Best Equestrian Camping near Oro Valley, AZ

Campground Review

Catalina State Park is just a bit outside of Tucson Arizona, and more importantly, Saguaro National Park.  We used this State Park as a jumping-off point for our trip to Saguaro and it was a pretty good location for that.

Oro Valley is a modern area with tons of shopping and dining options right outside the park.  This was very convenient for us to pick up McDonalds or grab something we forgot from the store.

The Park itself is stunning.  Right up against the mountains, the views are gorgeous, especially at sunset.  We were in campsite #A-23, which was AMAZING. Perfect for tent camping, the space is large and flat.  You could easily fit several tents in this site.

We drove around campgrounds A and B and found the sites to be much more spaced out in A.  Most of the sites were occupied by RVs, which made for a very quiet and non-stressful night!  

Our site had electric hook ups and a water faucet.  Also a BBQ grill and picnic table are provided. Wood fires are NOT permitted in the park.

Overall we LOVED this place.  We will for sure return in the near future!

The Park also has a lot of amazing trails, including a very short hike to see Hohokam ruins which were so cool to see!!  The kids loved this hike and the views were amazing.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - at Catalina State Park we had the opportunity to try out the Wenzel Camp Quilt (or 2!).  These quilts are so great! Our old camp blanket had to be carefully folded in a particular way and then zipped up. These quilts come with stuff bags and you can just stuff the quilt in them when you are done!  I now keep these in the car with me at all time, because you never know when you need a picnic blanket, or something to keep you warm!

For us, it is a no-brainer to just toss one or two of these in with your camping gear.  Here in Arizona, the temperature drops fast once the sun goes down. Although it was over 100F during the day, it was still FREEZING cold in our tent at night.  We were so grateful to have these quilts to snuggle up and keep us warm!

Campground Video

https://youtu.be/yw_dUs9b7aM

Camped 14-15 March 2021 - Minutes from the hustle and bustle of Tucson and Oro Valley, but surprisingly quiet. Catalina State Park Campground has two campsite loops- A and B, as well as the Ringtail group tent site. I tent camped at site A16, which was a decent distance from the neighboring sites. The loops and parking slips are asphalt paved. Familiarize yourself with the site map, because most of the campsite numbers were on posts set back a distance from the road, making it tough to locate some of the sites, especially if you’re arriving after dark. Campsites are typical desert sand, with mesquite and palo verde trees. I had plenty of location options within the site for setting up my tent, but had to choose carefully, as to not sleep atop an access hole to the round-tailed ground squirrel burrows that are in abundance throughout the campground. The site had water, an electric hook up (which I didn’t need), a nice sized thermoplastic polyethylene coated metal picnic table (easy to clean), a raised BBQ grill and a beautiful view of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The restroom and shower facility in loop A was clean and adequate, with three toilet stalls (one of which was ADA compliant, as well as two showers (one being ADA compliant). Signage on ADA shower stall indicated adaptive equipment (shower chair, etc.) was available through the camp hosts. An open breezeway between women’s and men’s restrooms includes a sink, soft drink machine, a small “Take a book, share a book” cabinet, and informational bulletin boards. A posted sign indicated wifi password for the campground, but whenever I tried to connect, I got a prompt that it was unavailable. I had a strong Verizon signal. Per another sign posted in the breezeway, the 48-day Bighorn Fire of June 2020 burned almost 120,000 acres / 25% of Catalina State Park. Because of vegetation loss, the Canada del Oro wash (along the main road between the entrance/ranger station and the campground) is prone to flooding when it rains at higher elevations. The wash has been running black with ash, and for longer periods of time than before the fire. The ash coats the sand, preventing the rainwater from being absorbed, creating the potential for flash floods. The Romero Trail to Romero Pools has been closed since the fire, with signs indicating reopening in May 2021. There are still plenty of miles of beautiful desert trails to enjoy. There are two large grocery stores and two gas stations within five miles of the campground.

This is horse ranch with great host and amazing views. They offer horse back riding which our kids loved.

This such a nice quiet park.. stars are great at night! Hiking trails nearby, bicycles, horse trails. Nice big private sites.

Nice little park. Staff was great. Sites are too close together for my liking but lots of trails off the park. Dropped in on Memorial Day weekend, sites were mostly full (1 site left) but the neighbors had little dogs and we have 2 big German Shepherds so that wasn’t going to work so we asked if we could stay in the equestrian area since there was only one person in there & they agreed. It was PERFECT for us. Not sure we’ll stay again if we can’t use that area!

Great place to stay for visiting Tucson and surrounding area. We stayed for a week while visiting Saguaro NP. Cheap with full hook ups. Busy location as they hold rodeos and horse events regularly.

Our hosts were extremely hospitable and accommodating. They worked around our schedule and made sure we were comfortable. They gave us numerous recommendations for local cuisine and sightseeing. The camp is peaceful and has fantastic views with horses, a fire pit, and hiking trails. We hope to return soon.

Hiking Through Saguaro National Park in the late Winter is now my favorite past time. You get the feel of Spring but the look of Summer. Between the higher elevation changes in scenery and the lack of people on trails, this is one of the best spots to hit up if you want to get away but don't have the ability to handle super cold weather. 

Douglas Spring is a little over 6 miles from the trailhead and it is super popular usually so reserve your backcountry permit fast! You can have up to 6 people on your permit and there are three sites available at the top. It's only $8 per campsite in the park but there is NO vehicle access, so you will need to hike into any camping you need and ONLY camp in designated areas. 

