Best Equestrian Camping near Portal, AZ

Various Oaks and Alligator Junipers abound at this cute little National Forest campground tucked in the Dragoon Mountains, another of Arizona’s beautiful “Islands in the Sky.”  Named for the late Apache leader, Chief Cochise, this campground sits at the base of a few absolutely gorgeous hiking trails and rock climbing areas.

Each site has a good amount of space but oddly a small amount of space for tents and RV’s longer than 24 feet won’t fit in most of the sites.  There is no privacy in between sites, but each site has good tree coverage (almost too much for our solar suitcase on an extension cord). Each site has a huge cement picnic table, fire ring, and grill and there are a couple composting toilets.  There was no drinking water available at the campground (the website says there is water), but there is a creek you can pull water from for filtering, so come prepared.

Important note:  If there is rain in the forecast, be aware that you may get stuck in this campground for a couple of days, as you have to cross numerous washes on the road to/from the campground. We were there for 3 days before it was safe to pull a small camper across the “death wash” that grew to 6 feet high and 20 feet wide during a 24-hour rain event!

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.

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.

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.

Rustic camping paradise. Endless trails, with amazing sights at every bend. Stumble upon rivers, vistas, sunning reptiles, and imagine what its like to be a native, shaking up settlers and hiding from Colonialists.

I can't wait to go back. I went in March and the weather was perfect. Aim for spring or fall, and get in early to find a spot. There's always something available, but get in early to find the good spots, lots of them spread out! COCHISE IS THE BEST!!! Lots of rock climbing too! So much scrambling, bouldering, and trad and sport routes. You'll love it even if you don't climb.

My husband, myself and our 2 small dogs live in Tucson, AZ. We recently acquired a roof top tent and we’ve been trying out various campgrounds across the Southwest.

Dog friendly hiking opportunities from this campground on the Cochise Trail. I recommend arriving during daylight hours. We left after work, and it was harder to navigate the primitive roads back to the campground in the dark. You do have to cross the stream several times to get the the site. When we crossed the water was 3-6” deep and a few crossing are over rocks (not pavement). We had no issues in our F250, but any vehicle with a normal amount of clearance should be fine. We saw several small SUVs/crossovers, small trailers, a dirt bike and a Prius.

It’s a popular place and we were lucky to get the last site available that night. There are also dispersed camp sites (also popular) along the W Hunt Rd loop.

The campground has pit toilets (with 2 stalls each). Each site has a picnic table, a nice fire ring and a tall BBQ grill. The sites are close together. No water, so bring your own.

We will definitely return to the Cochise Stronghold area.