Searching for the best camping near Pima, AZ? Pima is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Pima. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
Roper Lake State Park is located 6 miles south of Safford in Graham County in southeast Arizona and sits at the base of Mt. Graham. There are three different campgrounds for lakeside camping as well as fishing, bird watching and water activities. This park is home to a large variety of bird species, offers great seasonal fishing, and is within close proximity to one of Arizona's most beautiful "Sky Island" mountain ranges. Comfy camping cabins dot the shoreline, and neighboring Dankworth Pond State Park offers hiking trails and more water access.
The Cottonwood Campground contains 25 sites with water and electric hookup sites (20/30/50 amp). Each site includes fire rings and picnic tables. Most sites have small shade Ramada with the exception of campsites #24 and #25. Cottonwood campground has a bathroom with hot showers. Most sites will accommodate a vehicle length of up to 45 feet and are back-in only.
$30 / night
This campground offers a fantastic camping experience within the popular Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. The area contains significant riparian areas with a plethora of birds, wildlife, and unique vegetation. The Gila Box RNCA is a guaranteed treat for any visitor.
$20 - $40 / night
I tried to stay here, and they had openings, but I was in a Tesla and refused service. I have an adapter. Looked like a nice place, but couldn’t stay because of ignorance.
The road in turns to dirt for a brief minute, then back to paved. It winds and there are some tight turns. You turn off the pavement to dirt the last 1/4 mile. Wouldn’t take anything over 35’ 5th wheel. $5/night is not bad to have vault toilets, water spigot, picnic tables, river close. Biking trails, horse trails, hike trails, OHV trails all close. There are corrals at the “Host” site. There is a boat ramp 2 miles before the campground. There is one farther up also. Not sure about at the campground. No Verizon signal here.
Very clean spacious well kept KOA. Cafe on site with nice staff and good food. The sites are super roomy. Staff is very friendly. I10 is noisy but really didn't mind that at all being tired from our travels. Fire pit and pool. Really nice place.
Friendly staff, level sites, clean and well laid out. Cafe has a full menu and it was clean and well run.
This campground is well maintained. It is on roper lake. They have cabins that overlook the lake and plenty of camping spots for both tints and rvs. They also have a day use area with a designated swimming area and lots of picking tables
Nice campground, escorted to site, easy hook up. Good Wi-Fi and cable TV selection. Staff was very nice. Grounds are well maintained.
Large sites, lots of amenities including a restaurant & pool, easy access to the highway, friendly staff.
Quality park. Great dog walking area, laundry, store, restaurant, and pool. Very friendly staff. Sites are large for a KOA. All gravel though. Highway noise is significant.
Everyone was super kind and sweet, restrooms/laundry center were very clean and well maintained. Tent camping spots are in front of the park, where the truck wash across the street can be heard prevalently. Cats everywhere are cute and sweet but I’m pretty sure they use the tent spots as their litter box.
Great people. Park is amazingly quiet at night. Clean and well kept. We don't use park showers or wifi, but everything we need was top notch. Spaces are level and gravel.
Very well maintained with decent size sites and ample area to run your dogs. I would give this 5 stars if not for Highway noise. If that does not bother you too much then stay here!
We stayed there for three nights in Fall 2022. Wonderful quiet lake and walking trails. Near to shopping if needed. Great birding!
Selected this RV park for the following reasons: Passport America discount, not along the railroad, I-10 or in the desert. It’s small and funky, weedy with, to our Bull terrier’s delight, many cats. They are dog-friendly and not too impressed with themselves like the more upscale and expensive RV parks are. $18 per night with full hookups. We’ve been boondocking out at Roosevelt lake for 2 weeks and this was convenient for laundry etc. Would stop here again for an overnighter with the 50% PA discount.
We found the ranger to be very helpful in terms of outdoor activities (hiking, fishing, etc.) The park has great spaces for tent campers and big rigs, with electricity for 30 and 50 amp campers. They also have several cabins right on the lake.
Our spot had a picnic table and was right beside the beach. There is a great hike only minutes from the campground where you can see Mt. Graham.
The bathrooms, showers, and sinks were all well maintained. Also, the spot is great for stargazing.
We are looking forward to returning. The town of Safford is charming and has some nice restaurants too.
Allie and Spiro do a great job managing this park. Very friendly and helpful. Sites are gravel with picnic tables. Restaurant on site as well as propane. Full hookups, Kamp K9. Nice clean showers and laundry.
Went and checked out campsite. Was certainly hot. Little bit of walk to river but not bad. Was post monsoon weather. River was flowing fast and looked like chocolate. A lot of side roads for 4x4, quads etc. The Bonita creek drive is gorgeous and provides creek water you can get in. Was a beautiful escape and very green post rain.
