Best Glamping near Parker, AZ

Camped here  April 28 and stayed for 2 nights. Was very close to home but wanted to test out the new trailer. It's $30 a night for non beach sites and $40 for beach front. The sites are well separated and there are fire rings, cabana and picnic tables at each site. There is also water and electric at all sites, 30 and 50 amp.  Its was very warm the days we stayed and had the A/C on the whole time. There are flush toilets and showers available. Nice hiking trails around the park. The campground staff are all pleasant and they keep the sites and bathrooms very clean. Its even close enough to town that you can walk to many nice restaurants. The beach's are sandy and you have a nice view of the sunset over the water in the evening. There is a dump station for those with holding tanks. All sites are reservable and there are also air conditioned cabins for rent.

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!

I ended up staying 3 nights here. The first in the regular paid campground--$50 a night--yikes for water/electric. 

Then I discovered the overflow parking lot. $25 for dry camping. Much better views and you still have access to the park's amenities--showers, potable water, hiking trails, etc. Plus the vibe is more communal. 

For the overflow sites you need to check in at the gate and you're assigned a site. Some of them are flatter than others. Mine was pretty level. 

A big storm rolled in while I was here and it was fun to watch the lighting across the lake. Lots of bunnies and birds. But you are super close to town. Can hear the road noise and sirens at night. Biking distance from the London Bridge and other Havasu attractions.

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.

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.