Best Tent Camping near Paradise Valley, AZ

Tent camping options surround Paradise Valley, Arizona with several established campgrounds and dispersed sites within driving distance. McDowell Regional Park-Ironwood offers tent-specific sites with mountain views, while Hackamore Road Dispersed camping provides free primitive camping on Bureau of Land Management land southeast of town. Peralta Regional Park Primitive Remote Campsites offer quiet, secluded tent camping with access to regional trail networks.

Most primitive tent sites near Paradise Valley lack amenities such as drinking water or electric hookups. Access roads to dispersed camping can be challenging, particularly at Hackamore Road where high clearance vehicles are recommended due to rough roads and uneven terrain. McDowell Regional Park provides flush toilets and water spigots, while dispersed areas typically have no facilities. Fire restrictions are common during dry seasons, and campers must pack out all trash. Cell service varies significantly between locations, with stronger signals at sites closer to town.

The tent camping experience near Paradise Valley features Sonoran Desert landscapes with saguaro cacti and mountain vistas. Sites at McDowell Regional Park are well-spaced and quiet despite popularity with mountain bikers. Backcountry tent sites provide greater solitude but require more preparation. At higher elevations, cooler temperatures make summer camping more comfortable. Boulders OHV Area offers dispersed tent camping with desert exploration opportunities. A visitor commented that "sites are fairly well spread out" at McDowell Regional Park, while another noted that Hackamore Road has "great views of the mountains and tons of awesome trails to walk/ride."

Best Tent Sites Near Paradise Valley, Arizona (11)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Paradise Valley, AZ

2 Photos of 11 Paradise Valley Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near Paradise Valley, AZ

604 Reviews of 11 Paradise Valley Campgrounds


  • Tara S.
    Feb. 22, 2023

    Roosevelt Lake - Cholla Campground

    Peaceful Spot in the Winter

    We spent 3 nights here in February, and while it was chilly, the place was very quiet and the stars were amazing! There are no hookups here, but there are bathrooms with flush toilets (some have showers), and there are faucets with potable water. There's also a boat launch and a few playgrounds for the kids. 

    There were mostly RVs here, but the waterfront tent sites are amazing if you don't mind walking in from the main parking area (it's not a far walk).

    Each campsite has a picnic table with a shaded awning and a fire pit, but you have to bring in your own wood or gather it from the surrounding forest. Saw lots of birds here - cactus wren, quail, finches, warblers, and road runners.

  • Chenery K.
    Oct. 20, 2017

    Skyline Regional Park

    Fantastic hiking! Camping. . . not so much.

    Skyline Regional Park, Buckeye AZ

    www.skylineregionalpark.com and camping page www.skylineregionalpark.com/camping/ 

    This is a brand new park in the city of Buckeye, AZ at the south end of the White Tank Mountains and is located about 20 miles from White Tanks Regional Park in the Maricopa County Parks district (see my review). The park itself is very pretty, all of the amenities are new and fresh, and several of the trails are under active construction. 

    This is a very popular and BUSY park for mountain bikers - I was surprised to see the trailhead parking lot nearly full (almost 2 dozen cars) on a Thursday late afternoon/evening, and as people came back to the lot to leave nearly all of them were mountain bikers, with a few hikers mixed in.

    The good - 

    It’s neat and clean, nice new restrooms with flush toilets and sinks that also have motion lights to conserve energy - they stay dark at night, so there are fewer bugs swarming around the entrances, although the restrooms are marked with bee warnings.

    The campsites are level, evenly spaced away from each other on a long loop, and have big sturdy concrete picnic tables along with a fire ring and standing grill. The parking spaces are easy to back into and help to block the view of some of the campsite from the road.

    I stayed in site D, which is at the top of the low hill that composes a loop of 7 sites (A-G) but sites E and F would be my choice next time, as they are terraced into the hill as it comes down from the peak sites of C and D - each of the sites E and F have an erosion wall that makes nice seating (see photo)

    Site G is currently under construction, and was not available for reservation as of my stay in the middle of October, but will be the site closest to the restroom and trail head when it’s available. Not a big issue, as each site is only a few dozen yards from each other.

    The trail head has a nice map of the available trails, covered ramadas with recycle containers along with trash receptacles, and even a shaded horse hitching post area with an automatic horse waterer. There is no potable water for people to drink in this park.

    The sites are cleared of brush/cacti and have a nice wide gravel path to the restroom - I carried a UV light but didn’t see any scorpions anywhere near the road or my camp, which is certainly not the case just up the road in White Tanks Regional part, where the campsites are more desert/less groomed (but have water&electric).

