Spencer Canyon Campground on Mount Lemmon offers numerous pet-friendly sites within its 60+ camping locations, accommodating both tent and RV campers with dogs. Pets must be leashed at all times, and each campsite includes bear boxes where pet food should be secured overnight. Mount Bigelow Dispersed camping area provides free, more primitive options for those camping with dogs, with several secluded spots accessible via 4WD roads. Gilbert Ray Campground features pet-friendly tent and RV sites with electric hookups, allowing dogs throughout the developed campground while maintaining strict leash rules. Whitetail Campground, located only 5 miles from Summerhaven, offers pet-friendly group sites with convenient parking near camping spots. The campground hosts at Spencer Canyon are known for being particularly accommodating to campers with dogs.
Dog-friendly hiking trails surround many Summerhaven area campgrounds, with several accessible directly from camping areas. Most sites require pets to be leashed at all times due to frequent wildlife sightings, including deer and occasionally bears. Mount Lemmon's significantly cooler temperatures (15-20 degrees lower than nearby Tucson) make summer camping with pets more comfortable, though higher elevations can get very cold at night, especially in spring and fall. Spencer Canyon's vault toilets are consistently well-maintained, important for longer stays with pets. During winter months, camping roads near Mount Bigelow can become icy and snow-covered, limiting access for vehicles without appropriate traction. Summerhaven provides the nearest access to supplies, with coffee shops and small stores for basic necessities when camping with dogs.
$50 / night
"The bathrooms were a pretty long walk from our site (there is only one bathroom facility for that loop). There are some trails in the park."
"Dump station near exit of loops and another near state park entrance. Nice selection of pull through and back-in sites. We had a back-in on outer edge and had beautiful views."
$22 - $36 / night
"Spencer Canyon Campground is a nice campground approx. 20 miles from Tucson up the General Hitchcock Highway(often called the Catalina Highway or Mt. Lemmon Highway)."
"There is a lot of open area for my boys to run around and build a fort while I read a book next to the stream. Also it doesn’t seem to fill up as fast as the top sites."
$31 - $180 / night
"Plenty of good sleep to be had, which allowed me and my dog to wake early and explore the mountain tops... which was the secret place to find cell service, by the way."
"I stayed 2 nights with my dog and it was a fantastic experience. The lake was beautiful, the creek made for lovely hiking, and the campsite hosts were friendly and helpful."
"Plenty of space, the best dog parks ever!"
"Large and shaded dog park area for the fur babies."
$10 - $75 / night
"The scenery here is perfect for Arizona. Great views of Tucson Mountain and surrounded by all kinds of hiking trails in the Tucson Mountain Park. The sites are gravel and mostly flat."
"Fantastic place to stay in the Arizona countryside. Cacti everywhere! So cool!"
$100 / night
"Pet friendly. Nice restrooms. Streams and trails."
"We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon in late February and were pleasantly surprised to find this first come, first serve campground nearly empty."
"We drove 3 hours from Phoenix for a weekend in the forest, new to town and learning the ways of Arizona camping, didn’t realize fires are some times allowed and some times not."
"Bunch of hiking trails near by, and perfect temperatures in the summer heat."
$10 / night
"Has some nice boulders to tuck your tent away in, and no really close neighbors. Seems like the rest of the sites you have neighbors right next to you, basically sharing a camp."
"This campground is small, with tent sites tucked away between pine trees. A vaulted bathroom is at the center of the parking lot."
"There was a lot of people parking next to me and unloading there off-road vehicles in the morning, so I decided to go further up."
"The path leads up a mountain away from the city lights of Tuscon. It’s just a short drive away. There’s plenty of spots. Watch out for huge ants! We almost camped on a mound."
$50 / night
"This campground is located about 12 minutes outside of Oracle, AZ and is a great place to go to disconnect (no cell reception). We spent two nights here and had a great time!"
"Most spots are roomy and Shaded, temps were really nice for Arizona in June, due to the elevation. Met a few campers that had been staying there since Wednesday, and they were really nice people."
GuideThis is mine and my family's favorite place to stay when we go to Mount Lemmon. You can park right near your campsite and this site is only 5 miles from Summerhaven(the closest town). It is also a very beautiful area with springs and creeks everywhere!
ScoutPlenty of space, the best dog parks ever!
GuideVery nice RV park. Clean and safe. Solar shades provide Clean power to park. Large and shaded dog park area for the fur babies.
Rangerfor a koa this place was surprisingly clean, I have two dogs, but this koa had a dog park that i was able to take them to in order to get all of their energy out before the long car trip. I would probably stay here again
TravelerWe just went camping here our first time last weekend and we had a great time! A very kid friendly campground, they had lots of things to keep you busy! 2 pools, a playground, game room, pickle ball courts, mini golf, RC car track, go-cart rentals, golf cart rentals, dog parks, activity’s for kids, you won’t be bored! Bathrooms/ showers were pretty clean and had a nice little store if you forgot stuff. 3 nice big propane fire pits by the entrance were perfect for roasting marshmallows. The BBQ Rush had great food if you don’t feel like cooking one night. Only $36 a night for a back in site with full hookups is a great deal! We had a blast and will definitely be back!
