Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Prescott National Forest

Just a little south of Prescott, this campground is located in Prescott National Forest among the pines. Campsites are decent sizes and far apart from each other. Bathrooms are cleaned three times a week and it shows. Drinking water is available. No showers. Not much to do at the campground other than enjoy the views but it’s just ten minutes from downtown Prescott with things to do. There’s Goldwater Lake about 15 minutes down the road that’s good for fishing and kayaking. Overall nice clean campground.

A great little campground. VERY VERY VERY clean. Bathrooms and laundry were spotless. We stayed in spot 46A (it was right behind the main office so not a ton of privacy) their upper camping loop looks to have much better views and more private but it was the only spot they had that covered our entire stay in early March 2021

They are in a perfect location for hiking and enjoying Watson Lake. You can get to the trails from the back of the campground. Also close enough to Sedona and the Prescott National Forest for day trips (which we did)

Reservations are only by phone but they are very responsive. They have a contact free check-in/out process.

Again....the place is super clean and well taken care of. The bathrooms were nicer than most hotels.

Disclaimer: I'd give 4 stars due to the tiny sites when the park is full - but other than that, this is a great park for us. We were greeted by a guy that showed us where to check-in, then led us to our site on a golf cart and helped us back in. We were packed in every which way for a few nights, but the park has cleared out a lot for the last couple of nights and we don't feel so much like sardines. But - location, location, location!! 5 minute walk from our site on the far side of the park (no view but that's okay) to some trails to the Granite Dells and Willow Lake. The Heritage Park Zoo is just around the corner. Stores and Method Coffee are just a few minutes away. MANY other walking/hiking/biking trails are very near, within bike riding distance or a short drive. We recommend the Peavine Rails to Trails - its an easy 5+ miles each way but takes you right through the most amazing rock formations - could easily do half of it and be satisfied. We journeyed up to the trail system to the west of Prescott - only about a 20-25 minute drive to some of the greatest trail heads in the Prescott National Forest. Don't forget Historic Downtown Prescott - the courthouse and Whiskey Row - super fun and great little shops. We will stay here again given the chance - we really don't want to leave!!

What a great park!! The staff is awesome, the park is extremely well kept, they have lots of shade sites and big rig friendly. You do have to pay extra for internet if you want to stream or work, but their price is very reasonable and being in a nice quiet area is worth it! There is a walking trail and a dog park and only about 7 miles from Bashas. I like the back of the park where we are so you dont get any road noise., but still theres not much traffic, especially in the evening. Would definitely come back again!

Pros: Sites are large and clean. Many pull-through, but most are not flat. Our backup spot required much leveling. Many families with young children live here, so one must be very careful driving around the grounds because there are kids all over the place on scooters and bikes. There are 2 laundries, a pool, a club house with good wi-fi, pickle ball courts, and the Verde River flows nearby. Many pet potty spots and a medium-sized dog park. WiFi is intermittent in many areas of the campgrounds, but it’s better than most campgrounds, and the clubhouse WiFi is always good. There are many family-style activities in the clubhouse. Close to Sedona and many historical and archeological sites. The Fort Museum, Archeology Center, and Historical Society are great and have experts on site to give tours. Cons: the laundries are combined with showers and bathrooms, and they are almost always full. We are in the throes of the pandemic for our second year here, and few people wear masks. Kids and families often crowd about with no instructions from parents and no masks. We feel that isn’t safe for people our age even though we wear masks and are vaccinated. We also love kids, but parents need to be more sensitive to how their kids run over older people. Many of the children are home-schooled, and we see tweens and toddlers in the streets at all times of the day and night. There are many RVs with white supremacy emblems and huge flags. Having grown up in the South in the 1950s with parents who fought in WWII, we find this offensive. This campground is very close to I-17–some sites are within 100 yards, so the noise in some is bad. Elevation is above 3,000 feet, so nights are in the 20s and 30s; daytime temps range from 50-70. Prices went up a couple of hundred $ a month from last year. Last year, we paid for a month in advance, and when we left a week early, they changed our stay to weekly and charged us an extra $240. We should have just left because we felt that if we paid for a month, we should not have to pay extra. Anyone staying should ask questions about rates and leaving early.

North Ranch is an Escapees RV park with large gravel lot and closely spaced sites. Full hook up with only 30 amp available. There is also another area for dry camping. This is a good place if just passing through and need to do some laundry and dump and fill and take a nice long shower. The sites are fairly close as most RV parks are, clean flat gravel sites. Nothing special but nothing much to complain about either.

Road noise was constant as was ATV use as many of the campers had them. Covid restrictions in place and a mask is required.

Amenities: 

2 laundry areas with washer dryers for$1.25/each open 24/7 

Dog walk and fenced in dog park near the main road 

Showers Cactus garden walking area- very beautiful and well care for 

Propane on site 

Recycling bin- mixed recycling accepted 

Garbage dumpster 

Dump station(was closed when we were there) 

Exercise room 

Back in sites are$23 for escapee members and$28 for non members. Pull through sites are a few dollars more. 

Weak Verizon and AT&T with occasional streaming if you don’t mind waiting for buffering.

I found this place when in need of a place to stay near Sedona. It fits the bill. Free, friendly travelers, pets allowed, and you get to watch hot air Ballons land in the morning.🙂

10/10 would recommend this to a friend! owners were SO sweet. They have the most wonderful alpacas, chickens, dogs, cats! Shower was actually really nice! Has to be a super quick one if you want a hot shower but the campsite was nice, no complaints. Sleeping under stars and waking up to birds chirping. Very responsive to questions!

We stayed here in June which is a hot time to camp in Arizona. This campground has Oak Creek running through it which is a great place to cool off. We stayed here while we visited Sedona which is not too far away. Mature trees provide shade at most sites. The mosquitoes were pretty bad which sometimes just a part of camping near water. Clean restrooms and showers.

I tent camped last minute and it was one of the best stays my entire trip. The sound of the water running down the creek was peaceful and relaxing. The park was clean. At&t service doesn't work down there but they have WiFi available for a fee. Even with the lack of cell service, I highly recommend this location! Great for pets too!

nice full hook up sites. sites are flat and pretty level with a picnic table. it’s big rig friendly. we camped in a class c 33ft. Watson lake is a 10-15 hike. campground was bathrooms and showers, very clean. there are pet restrictions only certain breed of big allowed. they have a nice little shop at the entry and every thing is sold at cost. bottle of water .75.

Our site was twice the size of most campsites with plenty of room for our large popup, my SUV and my daughter’s pickup. Under beautiful trees and only steps from a creek/river. We had water and electricity hookups only. If you don’t need or want sewer you can be right on the water. The bathrooms were close and the showers were very hot and free! There was a beautiful pool and hot tub too Not gonna lie this place is very expensive! Unusual that they charged per person, per pet and per vehicle. We arrived Friday and left Monday. Originally it was going to be just two of us in the popup for 156 bucks. My daughter and two grandson joined us in the same site in our popup and that was another 136 bucks!