    The less than good - 

    It’s pretty boring. There are 7 sites that are basically identical with the same view of the trailhead parking lot - it’s nice that the restroom is close, but there’s not much privacy for any of the sites. No trees of any significant size, so none of the sites have appreciable shade available.

    I’m not sure who these sites were designed for - they are deep enough for RVs to back in, but there is no electric or water, and they recommend driving 5 miles away to a truck stop as the closest RV dump site and pay showers, so that can’t be very convenient for non-tent campers. 

    The campsites have a nice flat area for a tent, but it’s next to the “driveway” rather than at the back of the site so your tent has NO privacy from the road/trailhead parking lot, and the entire camping loop is located on a very uninteresting section of terrain. 

    The park is far enough from the freeway (2 miles) that it’s quiet, and tucked into the foothills enough to block the city lights from Phoenix, so stargazing is quite nice. However, it’s under a flight path from Phoenix to San Diego/Los Angeles, so every few minutes a jet blinks through your sky space. It’s also apparently under a flight path for Luke Air Force Base, and I had several noisy jets pass overhead just as I was settling in for the night. I live in the area so those jets are a constant background noise in my life and they were no big deal to me, but might be unsettling for someone who was really looking for a “peace and quiet” camping experience.

    There was a fire ban in effect during my stay and they don’t announce them on their website - you have to remember to call and ask before you get there. However, even during a fire ban you can use your fire pit and grill, so it’s really not a big deal unless you were planning to set up camp way out in the desert somewhere.

    My least favorite -

    The mountain bikers take these trails seriously and are out on the trails with head lamps and bike lights until LATE at night, and their voices carry all over the park so this is NOT a quiet place to camp. 

    The signage all says that the trails are open from sunup until sundown, and that the park gates close at 10pm. The reality is that the hikers and mountain bikers wear lights and stay out on the trails until far after sundown because even though my campsite reservation said I would need to use a gate code to leave the park after 10pm, that is not the case. The gate leaving the park has an auto-opening feature, so you can drive up to it in the middle of the night and it will be triggered to open and let you out. Day-use park visitors can and do stay until very late, as there is no consequence for being in the park after the trails “close” or even after 10pm, since they don’t risk being locked in. I didn’t see any park employees driving around to enforce the park closing time, and I did become a little concerned (as I was the only camper that night, and alone with my dogs) when someone drove up to use the restroom at the trailhead at 11:30pm (car headlights shining directly into my camp of course) - again, not much privacy.

    All in all - I’d come back to this park to hike any day of the week. The trails are wide and new and well maintained, and it’s a new area to explore. As far as camping goes, there are plenty of nice parks not far from here, so I’d probably recommend driving an extra half hour to one of the Maricopa county parks at Estrella Mountain or White Tanks to take advantage of the same or better mountain views with more amenities.

  • Staci R.
    Sep. 18, 2017

    Buckeye Hills Regional Park - PERMANENTLY CLOSED IN 2018

    Red flag flying!!

    Next to the Floss shooting range and the Sheriff's training range is a gem of a recreation park with great views of Buckeye and the Phoenix valley. Only one vault toilet, no water or electric, but no signs stating camping not allowed either. Although almost every sight has a grill or fire ring of some sort, but since May no fires of any type are allowed, probably due to wild fire hazards. This would be a superb star gazing adventure site for primitive camping. You just need to pack in/out all essentials like water and food.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 10, 2023

    Skyline Regional Park

    Small campground, very popular day-use park

    General: Very small (7-site) campground. One site is ADA-accessible and paved (the rest are gravel) but there are no hookups at any site. 

    Site Quality: Generous-sized gravel driveways; Site D sloped uphill slightly. A concrete picnic table, BBQ grill, and fire pit complete the site. I was a little surprised that the picnic tables did not have shelters as it gets quite hot in Arizona (the day-use pavilions were covered). 

    Restroom: Two-stall, one-sink restroom. No showers. This restroom is also used by the day-use area so by the end of the day, it looks like it has been well-used. It was cleaned at night. It looked like the sink was clogged, but it was just slow draining. 

    Activities: Hiking! There are several hiking trails directly accessible from the campground and all the trails are well-marked. There is a short (.6 mile) ADA-accessible trail. Horseback riding and mountain biking are also activities although we saw neither in our two days at this park. There was also a wildly popular star-gazing event while we were there. 

