Best Tent Camping near Leupp, AZ

In the off season, this sweet little national forest campground is a quiet oasis in one of the beautiful “islands of the sky” which are scattered throughout Arizona.  Up at 5000 feet, this place becomes a busy retreat for Tucsonians seeking to escape some of the summertime heat, according to the park ranger we spoke too. It's also a haven for birds!

The campground has designated section for RV’s and tents, though they are same price at just $10 per night.  Many pull-through sites are available for larger RV’s, as well as some back in spots. Each site has a HUGE cement picnic table and fire ring and are a nice size with plenty of space between sites. There are trash cans (though no recycling) throughout the campground, and a water spigot near the very clean pit toilets, thanks to the dedicated and very friendly camp hosts.  The tent sites overlook the Parker Canyon Lake and are quite spacious. There are few tent sites for groups too.

There is a nice boat dock, as well as small store near the water that sells snacks/drinks, bait, and a few camping necessities.  You can rent kayaks, paddle boats, SUPs, sailboats and small motorized fishing boats…or bring your own. There is also a nice and easy trail that follows the lake shore for about 6 miles, accessible to both hikers and mountain bikers.  From the lake trail, you can also access the Arizona Scenic Trail (the southern terminus is about 15 miles south of the lake). We also saw quite a few fisherman out enjoying the lake during mid-week.

The closest grocery stores and gas stations are in Sonoita, about 30 miles away.  Cell coverage is limited here as you are very close to the Mexican border – none in RV campground, just a bit of coverage in the tent campground.

We needed a quick place to tent camp close to flagstaff, AZ and we found this campsite on the Dyrt. We tent camped for one night at a cost of 23.00$. Our site was fine, cell service was good, they only have port-a-potty’s, it they were clean, and had auto lights for night time. The campground sold out while we were there, it seems they have a lot of groups attending this camp. There is an extreme course in the same park, lots of activities. No showers, water is extra, location was great, and the host was nice and accommodating.

We were pleased to get our family's RV & tent sites adjacent under the pines. Got to set up our new Napier Sportz SUV tent & our Subaru Forester. Wonderful clean bathrooms and warm showers. Pet friendly & warm welcome at check-in.

Went climbing out at the Pit in Flagstaff for the day, then we came and camped out not too far away! The site had plenty of trees for hammocks, as well as tent sites. It was easy to access for not just 4x4 vehicles and was a nice and quick drive from the main road.

This is one of those parks that mostly have RV camping & a few tent sites. There wasn't any availability at other spots since we are floating around in our little RV... the spots aren't too close together, there is shade from pine trees, bathrooms with showers & flushing toilets. Road noise & train noise (we don't mind trains). It's convenient to exploring Flagstaff. Easy hiking trail within park & small dog park.

I’m a fan of this spot. It’s within 10 miles from Flagstaff. Good road that doesn’t require 4WD. Plenty of spots for tent camping and also big rigs. My buddy and I both have service with different providers. I will say the traffic from the road is a little loud but I believe there is construction on I-40 which is detouring people along the forest road. Although the traffic is loud, the forests allows you to move further away from the road for a more quiet night. I would definitely stay here again if I’m ever in the area.

This is a nice, modern campground in a state park that features stone ruins. I visited the Homolovi 1 and 2 sites. They were mostly rubble, but there were some intact walls and a large storage pit.

The campground is large, and sites are nicely distanced from one another. However, there is very little shade or privacy. When I visited in June, there were also high winds. These died down after dark, but made setting up the tent a fun challenge. Each tent site had a paved driveway. This was nice, but made tent stakes placement a little awkward. I had to tie one line to the picnic table.

Bathrooms were clean and modern, with hot and cold water.

I’ve stayed here a number of times and it has been very pleasant. Flies can be a problem, probably due to people dumping dishwater at the sites. Generators can be run any time except 10 pm to 6 am & there are always a couple of generators going and spoiling the tranquility. It is $24 a night, a bit pricey for the facilities but Senior & Access passes get you a 50% discount. No reservations, dry camping, flush toilets. Rigs up to 42’ fit and it is very nice for tent camping. All the details can be found here:https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/camping-cabins/recarea/?recid=55072&actid=29

Went tent camping here the last weekend of the actual season. It’s a bit pricey at $20 a night, but it was worth it to be right on the water with the dog rather than make the drive from the disperse campsites. It was completely full at the campgrounds and disperse around it was pretty full, but we didn’t have any issues finding our own spot to hang out on multiple parts of the lake. I’m pretty sure our campsite was still available so late due to its inability to house an RV. Most spots would fit an RV, but ours was much more comfortable with just a tent. Multiple RVs ran their generators but we could only hear them at the water fill up and bathroom. There were trees to hang hammocks. We only had one neighbor, who was a bit close in terms of our tables, but tents and everything else had plenty of distance.

Stopped here on our way back to California from Colorado. It was the middle of August so we were looking for somewhere with some water and shade and we found both. It is definitely a popular campground with lots of families but if you can get a spot it is an amazing little retreat. We were tent camping and had plenty of shade and only a short walk to the creek (it is a creek not a river but still nice to put your feet in and cool down). Put toilets but they were well maintained for how crowded the campground was. Despite the crowds, a lot of the campgrounds are decent size and even if not secluded give you some space. Not my favorite destination but for the area and price it was amazing.

