Best Tent Camping near Sonoita, AZ

I had a great time at Parker Canyon Lake, located about an hour from Sonoita, Arizona. The fishing was excellent — the lake is well-stocked, and it’s a peaceful spot to cast a line. The campground is spacious, with 30 campsites for tents that offer plenty of room and privacy. Many of the tent sites have trails that lead directly down to the lake, which makes it super convenient if you’re fishing or just want to enjoy the view.

There’s a separate RV campground, but I’m not sure how many sites it has — it looked like a good size with plenty of space for larger vehicles.

Whether you’re fishing, hiking, or just relaxing by the water, Parker Canyon Lake is a hidden gem worth visiting!

Loved this spot for a night. Practically in the NP, hard to tell the park bounds of Saguaro. Camp hosts were orderly and extremely friendly and available. Grounds were tidy! Bathrooms were clean. Felt really safe as a solo camper. Tent only sites are secluded to themselves. I was in B2 and I’d book that one or B3 if I ever go back. This tent site cluster has a little shade whereas the other two tent sites down the road are pretty exposed.

Nice, clean campground, along the Mt. Lemmon Highway. Better for tent camping as there are beautiful, individual walk-in sites that are fairly private.

Tons of rec opportunities right from camp: hiking, mountain biking, etc.

We pulled in after dark and were gone by morning! We wanted somewhere to see the stars! It looked like a super clean park with paved roads, plenty of RV hookups and bath/shower house. We did tent camp. I wish we could have stayed longer to see the caverns, but this was just a pit stop on our road trip!

Tent camping, Cabins, RV Camping, ton's of hiking from various levels of difficulty. Kartchner Cavern's is the main attraction here. Call ahead for availability and tickets. But don't miss all the other amazing hiking trails and nature center. Also check out the other astronomy programs they have from time to time. Tuscon is a "Dark Skies" community that offers amazing views of the night sky.

Camping at Kartchner Caverns was wonderful! It seemed like the sites were geared towards RV campers, but tent camping would work out ok as well. The camping area was somewhat open, but the sites aren't too close together that you feel uncomfortable. The obvious draw is the caverns which could occupy a couple day of a persons camping trip. Because of this attraction, it does get rather busy but camping is still not disturbed too much.

Patagonia Lake Campground is well maintained. Very busy in the Winter months so you must make reservations well in advance. The visitor center is great if you have children, they have all kinds of activities for kids, and a junior ranger program. The RV spots are full hookups no sewer but there is dump station there on the premises. They have tent camping right by the lake as well. Cabins will be completed in October 2018. Staff very friendly and the grounds are well maintained. One of our favorites.

Fun place to spend a couple nights :) The camping area seems designed with RV campers in mind, but tent camping is possible as well. I would say the sites a a bit close together for my taste, but still manageable. Site #16 treated us well! The amenities were very nice and clean! A nice feature is the lake and boat rental within the park. Bird watching is very popular here we learned as we talked to others at the park. (There are also a few boat in camping site, which seems like it would be a fun adventure! We did not explore this on our visit.)

May, 2019 we visited Saguaro National Park near Tucson AZ. We had planned to hike into the park at one of their few campgrounds but the office informed us that there was a controlled burn and recommended we not stay in the park and suggested Gilbert Ray as a good option. Gilbert Ray Campground is a great location for visiting the National Park. We arrived to find the office closed for the summer, so self serve option was available, at 10.00 per night for tent camping you can’t beat the price. The bathrooms were clean and as an added plus they have a dishwashing station. We stayed in the A loop. There are no showers and the campsite it all gravel making it next to impossible to put a tent stake in. The sites are fairly close together, for example, I could hear our neighbor unzip his tent. All sites have picnic tables. Cell service is good.

General: Large KOA campground laid out in typical RV style with no privacy/separation between sites. There is every imaginable kind of site here from tent sites (with water and electric) to back-in sites with water and electric to FHU sites, some with covered sites to sites with private pet areas or play structures. There are also cabins sprinkled throughout. 

Site Quality: Most sites are gravel; some have grass. All are level. Amenities vary per site. Ours had a round table with four chairs (in lieu of a picnic table) 

Bath/Shower: In okay condition but then I saw a sign that they were scheduled to be remodeled a few months after our stay. 

Activities: There are so many offerings including two pools, a hot tub, a fitness center, corn hole, putting green, basketball, and bike/surrey rentals. Also a daily “schedule of fun” with daily classes including Zumba and yoga, arts and crafts, bingo, etc. 

Other amenities: On-site restaurant (delivery to your camper available), laundry, little lending library, pet wash.

This campground is located in a less desirable part of Tucson with very few (if any) grocery stores, restaurants, etc. nearby. There is nothing scenic about the area and the campground is located on a busy street so you will hear road noise (and an occasional train). While we appreciated all the amenities, we prefer campgrounds with more privacy and scenery. This was a last-minute reservation when our plans changed and worked for an overnight stay.

When spending time on the road many times you will find campsite after campsite that is welcoming but not quite like home away from home. But when you drive through Tucson, there is a mecca filled with winter bird campers and long term campers which create a home away from home.

With only tent sites available on the facility, we were fortunate to find a site, however when we arrived we were so excited by the facilities we extended our stay by a day.

Office staff immediately greeted us and let us know about the facilities, which happened to feature a mini golf course, an indoor events facility, 2 swimming pools and hot tubs, an indoor recreation area and multiple on camp fire chinineas. In addition there was a fishing pond and dog park area.

Each of the 4 campsites were considered to be regular campsites instead of upgrade sites but when we arrived it was the most delux sites we had encountered along the way.

Pad sites were large and the first to actually accommodate our large tent and the ground was u like any we had seen before at a site. The soft mulch was similar to that of a modern day playground and made for a much more comfortable sleep over the two days we were there.

In addition to the standard picnic table of most facilities, this campground offered a kitchen facility at each campsite including a large copper sink and food storage as well as electricity and overhead lighting in the pergola designed to allow shade from the harsh Arizona sun.

It was the closest thing to glamping we had encountered by far!

Then as an added bonus, fresh fruit trees abounded ready for the picking. The front desk informed us of the allowance to pick what you want as everything was in season! An amazing treat on the road!

We spent many hours at the pool facility, enjoyed amazing neighbors, used the wifi and even did a load of laundry while in Tucson. The facility really was like a home away from home on the road.

🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

If the scale went higher we would rank it more Bunnies. There were no real areas we could see for improvement. Staff was very accommodating, long term and short term residents of the facility were amazing and this was a desert oasis like no other!

We visited for our first time for 3 nights and campground was full. Even so, we were surprised how quiet it was. Lots of day use spots if you want to picnic by the lake under trees. Camp sites are sparse (table & fire pit) but we didn't feel as tightly packed as those areas down by the beach. Nice trail out to Sonoita Creek. Store was well stocked and husband even found shaving cream with razor there. Marina has canoes for rent ($35 for 2 hours, with specials for Vets on Mondays and Seniors on Wednesday); 2-person kayaks also for rent (same price); and pontoon boats and row boats (didn't get prices). I got a good 3-mile walk in every morning just walking around campground and out to Marina and day use areas. Also nice that lake has no wake zone near campground and boats can go faster on furthest away part of the lake. You definitely need to bring something to use on the lake or take advantage if marina rentals!