    Final thoughts: IMO, the best sites are B, C, and D. Site D especially has no visible neighbors on either side. Kudos to the city of Buckeye – they could have easily crammed a half-dozen more campsites in this area, but I am glad they did not! As I mentioned, this is a popular day-use area and by 7 am on a weekend in early April, the day-use parking lot was completely full. Despite this, we did not see too many people on the trails.

  • Whither W.
    Feb. 1, 2021

    Bartlett Flat

    Crowded and loud on weekends, peaceful when not

    Super accessible from the Phoenix area, very easy to find. You can choose your own camping spot, and there are many existing stone fire rings and pits that are spaced out decently across the area. The earlier you arrive, the more spots you'll have to choose from; most are filled by sundown. A sedan can easily get across the Flat with some careful maneuvering. Vault toilets are all the way at the entrance of the Flat so plan accordingly. (Or... bring a trowel.)

    Lots of families, which means kids, music, and laughter. Never a bad thing, but even if they're not particularly loud, there's no trees or shrubs on the shoreline to dampen the sound and it carries pretty far—especially when kids figure out the lake is basically a giant echo chamber!

    The wind can really whip across the lake when it picks up, and it makes it hard to pitch a tent or run a stove. I recommend setting up camp up by the trees if you don't plan on boating/fishing/RV camping to give yourself a bit of shelter from the wind.

    No hiking or trails to be had here, but definitely a relaxing, pretty spot.

  • Justin M.
    Apr. 23, 2023

    Maricopa County Park Lake Pleasant

    Enjoyable time

    Camped 5 nights at the desert tortoise campground in my NoBo travel trailer. Semi developed so no hook ups. Bathrooms were clean and the area was well kept. The spot includes a ramada with picnic table. There is also a fire ring pit w/ grill which you’ll need to bring firewood for. I fished off the shoreline which was only a few hundred feet from my spot. The spots are relatively close to each other and tent camping is also allowed. Water is clear and very nice. Wild donkeys from old miners back in the day still roam around. They are very accustomed to humans so won’t hesitate to steal food. Definitely something to watch pets around as well.

  • rThe Dyrt PRO User
    Feb. 28, 2024

    Lake Pleasant Regional Park Campground

    Desert Tortoise Campground

    This review is for the Desert Tortoise Campground. Overall, I enjoyed my stay here. Campsites are decent but a couple of shortcomings.

    PROS Campsites have covered pavilions with a picnic table, fire ring, and gravel drives. Bathrooms are dated but clean and in good working order. Portable water is available at the rest rooms. Dumpsters are available.

    CONS No hot water in bathrooms. No showers. Other campgrounds within the park had showers that you could use, but there was only one functioning bathhouse. No dishwashing station available. Boat noise on the lake is sometimes a disturbance.

  • Jeni G.
    Oct. 18, 2019

    Tonto National Forest Riverside Campground

    Cool spot, too much trash

    The river was beautiful! The camp spots were close to the river with nice big fire rings. Just like a lot of low desert camping in Arizona it’s dusty and dry with lots of prickly plans. But the trail and the trees near the river were lush. My biggest complaint about the spot was all the garbage everywhere. Come on people, burn your trash or take it home! There’s no need to trip over piles of water bottles & beer cans, cigarette butts, McDonald’s wrappers and plastic bags.

  • P
    Nov. 24, 2020

    Canyon Lake Marina & Campground

    Noise all night long and not from Campers

    I don’t know why they bother be so strict with noise from campers after 10:00. You can’t see it, but your 20 feet off the main road and if you are there on a weekend the road noise from the motorcycles and cars racing up and down the road to and from the bar will keep you up until 3:00 in the morning. If you manage to fall asleep finally by 3:00 and you are in a tent, be prepared to be woken up again at 4:30 when the boaters start launching their boats 5 feet from the tent area. I did not find the camp staff helpful, including the fact that we got there at 2:00 which is check in time and had to wait 30 minutes for someone to show up to open the gate. We had very little interaction other than that. Obviously the noise is not their fault, but if you are planning on tent camping there you need to be aware. It may be a good spot for RVs that have some insulation from the road noise and are further away from the boat docks, but if your tent camping, find other places. Note - no water available at all to tent sites. Not even a shared spigot. The bathrooms were not working while we were there. They did provide a temporary trailer for showers and toilet but it was poorly stocked and filthy the entire weekend.


Guide to Paradise Valley

Tent camping options near Paradise Valley, Arizona include a mix of developed and dispersed sites within the Sonoran Desert. Most locations sit at elevations between 1,200 and 2,500 feet, creating significant temperature variations between seasons. Winter temperatures typically range from 40-70°F while summer highs regularly exceed 100°F, making October through April the primary camping season for this region.

