoes or your feet will be cut up from river rocks that are everywhere. Close tent camping so if you hate people walking through or around this is not ideal for you.

We love lake fishing and decided to stay in Lake Havasu for several months in our Venture Sonic VRB190 trailer. The owners of Campbell Cover RV Resort are hands-on, and they treat everyone like family. We enjoyed Tabitha and Connie so much. Ed, Tabitha's husband was very gracious and welcoming. They even accept mail and Amazon packages, which are essential if you stay more than a few weeks. I am only semi-retired, so a stable, strong Internet connection was essential. We rented a cable box from them, and I had no trouble with Zoom meetings. There are a lot of campers here that are snowbirds that return every year and who we enjoyed socializing with over the holidays, especially the Friday night card games. Great lake views from many locations in the park. They keep the grounds clean, and all the amenities were well cared for. This park is outside Havasu State Park's gates, where so many events occur. Don't miss a chance to stay here if you come to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We hated to leave.

Buckskin is an amazing park. We have tent camped and RV camped there. Hookups and restrooms are great. The showers are also nice. The best part is, you’re on the Colorado River!!! There are 2 beaches, one you can beach your boat and another that has a designated swimming area. (If you plan on leaving your boat overnight, anchor out about 10-20 feet from shore. The water level drops a few feet at night.) they are also planning to remodel the closed restaurant on site. This is a very friendly family environment.

This is our 2nd stay at Lake Havasu State Park. We had site C-2 in the cabin loop with W/E. Recommend weekdays if you like quiet camping. We were there Monday thru Thursday with only a couple days advanced resi and had the cabin loop all to ourselves until the last night. Most weekends are booked. As always the park is immaculate with nice personal combo bathrooms & showers. Clean & level tent sites as well. The park staff had huge smiles and waves at the gate every time we returned from our days adventure. Great welcome!

This dispersed camping area which requires a ridiculously inexpensive online permit ($20 per year), was perfect for what we needed. Our closest neighbor was about ¼ mile away, and we had views and sunsets aplenty. There is access to the Lake Havasu, but only by OHV or on foot, we chose the latter. 

The roads in from the highway are rough and rocky, but doable if you take it slow.  Once again our 67 year old vintage camper did great getting to our spot, though we recommend parking and walking the roads before committing to the drive in.

There’s hiking opportunities right out your front door, and nothing but the highway or the lake to stop your progress. The nearby Cattail Cove State Park offers designated hiking trails through the rugged desert terrain. 

Nothing in the way of services, so bring your own...but lots of space to be alone and private.  And, with sun, sun, sun, the California/ Arizona skies are great for solar gathering, so bring out all your panels. Starlink internet worked well too. 

Lake Havasu city is about 15 minutes up the road, and there you can find everything you might need in terms of services and supplies. Check out the world famous London Bridge while you’re there, too!

PROS: 

• Some sites are right on the Colorado river.
• Beautiful mountain ranges in the background.
• Full amenities at this park including showers and restrooms.
• Our site had a nice fire pit and grill, where you could simultaneously cook over coals while still having a nice fire going in the other area of the pit.
• This campground is near a lot of incredible hiking opportunities.

CONS:

• Our site was right underneath a bright lamp that shined into our tent and made it hard to sleep. We were at the site next to the walkway down to the river. Sites next to the bathrooms will also deal with night lamps.
• Tent sites are gravel, which isn't so bad except the whole are kind of slopes down to the river, making sleeping flat difficult.

Overall a well maintained and friendly park. Would come again.

I spent one night in Campbell Cove RV Resort in Lake Havasu City. I came here to see the lake and surroundings on my way back to Los Angeles. I wasn't impressed with the park. It is a glorified parking lot, my site was not level, there is gravel on the roads. They offer full hookups, even cable. I have a very tiny RV but the sites are very close to one another. The park has a view of the lake and it is about a block away from the State Park. I must say that it is kept clean. 

There were many permanent residents and snowbirds in January. They have wifi in the office and if you pay$2.50 you can have wifi from your site. I didn't pay, but my Sprint worked great in the area. I visited the park in January and it was very cold and windy. I couldn't really enjoy the area. I would love to come back when it is nicer. There is so much to do here. The lake is beautiful, you can go boating, there are lakefront parks and biking trails. There is the London Bridge which is a nice lakefront mall with shops and restaurants. They take Passport America, which is why I chose this park. I don't think I would come back again, I would choose a lakefront park.

This camp ground has so much it’s a little village in its own. Who doesn’t love camping and walking straight out to the River at your feet? Literally tent camping is allowed that close. Forgot your ice? They sale that on site as well. They have dump stations for your RVs and fresh water source to Fill up. They have covered tables and bbq grills as well. You can rent cabins that they have available but they are always booked up so if that’s what your after make sure to book in advance. Even if your not camping and you just want to go in it’s ten dollars no matter just so you know. Summer time this place is lines miles long so get there a day early before the weekend starts to save you a little wait. This place you can get to by boat, drive, and even walking. They do have clean bathrooms and it’s Well kept. Keep your food in containers because they have skunks and raccoons.. I know crazy.. little fact the entire Laughlin area has them near the water and hotels because they want a quick meal. AnywAy have proper storage because you may wake up to nothing... really nice place on the water!

I grew up in Arizona and had never been to Alamo Lake.  The lake is kind of in the middle of nowhere but what a hidden treasure. We camped there in March 2018.  It was on the warm side.  The area is best suited for camping October - March.  This is the desert people.  Or if you have a giant RV with air conditioning and cable television, you could go anytime.  Fish early in the morning and late at night. 

The campground is rather large with different areas for tent camping and hook-ups.  We stayed with an electric and water hook-up in a pop-up tent trailer.  There were lots of big rigs and toy haulers.  We definitely had toy envy with only our pop-up and kayaks.  This is a big ATV area so there were lots of ATVs riding around.  People also had speed boat and canoes.  The campground was not completely full even though it was Easter weekend.  It was also relatively quiet.  The bathrooms were sparkling clean and had nice showers with hot water.  There was also an AMAZING fish cleaning area at each campsite loop.  If you aren't really a campsite person, there is dispersed camping available by the shore but you need to drive down a dirt road through a tiny fork in the road "town" called Wayside.  There is a bar/restaurant/store/campground/gas station in Wayside.  The next town is about 30 miles away.

We found some great fishing which is unusual for Arizona.  We caught bass, bluegill and catfish.  We saw people catching a lot of fish.  They have bass fishing competitions at this lake and I can see why. 

The lake is surrounded by pretty red mountains. The sky is a beautiful blue.  I highly recommend the area.  Not too crowded, good fishing, nice clean campground.  What more could you want but maybe a nice cold beer!