Bring lots of water, there isn't much water available near you, contrary to the name. The trial is also pretty open and not much shade, so early Spring and Fall are your best bets. 

This trail is pretty heavily populated by horse riders so wear shoes that you don't mind sidestepping manure in.

Another super clean and new Arizona state park. Free hot showers in a beautiful location.

We've stayed here on 3 different trips to the SW, 2019,2020 & 2023. A very nice break from the remote, amenity-less places we usually camp. It's a great place to resupply, dine out, see the sights, clean up and relax in the Arizona sunshine while gazing a the Santa Catalina Mountains. 

There is some hiking including guided Ranger led tours. Lots of birds, coyotes and a whole lot of giant saguaro cactus. In spring at least, there is water, sometimes a lot.

I find that some of the sites are well spaced, some with stunted trees which could provide more shade once they leaf out. We've never had that experience with all out visits coming in March or early April.

We're not much for big campgrounds or RV Parks but this one works for us. It has however gotten, like everywhere else, EXTREMELY HARD to reserve a site, especially one of the better ones.

One other note - Wood fires are not allowed!! We use a propane Firebowl there.

I hope this is the hardest campground review I ever have to write. The visit to Colossal Cave Mountain Park started pretty terrible but the property manager/caretaker (Gary) saved this review. Let me start from the beginning.

Upon arrival we were checked in and told there were fire restrictions in place so we wouldn't be allowed to have a fire. I told them that's not what their website said and they argued "well we tell everyone when they call in". Needless to say, I wasn't told when I reserved my spot that there was any restrictions. (and even now, when checking the forestry websites and county fire restrictions they all direct me here (https://firerestrictions.us/az/az-pima-county/) and the specific location of the campgrounds doesn't seem to be under restriction nor can I even determine which specific area to look at. The park said they were part of the forestry service but that area seems to end East of there)

We were told that with our "RV" we would be located at El Bosquecito. We drive to the grounds and find out it's a walk in group site with a small cul de sac with 2 small dirt pull outs to park. I called the caretaker and asked where exactly we were supposed to be setting up so he drove down to meet us. It became very clear very quickly this spot wasn't going to work and this is when he told us they had overbooked their RV spaces (they only have 3) and they were trying to find somewhere to put us. He offered to let us stay in the Day Use area and that is where we spent the next 2 days. (and over the next few days we ran into him a few times to get suggestions on things to do, etc)

Like any camping trip we went exploring to see what the rest of the park looked like. Here is what we found:

• All of the single campsites are currently closed (and have been since late last summer). I'll post a picture of one of the spaces but you can't actually camp there at this moment.
• The "RV" spaces are big enough for a sizable RV but that is all there is to them… a cleared out pull in space.
• El Bosquecito is actually a pretty neat group campground if you don't mind carrying your gear in. There was some tree coverage (it really doesn't get better in the desert). There were BBQs, water faucets, bathrooms, and fire pits. However, there were some weird potential hazards like exposed pipe and open water trenches.
• Most (if not all) of the advertised things to do were shut down or unavailable.
• Petting Zoo - They are between ranch vendors so this was not available,
• Tortoises - They were hibernating (not available)
• Butterfly Garden - There were a few but it was out of season.
• Gold Panning - Available, but you have to but the bags of dirt to pan with from the gift shop.
• The Terrace Cafe - This was open but it's not a restaurant (it's not even in the building). It's a covered "stand" that you order at then there are a few picnic tables in front of it next to the gift shop.
• The Museum - Currently Closed
• The Bats - Out of season
• There are a few trails in the park (Path of Ancestors, Bundrick, and the Arizona Trail). We did parts of all 3 but Path of Ancestors was my favorite. It has information boards along the way talking about the Hohokam tribe.
• Every road in the entire park is REALLY rough. They are paved but there are potholes everywhere. I wouldn't take a super low clearance car through the park and you won't make it back to La Selvilla (if it's open) without high ground clearance and 4 wheel drive.
• They do have bathrooms (ours also had a hand washing station), there were trash cans in all of the usable areas, lots of BBQ stands, and picnic tables. In the group campground and the day use area there were also water faucets.

While we were there we also did the Regular Cave Tour and it was really neat. Dane was our tour guide and he was fun to listen to and very informative. It really was 70 in the cave and with it being in the 50s/60s outside we went in overdressed and ended up really warm. Trust the temperature they tell you! If you have any choice in the matter stay towards the front of the group. We went down with 17 people and there were a few times we couldn't hear the guide or see what he was pointing out because we were so far back.

So overall… I wasn't super impressed this trip. However, Gary gave us a great impression and explained a lot of the "problems" were parts of the park in transition. I totally believe this park could be really neat when it's running as intended. Until then - I strongly suggest you know exactly what you plan to get out of the trip and call ahead to ask for clarification if there is anything in particular you want to see. Their website is NOT kept up to date so it is not a reliable avenue for information. If you are just looking for a neat day trip or a group campground you may have more success than we did but it all depends what you are looking for. I hope to go back in the fall to give it another try.

Lots of hiking in the area, from easy trails through the cacti to steep canyons nearby. There are group hike events with expert naturalists, really worth it. TONS of wildlife, including a bobcat and great birding. Amazing sunsets like nowhere else I've traveled. As for the campsite, it's really clean with nice standard amenities. Good privacy and pretty large individual sites. Shade varies. We couldn't have fires, so bring a gas backpacking stove to cook. Reservations recommended since it's so close to Phoenix and Tucson. Absolutely lovely campground setting.