Best Tent Camping near Salt River, AZ

I don’t know why they bother be so strict with noise from campers after 10:00. You can’t see it, but your 20 feet off the main road and if you are there on a weekend the road noise from the motorcycles and cars racing up and down the road to and from the bar will keep you up until 3:00 in the morning. If you manage to fall asleep finally by 3:00 and you are in a tent, be prepared to be woken up again at 4:30 when the boaters start launching their boats 5 feet from the tent area. I did not find the camp staff helpful, including the fact that we got there at 2:00 which is check in time and had to wait 30 minutes for someone to show up to open the gate. We had very little interaction other than that. Obviously the noise is not their fault, but if you are planning on tent camping there you need to be aware. It may be a good spot for RVs that have some insulation from the road noise and are further away from the boat docks, but if your tent camping, find other places. Note - no water available at all to tent sites. Not even a shared spigot. The bathrooms were not working while we were there. They did provide a temporary trailer for showers and toilet but it was poorly stocked and filthy the entire weekend.

Group campground that is reasonably priced and can accommodate big groups. Has pit toilets and potable water access, ramadas, grills and campfire location. Good for campers and tent camping

This is an amazing place yo camp and hike. The views of thd mountains at sunset is surreal. Immaculately maintained. Water and electrical hookups as well as tent camping dry spots. Very hot in the summer but heavenly in the winter.

Nice park just outside of Scottsdale. Fun mountain bike trails. Clean bathrooms. Quiet in late December. Only 5 or 6 tent campers here. $22 night for tent site. We parked in our van. Can use showers at RV camp area. Great spot.

A beautiful desert park at the foot of the Superstition Mountains. One of the cleanest campgrounds I have ever been to. I have only tent camped alongside a camper on an RV pad, but the space was more than ample for both. Lost one star because you can hear noise from the nearby "ghost town" attraction.

The map shows McDowell twice but there is only one. It us about 23K acres of beautiful desert surrounded by the Superstition Mountains. Clean campground and pretty quiet. Flush toilets, showers available in the RV campground. Fun MTB, hiking trails. We camped here twice in December 2020 because we liked it so much.. tent camping is $22/night. Highly recommend.

Large campground with beautiful views from every campsite. Desert camping so there are no tall trees for shade and it can get windy. Sites with good privacy, full restrooms with free showers. Tent sites are not as nice as RV sites with full hookup. Lots of trails for mountain biking or hiking.

This campground in McDowell Regional park is for tent camping and small Vans, etc. Mix of both walk in sites and back in sites. It is set back a ways from the rest of the park. No showers here. Need to go to the trail head or RV campground for showers which was a bit of a hassle. Excellent mountain biking and hiking trails right out of the campground.

This park is quite large and has many camping options: day passes, tent camping, semi-developed sites, and fully-developed sites with awnings for big rigs.

There are many hiking trails too, for every level of difficulty.

The nature is splendid, with hummingbirds, chipmunks, and plenty of chollas and prickly pear cactai.

The ambience is quite festive, much more than what I am used to (although the noise may be due to the fact I went on NASCAR weekend).

A dozen or so free tent sites. Tables, fire rings, grills. Vault toilets. Campers under 20’ should be okay. Larger RVs should consider a spot back off seven springs road. Going too much further up the road isn’t a good idea for RVs.

Road in is pretty good. Some washboard. Most vehicles will make it. I’ve done it several times in a compact car.

Late fall to early spring is best.

Zero cell service.

Almost an urban park just due to it's proximity to the city of Mesa, Usery park offers great tent camping, group campsites, as well as RV Sites with Electric and Water hookups. Dump station on site. 

Usery is a great jumping off point for hiking in the National Forest. There is an extensive trail network both in the park and connected to the Tonto National Forest. One of the most popular is Wind Cave Trail.

There is also a world class Archery Range here. There is a usage fee of about $2 (at time of this writing) on top of your park entry fee, but kids are free.

One of the most striking campsites I’ve ever been to. We were at site 135 which isn’t on a loop but rather off the main road but that wasn’t a drawback. It was a short walk on a path to the flush toilets and showers from our spot too which was a plus. Water there too. We were tent camping with two young kids (2 and 4) and this was a great spot for that. The pull in wasn’t very long FYI. Rangers were nice, sold ice and other items at the camp store. Only drawback was the signs to find your loop/site were a bit confusing but it could be because we’d never been there before. 😜

Camped 5 nights at the desert tortoise campground in my NoBo travel trailer. Semi developed so no hook ups. Bathrooms were clean and the area was well kept. The spot includes a ramada with picnic table. There is also a fire ring pit w/ grill which you’ll need to bring firewood for. I fished off the shoreline which was only a few hundred feet from my spot. The spots are relatively close to each other and tent camping is also allowed. Water is clear and very nice. Wild donkeys from old miners back in the day still roam around. They are very accustomed to humans so won’t hesitate to steal food. Definitely something to watch pets around as well.

There are 28 RV spots and 18 tent sites. There are restrooms and showers, although on a holiday weekend, they can get gross. The view from site C, D, 1-14 is the closest to the water and in my opinion, the nicest sites. There is a beautiful hike just across the road. The views from the top of the mountain are amazing. The water and the views are breathtaking. We had several RV's side by side which helps as the sites are close to one another so if you have noisy neighbors, I could see that being an issue. We had a wonder trip and will be returning in October.

We spent 3 nights here in February, and while it was chilly, the place was very quiet and the stars were amazing! There are no hookups here, but there are bathrooms with flush toilets (some have showers), and there are faucets with potable water. There's also a boat launch and a few playgrounds for the kids. 

There were mostly RVs here, but the waterfront tent sites are amazing if you don't mind walking in from the main parking area (it's not a far walk).

