Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Arizona camping adventure.
"Coyote Howls East is the companion to the full hookup RV Coyote Howls west."
"Rates are so low that you might think it is too good to be true... but it's not. 2021-2022 rates are: $15 daily, $60 weekly, $175 monthly and after you stay for (3) months at the monthly rate, you can"
$25 - $28 / night
"Great place for our needed laundry and electric hook-ups (for vacuuming and fresh veg shake blending) on our journey of mostly off-grid life right now!"
":) Nothing really in Why -- a gas station, convenience store and breakfast/lunch restaurant."
$20 - $50 / night
"Quiet, peaceful and majestic. The sky at night is so full of stars. The cacti are taller than my rig. There are many hiking trails. The rangers have lots of educational opportunities."
"Parks run by the National Park Service tend to have fewer amenities but Organ Pipe has many including flush toilets and solar showers, trash pickup, tables, grill stands, ramada shading and full RV sites"
$5 - $10 / night
"The area for camping is a bit tricky to get into as it requires backing in and making a 45 degree turn, but there is room for full size class A or truck with trailer."
"Convenient spot close to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument."
"I have found that this is a nice location. If you want to visit in this area, it is very conveniently located about three miles from the Organ Pipe National Park. There is a campground in the park."
LegendThis is a cozy (read: tight spaces) park to stay in to catch up on laundry and get your RV chores done. It’s also nice that it’s in town and you can easily walk or bike out and explore the small cute town of Ajo(pronounced Ahh-ho, not Ay-ho). Keep in mind that being in town on a main road, this is not a quiet serene park. The noise from the neighboring auto repair business was extremely loud during the day, and there is car noise from the road outside the park.
Rates per website are$28/night but it says they offer Escapees, Good Sam, AAA, or Passport America discounts(though they do not appear not the PA website). Passport America is usually 50% off so we expected to pay $14, however, when we asked about it they said they offer too many discount programs to keep track and they simply discount everyone to $25/night. So in other words, the rate is $25.
In all the BLM desert land we have stayed in, we have never heard coyotes so loud and close as we did at this RV park. They seemed to be howling from all directions here. Watch your dogs here, though the manager of the park has a small dog that runs loose with him.
Park advertises itself as being pet friendly, but there is no dog park or dog walk in the park. We walked our dogs out to the street to go potty to avoid them going potty in front of someone’s space.
Our spot only had a 30 amp outlet, but judging by the number of large 5th wheels and toy haulers there I believe 50 amp is also available. Pull through and back in sites both available.
Park has wifi and cable.
Bulk propane available at $3.50/gal.
Laundry room was clean, one shower under construction and the other was dirty- would not use. Showers were 2.5 min per quarter, or 4 quarters at once for 10 minutes. No change or soap machine available, quarters available from manager per sign.
There are water and sewer hookups at each site, or there is a dump and water fill available as well. If not staying at park, dump is $7, water is $5, or both for $10.
Large trash trailer bin available, as well as a can for aluminum and a can for plastic beverage containers.
Good verizon signal, though cell service almost unusable in the evening due to high usage in the area. AT&T signal was weak but usable.
Pro tip: the Chevron across the street has a little separate food service establishment in the convenience store where you can get pizza, burritos, breakfast burritos, fresh baked cookies, etc to go! The pizza was surprisingly great! IGA grocery store also in easy walking distance.
LegendCoyote Howls East is the companion to the full hookup RV Coyote Howls west. Coyote Howls East is like a large dispersed camping area but with numbered long-term sites, bathroom shower houses, water spigots, trash dumpsters, and wifi at library bldg. No electric hookups or sewer hookups though..most folks are using solar. Cell service is excellent. Yearly sites are $850, monthly is $200, weekly is $80 and nightly is $20. Showers are coin operated .25c. Laundry at washroom #1. A RV black tank dump is also at wash house #3. All roads are fine sand dirt! Many long-term sites are eclectic decorated. Ajo is 9 miles and has grocery, hardware, etc but the close by jct of Why has a mini Mart, fuel, ice, and a very good mexican restaurant. Indian casino is also 3 miles away. This RV park is a good option if you are a boondocker and want to get showers, do laundry and stay put for a week or two and do not need electric or sewer hookups.
TravelerNice little park in Why -- because why not? :) Nothing really in Why -- a gas station, convenience store and breakfast/lunch restaurant. But it's a short (and beautiful) drive to the national monument and Ajo, if you need groceries or other supplies. Simple gravel pull-throughs. Not sure how really big rigs would do, but my little Casita snuggled in just fine with a decent amount of room around. FHU and decent cell service. Paid $30/night in cash. Nice view of the sunset and starry skies.
ScoutQuiet, peaceful and majestic. The sky at night is so full of stars. The cacti are taller than my rig. There are many hiking trails. The rangers have lots of educational opportunities. There is no electric but you can use your generator during specific hours. There are water spigots throughout the park however there's only a fresh water threaded water hookup at the RV dump station. My cell signal was minimal, I was roaming off Mexican cell towers however I did have calling via satellite. I was able to use solar and generator power. Definitely a place I'd return to, I'd love to explore here more.
LegendPrimitive and far from civilization. Right next to highway 85, so there is a lot of traffic noise. Since this is dispersed there are not any facilities, but surprisingly there is little privacy. Several RVs,but no hook ups. Very close to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
TravelerConvenient spot close to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. I got a little confused trying to find this spot at night, but once you find where the dirt road passes through the gate there are plenty of places to camp right there. There was only one other group there in October, but I would assume it gets more crowded during the winter months. It's a little close to the highway, so you will hear some cars passing by, but it's not too bad.