What to do

Mountain biking from camp: McDowell Regional Park-Ironwood serves as an excellent base for cyclists with direct trail access. "Excellent mountain biking and hiking trails right out of the campground," notes Jeff B., who found the tent-specific area well-situated despite the inconvenience of showers being located at a separate trailhead.

Explore ghost towns: Camp at Hackamore Road Dispersed for access to nearby historical sites. "Love the access to the little ghost town nearby," writes Jordan S., who spent a week at this BLM location despite the challenging access road.

Desert hiking opportunities: Several trails extend from Peralta Regional Park Primitive Remote Campsites, allowing hikers to explore varying terrain. "Came across a rattle snake when hiking. Very quiet and peaceful. Clean dark sky for star watching," reports chevis L., highlighting both the wildlife encounters and stargazing opportunities.

What campers like

Secluded sites with spacing: Campers consistently mention appreciation for site separation at McDowell Regional Park. "The sites are spaced out and in general it's very quiet," notes Albert V., who found the campground "really beautiful" despite its popularity with mountain bikers.

Desert stargazing: Boulders OHV Area offers exceptional night sky viewing opportunities away from Phoenix light pollution. Ralph S. reports: "Nice and levelled. Nobody else on Friday night, plenty of space," making it ideal for stargazing enthusiasts seeking solitude.

Water-based camping options: For those seeking alternatives to desert camping, The Point Campground provides boat-in sites along Canyon Lake. Shari G. recommends watching for "lots of birds and Big Horned Sheep as you paddle/boat up river to the Horse Mesa Dam area," noting the journey's "fascinating geology and beautiful Sonoran Desert cactus."

What you should know

Weather considerations: Desert camping near Paradise Valley requires planning around extreme temperature variations. The best tent camping occurs between October and April, with daytime highs generally staying below 85°F. Summer camping is possible at higher elevations but requires substantial water supplies.

Access challenges: Many dispersed sites have difficult approach roads. Francis D. advises about Hackamore Road: "The road is a bit tricky. I got here pretty smooth on my RWD Xterra, so while 4WD isn't necessary, I wouldn't come out here without high clearance and decent suspension. Maybe tie down any loose items as well."

Cell service variability: Connectivity ranges from excellent to nonexistent depending on proximity to Phoenix. Ralph S. reported "1 bar Verizon" at Boulders OHV Area, while sites closer to town typically maintain stronger signals.

Campfire regulations: Fire restrictions frequently affect this region, especially during dry periods. Always check current fire regulations before planning trips that include campfires, as restrictions can change rapidly during drought conditions.

Tips for camping with families

Playground access: McDowell Regional Park-Ironwood offers family-friendly amenities. "We stayed in site 27 which was close to the kids playground," notes Mark L., who also recommended specific sites with better views: "I think some of the best sites here are on the Pemberton loop 64,65,66, 68, 70. Unobstructive views but all sites pretty well spaced out."

Wildlife viewing opportunities: Desert camping provides excellent wildlife education opportunities. Prepare children with identification guides for common Sonoran Desert species including roadrunners, jackrabbits, and various lizards.

Noise considerations: Some areas experience significant recreational vehicle traffic. Dylan G. notes about Margies Cove West: "The spot is very secluded and in a big wide open valley... Really windy during the day but all in all was an enjoyable spot that makes the journey fun."

Tips from RVers

Site selection for views: When camping at Margies Cove West Campground, Butch K. advises: "This time I chose to grab a spot just across the cattleguard and not too close to the powerlines. The highway is still visible and audible from here but it was easy."

Road conditions for larger vehicles: RV access varies significantly between locations. Paranormal N. warns about Hackamore Road: "So unless you have high clearance. Stay away. We have a 40ft school bus and we'll if not for the potholes Everywhere it's the horrid uneven land. Mind you if you are not RV camping then you'll be 100% okay and good to go."

Seasonal pest management: Flies can become problematic at certain times of year. Multiple campers report fly issues at Margies Cove West, with Butch K. noting: "I found the source of the flies. There is a huge cattle stockyard about 2 miles from Woods Road."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Paradise Valley, AZ?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Paradise Valley, AZ is McDowell Regional Park-Ironwood with a 4.3-star rating from 4 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Paradise Valley, AZ?

TheDyrt.com has all 11 tent camping locations near Paradise Valley, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.