Each campsite has a picnic table with a shaded awning and a fire pit, but you have to bring in your own wood or gather it from the surrounding forest. Saw lots of birds here - cactus wren, quail, finches, warblers, and road runners.

You are RIGHT on the lake but not worth it to me. It’s quite pricey! (& minimum of a two night stay!) All the tent campsites are side-by-side; no privacy whatsoever. A lot of RVs & generator near by. (I don’t want to listen to that.) The “bathrooms” are porta potties that don’t look like they are cleaned often. The guy at the front gate only knows how to check people in, nothing else (aka: can’t tell you if you can’t get a site or not). He told us to go online but the website doesn’t allow you to do same day booking. We didn’t end up staying because I can’t see spending over $100 for that spot.

Outstanding layout, great hosts, spectacular location.  Good hiking and sites nearby whether you are looking for lakes, wild mustangs in the Salt River, a scenic drive to Tortilla Flats or just enjoying the Arizona weather.  

Hiking in the park to accommodate all levels.

Campsites are well maintained.  Quiet in the evenings.  Could not ask for more.

Campsite 36

Spent the night close to home as my dog had never been camping and I wanted to see if he liked it (he does!).

Booked online about two weeks prior for a Monday night stay and most of the campground was available. When I arrived about 75-80% was full, so good idea to book ahead.

Some of the sites are super close together, especially on the newer loops (sites 75-104 and 106-134). They'd be ok with a trailer, but I'd feel cramped in with my tent. The main part of the campground where I was is a bit more spread out, with vegetation between most of the sites.

My site had a big pad for the tent that was raked, a picnic table, a fire ring/grill, easy access to the hiking trails, and a great view of the mountains.

Beware during the winter as the wind can come up during the night and morning hours, so stake your tent down well. It got up to maybe 15 mph, so not super strong, but typical for the edges of the valley.

Staff was friendly, and the bathroom was clean. I didn't use the shower.

One specific note about my site 36: don't book it if you'll be taking a 5th wheel or really any trailer. The access road is narrow and the parking spot is at a 90° angle so it'd be very difficult to back into. Better to pick one of the pull thru spots. If you have a campervan or are tent camping then it's a great spot.

I'm glad I came here. Can't wait to come back! This would be an epic place during a full moon, or really anytime it's clear to see the stars. Too bad it was cloudy my entire stay.

Kudos to the wonderfully friendly guard at check-in. However, Canyon Lake Campground was easily the worst stay I have ever encountered at a camp site and I was quickly reminded why I do not stay at shared campgrounds very often. But the temptation of sleeping next to a lake and the gentle lapping of waves on the shore lured us in. There was no gentle lapping, and because our site was full of trash and because the trash bins themselves for the grounds were overflowing, there was a swarm of bees hovering around the trash can area. And what I later realized was likely a sugar high from their regular soda consumption from the cans strewn around, the jacked up bees hovered around our morning breakfast, coffee, and dinner and buzzed us regularly. One truck down the row of tightly crammed tent sites blared loud music over his speaker (yes just one, the other side was already blown out) for most of the sunset, and the site across from us allowed their chihuahua to bark obsessively at every passerby for quite some time. The group directly next to us slept split between a small tent, the truck bed, and inside of their truck. Hardly the "camping" experience most people generally consider. I highly doubt anyone in that camp ground was out to "experience nature" quite the same way that we were.

The more manicured RV sites were on a grass lawn and all led right up to the water, so I imagine their experience, aside from the shared bees and trash cans, could be quite different than ours.

We couldn't run away fast enough in the morning.

Box Bar shoreline is located right on the verde fiver. The parking/camping is about two minutes walking distance from the river.

We didn’t camp, just came down for the day. This is a fun spot to swim and picnic. This is free and not on Tonto National Forest, so you don’t need a Tonto Pass.

Fire restrictions are in place. There are no facilities other than three port-a-potty’s. Only 45 minutes from Mesa. We usually go to the salt river but I noticed that this area and water is much cleaner!

The river was beautiful! The camp spots were close to the river with nice big fire rings. Just like a lot of low desert camping in Arizona it’s dusty and dry with lots of prickly plans. But the trail and the trees near the river were lush. My biggest complaint about the spot was all the garbage everywhere. Come on people, burn your trash or take it home! There’s no need to trip over piles of water bottles & beer cans, cigarette butts, McDonald’s wrappers and plastic bags.

“The town too tough to die,” reads the slogan of the tiny village just about a half mile from this wonderful campground. On any night of the week, the campground boasts more residents than the village, at only 6, but during the day it’s a different story. People come from all over just to hang out, have lunch, or shop at this little speck on the map that could be adequately described as a “tourist trap.” 

For all the commotion nearby, the campground hears none of it. Tucked neatly under the road, the tiers of camping loops simply face out to a view that is magical and the rest of the world can just roll on by. This campground is unique in that each space has water and sewer, but no electrical…so bring those solar panels and leave the generators at home. The bathrooms are clean and offer a flush, but only accommodate one person at a time, which is great during a pandemic year.

For some reason, the people at this campground are extra friendly…each and every time we come here, we’ve made some new friends. If you go up the road, there is some incredible hiking and hardcore cycling. Down the road, and you’ll find gorgeous Canyon Lake and the Salt River. We’ve paddled all over the US and other parts of the world, and the Salt River Canyon still remains one of the most beautiful and most accessible. If you want to avoid boat traffic, go in the early morning or just before sunset. It’s divine!

The closest services for prepared food and ice are in the quaint town of Tortilla Flat, but you won’t find a grocery store. Further down the valley 15 miles or so is the Phoenix suburb of Apache Junction which has all the usual stuff for groceries, gas, and more RV parks than you can shake a stick at.