Best Tent Camping near Sedona, AZ

Great place for tent camping with a friendly staff and nice amenities. The campground sits on Oak Creek, and is in the perfect location where you are far enough away from Sedona city center to have some peace and quiet, and within an amazing setting of red rocks, tall pines and the sound of a creek surround you. The tent sites are spacious, and offer plenty of privacy. The campground has shower facilities, a small general store where you can get firewood and small groceries, and restrooms. The pit toilets are a bit nasty; I wish they would update them and make them a little cleaner and user-friendly...lol. They can get really disgusting and stink horribly during warmer weather. But the rest of the experience here makes the restrooms the least of the issues. We always stay here when in Sedona.

We stayed at this campground for 3 nights in mid-October and recommend this state park for camping in the Sedona area.

Pros:

-all sites in the Blackhawk Loop where we stayed had a level pad for tents (either small gravel or a wood platform), picnic table, and fire pit (though they could not be used due to a fire ban

-can easily fit 2 smaller tents on the tent pad or 1 jumbo family tent

-good amount of shrubbery in between sites so it didn't feel like you were right on top of your neighbors

-driveways have space for 2 cars if needed

-shower house was fairly clean and had hot showers

-dishwashing sink behind the shower house was a nice perk

-usable cell phone service (T-mobile)

-no tent sites with power if you need that.  We filled up an air mattress using the outlet in the bathroom which worked fine.

Cons:

-sites really vary in terms of how far back from the road they are.  Our site (122 in the Blackhawk loop) was a bit back from the road and had plenty of shrubbery, but some don't have as much privacy

-not a ton of water fill up stations, but our loop was pretty small, so it was fine

-you have to pay $15 per night for a 2nd car, which was a little steep, but given the campground is reasonably priced, this was fine

In one word views, views for miles some of the best I’ve seen in Arizona. The campground itself is nice so spots not as amazing as others and be prepared to always watch your step because some spots literally are on the side of a cliff. Still plenty of room to set up camp and not worry but 100ft from the cliff side is pretty amazing. Clean restrooms hosts seem to keep campsites and fire pits clean and leave you to yourselves. Close by is a hang glide launch pad and amazing views. Only negative is the road up is unpaved and rough 5-10mph for about 7-10 miles but definitely worth the trip. Electric was struck by lightning a few years back so no hookup but water and toilet and only $10 a night. Stop reading and go👍

All the other reviews are spot on - Clean sites, fire rings and the hosts are spectacular. Wood/ice available. We stayed in mid October. We were pleasantly surprised that while we weren’t allowed to use the charcoal grill, we were allowed to have a small campfire. Tips for this popular campground:

1. Since the first come sites are booked by midday...come early and talk to the hosts about who is scheduled to leave that day. You can then pre-pay for your chosen site and go to town until after checkout time (1:00pm).
2. Best first come sites: Site # 4, no doubt. It’s farthest from the highway and farthest from other tent pads. The heavy tree canopy keeps you in the shade and is near the river. Site # 3 is also good, but gets full sun mid afternoon and is closer to the bathrooms.
3. Bring your telescope or binoculars. Set up a star gazing perch at night.....it’s spectacular. The downside of the first come area....both tents and RVs (generator noise) will be side by side. It’s very popular for families: we had a home schooling family on one side and a generator(RV) on the other. Busy as to be expected in this area, especially in October.

In the off season, this sweet little national forest campground is a quiet oasis in one of the beautiful “islands of the sky” which are scattered throughout Arizona.  Up at 5000 feet, this place becomes a busy retreat for Tucsonians seeking to escape some of the summertime heat, according to the park ranger we spoke too. It's also a haven for birds!

The campground has designated section for RV’s and tents, though they are same price at just $10 per night.  Many pull-through sites are available for larger RV’s, as well as some back in spots. Each site has a HUGE cement picnic table and fire ring and are a nice size with plenty of space between sites. There are trash cans (though no recycling) throughout the campground, and a water spigot near the very clean pit toilets, thanks to the dedicated and very friendly camp hosts.  The tent sites overlook the Parker Canyon Lake and are quite spacious. There are few tent sites for groups too.

There is a nice boat dock, as well as small store near the water that sells snacks/drinks, bait, and a few camping necessities.  You can rent kayaks, paddle boats, SUPs, sailboats and small motorized fishing boats…or bring your own. There is also a nice and easy trail that follows the lake shore for about 6 miles, accessible to both hikers and mountain bikers.  From the lake trail, you can also access the Arizona Scenic Trail (the southern terminus is about 15 miles south of the lake). We also saw quite a few fisherman out enjoying the lake during mid-week.

The closest grocery stores and gas stations are in Sonoita, about 30 miles away.  Cell coverage is limited here as you are very close to the Mexican border – none in RV campground, just a bit of coverage in the tent campground.