Best Glamping near Parker, AZ

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.

I have logged more than 30 trips to this campground since the 80s. Sadly, my last visit September 2020 I discovered that the store, boutique, arcade, restaurant, dock and gas station were gone! Bulldozed. There was no warning or notification when making reservations. There was no.access to convenient purchases or fuel. The campground now caters more to rvs than tents but tents are still allowed. There are bathrooms with showers at no charge. But not as clean as they used to be. Please be cautious of the water levels if you are not experienced with this section of the Colorado River in Parker. The dam limits water flow overnight and the river drops. It rises during the day and is extra high in late afternoon evening time. People often lose watercraft, boats and beach gear because they.are not aware.

We have camped at Cattail Cove just South of Havasu City in Arizona a couple of times.  We love the white sandy beach and clear water.  Campsites and bathrooms are clean.  We rented the sites near the beach and enjoyed walking the beach under the stars and going kayaking during the day.

Enjoy Lake Havasu by being right on the lakeside. What better way to beat the dry, Arizona desert heat. We tented the weekend we camped. We also had hammocks to lounge in during the day when not in/on the water. Nice facilities and an easy way to enjoy Lake Havasu affordably.

The staff were amazing! Incredibly friendly & filled with information. Although there are few trees around they were hammock friendly for those of us that prefer hammocks over tents. It was extremely hot but that is Arizona in summer so it's a huge beni that the campsites are right on the lake yet still close enough to go get food or coffee or anything else we may have wanted from town. Would definitely recommend Lake Havasu State Park for camping!

This is another Arizona state park on Lake Havasu. About 20 miles south of Havasu City. Electric & water, dump site. Cellular is not as good here as Lake Havasu State Park, and I am an AT&T user, 2 bars.... The trees in this park are specimens, and are labeled on a ground stake. They were interesting. The beach area is sand & there are water devices to rent if your into that. I found this park more noisy than some other parks in the area. There is a boat ramp, so there are people launching boats all day.

Arrived at Lake Havasu State Park on the evening of 1-6-23 to stay one night. The campground was full but they offered me overflow camping (no hookups) for $25 a night. My site ended up being right on the lake/beach and so beautiful. They have clean restrooms (flush) with showers, potable water and dump stations free for guests and close to parks and many amenities. The Park Staff and volunteers were super friendly and we're genuinely happy to help out or answer questions. Needless to say, I booked 6 more days after my one night was finished (7 day limit). I highly recommend Lake Havasu State Park in Arizona!!

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!

Every time I mention Alamo Lake, even people who have lived in Arizona forever say "where"? It's quite a drive to what feels like the middle of nowhere, but totally worth the trip. It's like a mini-Lake Pleasant without all the jet skies and power boats. Campgrounds are basic but serviceable and the far side of the lake has nice sandy beaches for additional camping outside the official park.

I just returned from a camping trip here this weekend and the lake was totally different from my last visit. This lake is not fed by any dedicated water source and it was designed for flood control, so it's level varies greatly from year to year based on winter rain/snow fall during the previous winter. The lake this weekend was THREE TIMES bigger than when I saw it in the spring of 2016 - about 17,000 acres and close to full right now. I'd love to give the park a one-star review just so no one will go there and it can be my great little secret! The drive there is a bit boring, and it's funny to note that while driving the 30 miles or so out Salome road, the "watch for cattle" signs are paired with warnings painted on the road AND rumble strips about every 300 years while in Maricopa county, but as soon as you cross into La Paz county the yellow signs and road paint continue, but the rumble strips disappear :)

There are 5 camping sections with different amenities for each - I prefer the B section because most of the sites have views of the lake, but section A has showers near the cabin rentals (they are only a short walk from B, so it makes staying closer to the lake a win still). Sections C, D, and E are off the first road you can enter and are much more primitive, although they are serviced by their own launch and fish cleaning station. Sections A and B are near the ranger station/camp store that sells all kinds of stuff you might forget and snacks, and has a gas pump outside (I did not inquire about purchasing gas and the pump looks like it's quite an antique. . .)

It's a bit desolate and can be hot and to be honest, kind of boring if you don't have a plan. I love taking my kayak because it's so quiet and it's a great lake for birding - I saw tons of migrating water birds this weekend, as well as an osprey, Harris hawks, and an owl early this morning. There are also tons of wild burros, coyotes, and other desert creatures. This is a fishing lake and pretty much everyone who drives all the way out to Alamo Lake is going for the same reason - to sit in a serene lake on a quiet boat and catch a ton of fish. This is not a hiking lake - I did not see any trails other than just paths here and there through the park.

I booked our first trip in our new rv to Emerald Cove for 4th of July. We were sent to the very last space far left at the edge of the campground. The furthest away from bathrooms, showers, store, snack bar, pool, beach, everything! The beachfront spaces were all occupied. But so was the walkways to the water! The spaces reserved as access for all campers to get to the water were filled with cars, tents, people, even though these were clearly marked as walk ways and no parking or any other was allowed. We couldn't even get to the water! Staff did not enforce fair access. Worse, the next camper close to us had a 4 seat razor. Since there was a few spaces between us that were vacant they decided to use the area as a raceway and drove their off road razor vehicle whipping around our camp kicking up dust, dirt and rocks that even flew into us hitting us. I first approached the other campers and asked them nicely to stop driving their OFV wicked fast around us that we were being struck by rocks. They didn't stop. I reached out to the staff who did nothing. We were so unsafe with the vehicle driving around us doing broadies, that we packed up and left within the first 24 hours. We had a 4 day reservation. I phoned the office to let them we had just left and why...they couldn't care less. We will never return here.

It’s overall a decent place with lots of amenities and things for kids to do. Rv Sites were just too close together and it’s dirt and there was some trash. It’s great for those with boats and OHV’s. there is water and a beach to swim. You have to have a membership to stay or be invited as a guest. They do have full hookups and a dog beach so pets are welcome. Be prepared for lots of noise and activity because it’s a busy place. Be sure to say hi to the donkeys that wander throughout the grounds.

Although campsites are close together, there are many spots for friend groups to park near each other. Walking distance to the river. Walking distance to nearby bar/restaurant. Very friendly and clean area!

Nice and quiet park. Not a lot of actual beachfront but water access was easy enough for swimming. The rv spots had great shade need a full sewer hook up for my likening but had a good time.

Buckskin State Park was perfect for our weekend getaway. The park was clean and the layout was easy to get around. The scenery is beautiful. We’ll definitely be returning.

Buckskin is another favorite if you don’t mind the heat but want to be within walking distance to the water. The river is extremely busy during the summer months. You can swim close to shore but can’t swim across the river as you’ll get ran over. Great beach areas to beach boats and play in the water for the kids. We stayed in 57 which was close to the dump station but wasn’t busy until Sunday at check out time. There is a dog park on site. Cell phone service is terrible. (Verizon). The resturant and store recently closed. As well as the gas station. We heard that on the California side there was a newer site opening and an arcade but never checked it out.

Buckskin is a great campground on the Colorado River. There’s a little swimming area that’s cordon off from all the boaters that you can enjoy. There’s a store that sells ice cream and various camping supplies. There’s also a number of RV spots that are shaded by trees. This is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle and just enjoy a relaxing few days on the river.

Cell Service: Verizon Great, Sprint not great

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.

Great spot. Large spaces. Well maintained. What else can you ask for?