GuideSaturday, March 24, 2018
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ
, I am captivated by the desert, whether it be Mohave, Great Basin, Chihuahua or our own Sonoran Desert. I love the wide open views, the sparse flora, the equally sparse and ornery fauna, the warmth and chill of a desert morning, the majesty of the saguaro or the coarse obstinance of a Joshua Tree yucca. I feel unworthy of the sheer toughness required to accept the difficulties of residing in one of the harsher environments on Earth, and yet I enjoy the benefits of a clear, cool spring evening in one of the best government operated parks available to the American people. And more than a few people are taking advantage of it.
This park is bargain. The entrance fee is a mere ten bucks; camping is only sixteen dollars a night. If one, like I, has an old fart pass the entry fee is waived and the camping dues are halved, a bargain by even Mr. Scrooge’s estimation. Parks run by the National Park Service tend to have fewer amenities but Organ Pipe has many including flush toilets and solar showers, trash pickup, tables, grill stands, ramada shading and full RV sites, some with pull-through accommodations. Not available are cell phone service and wifi in the campground although weak wifi is sketchy but possible at the visitor center.
One thing of note is the campsite patrol pairing, an older couple driving around in one of those odd little two-seater carts with a truck bed, policing the recently vacated campsites The woman checks out the site picking up any pieces of left-over trash while the gentleman, get this, sweeps the tent pad with a broom. I don’t know if they are paid part-time or volunteers but they do their work cheerfully and effectively and the tent pads and campsites look positively pristine. Not bad for eight bucks a night.
I even managed to sneak in shower, yes, a shower, at one of the restrooms that has a solar shower, there being three such in the campground. It’s kind of a different experience since the solar heater doesn’t really get warmed up until midday, so earlier than that the showerer might expect to get a coolish sort of shower. Mine was tepid at best. Plus, the showers are push button for both a higher and lower shower nozzle. You push the upper button to receive about 5 seconds of shower. Several pushes are needed to get suitable wet. Lather up, push a button to rinse, then lather again, push a button to rinse, lather up, push the lower button to rinse. The lower nozzle may be for kids but works perfectly fine for washing one’s backside. All in all, it takes a bit longer to get clean but eventually gets the job done.
The park offers desert hiking at its finest with many longer or shorter hikes through the amazing Sonora desert landscape and a teeth rattling ten mile drive to an oasis hard on the Mexican Border, Quitobaquito Spring. Quitobaquito is a miracle in the southern desert, It’s a spring fed lagoon, hard on the border of Mexico, maybe an acre in size and maybe 4 to 7 feet deep. It is fed by a spring putting out about fifty cubic feet per second of fresh water and is inhabited by various waterfowl (a squadron of coots on this day) and a population of desert pupfish, little bitty guppie-like piscines that only live in this particular pond in the dez, kind of like the pupfish that live in a small pool in Death Valley. The question have is how the hell did they get there. For further info: https://organpipehistory.com/orpi-a-z/quitobaquito-springs-2/. It is a marvelous oasis in the desert.
I stayed 3 nights at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and should have stayed a week. I love this park and will be back.
LegendThis tribal RV park is associated with the small Desert Diamonds Tribal Casino. Both are small affairs. The RV park has water, electrical and sewer hookups, a propane refill tank and a very nice restroom/shower/laundry bldg. The RV sites have no shade. Why jct is close by and the tribal casino has fuel, ice and snack bar type food. Last year a tribal contact at the RV park said anyone could use the showers and laundry. Laundry is quarters machines. The only other full hookup RV park by Why is Coyote Howls West.
LegendThis is a very nice location central in the small city of Aho.
There is a large space behind the lodge for DRY camping. The charge for staying here is listed as a recommended donation. The area for camping is a bit tricky to get into as it requires backing in and making a 45 degree turn, but there is room for full size class A or truck with trailer. I Have a 24" trailer and there was also two Class A RVs there with additional towed vehicles. Parking lot is well lit.
Nice area behind the lodge for a dog walk along the old railroad tracks. Wi-Fi is available to lodge members in and near the building. I had T-Mobile and Voice coverage was Great, but data was roaming which was used up if a couple hours.
The town is only a very short walk from the Gallery which has a Market, Café , thrift shop, art gallery and Public Library (which has free computer access and Wi-Fi) Wi-Fi Can also be access from outside the library 24/7.
No big box stores or fast food in town, but there is Olsen's Market/Ace Hardware, Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores.
The Staff and Members of the Lodge are very friendly and food is served several nights a week. The American Legion has Dinner to the Public on Fridays and is only about a mile away. The Copper mine is well worth the view and the Museum is very interesting. (operates on donations).
I stayed here a couple days and when I needed to dump and fill fresh water, I went for the weekend at Organ Pipe National Park which was about 45 minutes away (Reviewed separately). then returned to the Elks Lodge for a few more days before leaving. There are also several RV parks and gas stations nearby where you can dump and fill Propane tanks.
This may not be in the Boondocks, but sometimes I like camping out near the convenience of civilization like the laundry mat near by.
I was here in December and the City Christmas decorations on the street lights were a nice reminder Christmas was near.
Discover the charm of RV camping near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, where stunning desert landscapes meet welcoming campgrounds equipped with essential amenities.
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