Super clean sites, loved the firepit social area, laundry rooms and bathrooms were toasty warm during the crazy polar vortex weather. Love the last minute night check in option.
There is plenty to do at Roper Lake. Great spots for RVs, tents, and cabins too. This is a popular area so get your reservations in early. The lake was low in December and it was windy and cold, but we made the best of it and enjoyed the views of snow capped Mt. Graham. Campground was clean and very dog friendly. They have a dog park. The have a junior ranger program... fun for the little ones! We did notice that many weren’t following covid protocol in bathrooms and around the campsite. But we had no problem social distancing and keeping to ourselves, even with our loop completely full. We felt safe and comfortable. Your stay also includes access to Dankworth Pond State Park, a 10 min drive down the road. The pond is small, but you’ll catch more fish here. There are also great educational hiking paths with information & replicas of tribal villages. Worth the drive!
Great scenery. Spots are spacious. Seemed kind of pricey at $20 a night. If you luck out and get respectful neighbors, can be an amazing experience.
Small play area for the kids, level gravel parking, not cluttered, good place for the night
I have Verizon and management stated Verizon is the best in this small town and look at my screen shot, it's no joke. He said all other carriers suck.
This is on top of their 2 free wifi access they provide which are already fast! So if you need to get work done and reliant on good internet speeds, you've found the spot.
Place is a mix of mobile homes and RV park. Each site has their own picnic table and FHU. Water spigot is on the ground, not elevated. Laundry, showers, rec room (pool table, full kitchen, DVDs, books) and BBQ grill are included. Cats roaming everywhere. Fairly flat gravel parking. Management had to put me in a 50 amp site (#9) because their 30 amp sites were full at no extra charge. He even let me borrow the 50/30 amp converter as I didn't have one. Management lives in a mobile home near office and it was nice as he is available after regular hours.
Quiet place overall. If you come on trash day (Tuesday), you might get woken up by it if you're in our site as it's next to the alley.
As stated, very small town. We had dinner at Isabella's South Of The Border. Food wasn't as great as the reviews but decent for the area. Fun tip: Isabella is the wife of the owner of The Big Tex BBQ.
The sites are close together and there were so many people playing loud music and running ATVs. There is an observatory nearby and it seemed like few people respected the rules about nighttime light pollution. The lake is beautiful and I would consider going back for a day trip, but would not camp there again.
This is, so far, my least favorite of the AZ State Parks. Maybe because of the season, maybe because of all the kids running around wild... All AZ State parks are clean and have hook-ups, water and bathrooms. There is some nice hiking around the lake and Mt. Graham is very close by, so more hiking there. I got there on Thursday afternoon and all was nice and quite and calm.
They started to come in droves, Friday afternoon. Little kids on bicycles (many, many of them) riding in the roads like crazy people and making so much noise, it was dangerous and annoying. Saturday was more of the same but now we can add intense heat and crazy wind into the mix. I ended up staying in the teardrop, eating an edible gummy and watch the Matrix trilogy (maybe not the best idea, but in the moment it seemed good). Sunday I drove up Mt. Graham till the road turn to dirt and enjoyed the cold and quite. By the time I came back down the Mt. and went back to camp, all those little Kamikaze bicycle turds had left and it was back to quite.
I have never experienced that much kid chaos at any of the other state campgrounds.
We are newer to RV camping but really liked this campground. Fairly busy, Easter weekend, but didn’t seem like we were on top of each other.
Lots of room. A little tricky to get to, especially with a trailer as the road is basically a single lane.
Open well kept campground. 5 bucks a night. Just a walk from the river and a nice riparian area. Campsites have a ramada with picnic table and a fire ring.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the Male showers/restroom was under construction and not usable.
Gravel drive-through and back-in spots for RVs with 30 or 50 amp connections, water and sewer. Two tent spots. North of Willcox, but the city is small enough that the whole town is within walking distance (we walked to the center of town in about 15 minutes).
This is basically an old trailer park that has been upgraded to accommodate RVs around the perimeter and a couple of tents near the park/restroom area.
The shower/restroom area also has laundry facilities.
We didn't go into the rec room, but were told it has a pool table and a book/video exchange-type library.
The Rodeo grounds are a short drive across the freeway (don't follow your GPS if it tells you to use airport road - take the route that uses Rex Allen Drive) at Quail park (about 2 miles away - straight shot). This is a very convenient park to the Rodeo Grounds.
This park, as was all of Willcox (even though it was Rex Allen Days weekend) is VERY QUIET. Didn't see anyone other than a couple of dog walkers in the morning and the staff when we checked in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Pima, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Pima, AZ is Cottonwood Campground — Roper Lake State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 18 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Pima, AZ?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 glamping camping locations near Pima, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.