Campground Review

The Flagstaff KOA is a great place to stay! And a great jumping-off-point to fabulous destinations.  We were visiting the Grand Canyon from Phoenix, so we were able to make it to the campground in about 2 hours (leaving after work) and then drive to and from the Grand Canyon the next day, since it is only an hour drive from there.

The sites are pretty close together, but that didn’t really matter staying in our campervan.  We had all the space we needed. I especially loved the very clean bathrooms! Flushing toilets and free showers (with attached changing stalls) made for a very comfortable trip.  

Our kid’s favorite was the Jumping Pillow.  It is this huge inflatable thing that the kids can jump all over and they wanted to do that constantly.  Super fun and easy entertainment.

There was also a large playground and little go-kart style bicycles the kids could rent.  

Our stay was really great and I highly recommend the Flagstaff KOA!

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time.  Escape Campervans allowed me and my family to take our their Maverick van for the weekend.  Let me give you all the details:

First of all, we LOVED traveling in this campervan!!  Driving in and of itself was wonderful. The back bench is very spacious, so our three kids in car seats/boosters had plenty of space.  I loved the huge passenger seat and could really spread out while we drove. The van was easy to handle and easy to maneuver. Even on little dirt roads and tight turns we had plenty of space (very unlike an RV).  

Once we got to our campsite, it was dark out and 9 o’clock at night.  All the kids had fallen asleep on the drive. Normally this would be a huge pain, having to pitch our tents and unpack the cots and sleeping bags, and pack n’ play etc.  But we just pulled into our spot (these vans can park in tent sites too!) and my husband got out and popped the rooftop sleeper (takes 30 sec. to do), we shuffled the kids up top while I unfolded the inside bed.  Took us just a few minutes to get both beds up and ready to go. The kids were nestled into their beds in no time.

My 4 year old daughter and I slept in the inside bed together, with my 1 year old son in a little pop-up baby tent at the foot of the bed.  My husband and 5 year old son slept in the rooftop sleeper. Everyone was warm despite the 35 degree nighttime temperature, and everyone slept through the night  (a FIRST for this family while camping!!).

The back doors open to reveal a complete camp kitchen, with pump sink, propane stove, all the utensils, prep surface, solar powered fridge and plates/cups.  We cooked up some homemade fajitas with steak strips and peppers on the stovetop and it worked fabulously. We literally just pulled off to the side of the road in Grand Canyon National Park and made this delicious lunch.  The kids ran and played in the trees while I cooked. It was a special moment.

I really can’t say enough good about the experience. We can’t wait to rent one again.  It made this trip so easy. Some things you don’t even think about, like how we all needed to change clothes at the Grand Canyon.  We just shut the curtains and were able to do that in a busy parking lot. In our minivan -- that would not have happened.

Tons of storage space, smooth ride, comfortable sleeping, large back bench.  Great. Trip.

Product Video

Overview video:

https://youtu.be/J1rhi6D8ckQ

Van tour:

https://youtu.be/h-IdQIlXpYk

A nice little campground with one loop. What I liked about this was the great hosts (who seemed on constant patrol in their golf cart), the level sites for tents, and the great access to trails. There was a trail that went under the road that led to the lake and another that went up to great views and the Arizona Trail. There was tons of elk scat on the upper Trail but I never saw any elk. At the top of the trail you had to go thru a gate into open range to get to the Arizona Trail. It was obvious from the cow patties that this was a popular spot for the cows as well. As for amenities, the tent pads were level and clean, there were fire pits (no fire due to the ban), and clean vault toilets. I’d stay here again.

Campground Review:

This campground was priceless. We stayed at site 11 and it was perfect in reference to the bathrooms for late night use. The campground is a loop with lots of wild Arizona desert brush for little boys to explore. This loops also makes some campsites inconvenient to the bathrooms and FREE showers. Check the site map before reserving. The restrooms and FREE showers were very clean and spacious. The campground was also very clean. I did notice, on our visit, there seemed to be many more RV's than tents. Also, not a lot of families with young children although my children loved the park. The sites are open so there is not a lot of privacy, however, they are spaced apart so you are not on top of each other. The rangers and volunteers were very friendly, knowledgeable and patient with little boy questions. Our first hike was to the Visitors center through wild Arizona desert and cows with a beautiful view of a snow capped mountain. I was very impressed with the Native American history at this park. Each site has a fire ring, grill, and tent pad (with eye hooks all around). The eye hooks were very handy because the winds got a little gusty one night. Also, did I mention the cows???

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. Today I tested "MOUNTAIN HOUSE HOMESTYLE TURKEY CASSEROLE" https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/homestyle-turkey-dinner-casserole.html

1. This meal was an easy perfect Easter lunch on the day we packed up to leave.
2. The instructions were spot on and easy to follow
3. My husband and I enjoyed this meal more than the kids did but the flavor was great. The chicken was nice big pieces, there were lots of veggies and the stuffing was the best.
4. Took up very little space in packing, light weight, very filling.