GuideFabulous views and the campground is very well maintained. Each site looked to be very spacious with plenty of room between neighbors. The hosts were friendly and helpful. While we were the fire restrictions had been lifted so we used the fire pit to enjoy at night. The only negative that we found was they didn’t have a dog park but I’m assuming that’s because there are so many hiking options the dogs get plenty of exercise. There are bathrooms and showers available and cute little casitas if you don’t have an RV. Electric and water hookups but no sewer although the do have a dump station so it made it easy. Overall I highly recommend this campground
RangerConvenient location just off I-10. Had some great sunsets. Park facilities are clean but a little run down. It’s more of a mobile home park and RV park combined. Some permanent stationary mobile homes and some RV spots with lots of yard stuff that makes it look somewhat junky. Pull through sites are very close together but level enough with gravel and a patio pad with table and fire pit. Dog park is all dirt but large with fresh water. Laundry is $1.75 for a large load both washing and drying. Propane fill available. Workout room was minimal but kept cool. Cactus garden was nice.
GuideMost of Rincon Country West RV Resort is really for folks who are living them permanently or seasonally in their park model homes. Only in the far back corner is there really parking for JUST RVs.(Although even that"back corner" is probably home to well over 100 spaces.) So it feels like driving through a miniature suburban subdivision. It's location is in the heart of Tucson, so there's NO feeling of"getting away from it all" by staying here. In fact, your hear planes, helicopters& traffic. It's a city. But for us, spending 5 days exploring the area, it was a fairly central jumping off point for our explorations.
We had a"deluxe" pull-through site, which got us a nice patch of grass, a charcoal grill, a picnic table, good water pressure, clean electricity and a site with two different dump spots. There was cable TV available and wifi, but we just used my Verizon hotspot for streaming some Netflix and that worked great. We were close to our neighbors, but not TOO close. The more "normal" spaces near us would have put you in much closer proximity to your neighbors. For us, it was worth the extra$5 or so per day. (Having said that, the place really is pretty pricey.$70 per day is near the top of what we've paid.)
The place has many amenities, none of which we availed ourselves of. We were really only there in the evenings and for sleeping. But pools, sports courts of all kinds, several nice dog parks, rec center, auditorium, etc. etc. I would think someone longterm would find lots to do. The security here is pretty stringent, which is nice. We'd certainly stay here again.
LegendWe followed the website instructions to the campground(CG) by taking I-10 Exit 164B versus our RV GPS and Waze, which wanted us to get off sooner. After driving that route while staying here, we discovered that route would have been good as well. Check-in was easy and informative. We then drove ourselves to FHU pull-through site 1505 with a patio and fire feature. We maneuvered to get our 10’ sewer hose to fit between our two dump valves as the utilities are centered on the pad. This KOA is a true resort with major amenities, such as a pool, putt-putt golf course, pickleball, restaurant, and planned activities. At check-in we received a Tengo Internet WiFi code, so we tried it out. We were able to do sporadic email and texting. We used our Starlink the rest of the time as we were able to get a good shot of the north sky. We got 5 bars on Verizon. Water pressure in our site was good at about 50 psi. As we are dog people, we enjoyed walking our pups to the fenced dog areas and letting them run. In the front of the CG by the gate there’s a huge 1 to 2-acre fenced dog park. In the northwest corner of the CG, there’s another, but much smaller, fenced dog area, and then another even smaller fenced dog area around the corner from our site. They have a variety of sites with various amenities. As we have family in the area, we would stay here again. The next time we would get one of the sites with a fenced dog area, such as 1476-1479, which has a fire feature and a fenced Paw Pen around the patio. There are covered sites under the solar panels, but we would avoid those areas as pigeons are roosting above. Four RV techs were staying at the CG with signs in front of their campsites while we were there. The week in January we were here, we were able to get some work done on short notice. The CG website has good pics of their wide variety of sites and an expandable site map that identifies amenities. We are not normally high-dollar“resort” campers, but this CG was impressive.
Summerhaven camping areas sit at elevations ranging from 7,000-9,000 feet in the Santa Catalina Mountains, creating temperature differences of 15-25 degrees cooler than Tucson during summer months. The area features several campgrounds nestled among ponderosa pines and sycamores, with most sites closing seasonally from late October through April due to snow and freezing conditions at higher elevations.
Trout fishing: 30-minute drive to Rose Canyon Lake where stocked rainbow trout provide family-friendly angling opportunities. "Many camp sites available to reserve as well as a few that are first come first serve. Also many cabins available for rent a little up the mountain. Rose canyon lake is stocked with trout for some easy and fun fishing and camping. Gets crowded during times when lake is stocked," notes camper Tanner H. about Rose Canyon Campground.
Stargazing: Away from city lights at higher elevation campgrounds. "All and all it was an ok place for the night but not a peaceful secluded spot if that's what you are looking for. Road is a bit rough but very passable in most vehicles if you go slow. Best to arrive before it gets dark!" advises Aliza N. about Redington Pass - Dispersed Camping.
Wildlife spotting: Early mornings provide best opportunities. "Great place to escape! Only about 1 hour outside of Tucson but completely in the country. Perfect area for kids to explore and see wildlife. We spotted both turkeys and deer and were visited by some cotamundi as well," shares Brianna W. about Peppersauce Campground.
Clean, well-maintained facilities: Several campgrounds receive high marks for cleanliness. "Camp sited were all well maintained with bear boxes for each site. The toilets were easily accessable and each had running potable water adjacent to the shelters," reports Kevin S. about his stay at Rose Canyon Campground.
Abundant wildlife encounters: Many visitors note wildlife sightings as highlights. "There is abundant wildlife, and both mornings we woke up to the sound of wild turkeys checking out our setup," shares Emma J. about Peppersauce Campground.
Escape from summer heat: The significant temperature drop at elevation provides relief from desert temperatures. "When u want out of Az heat just a drive out of Tucson is camping & hiking... Even day pinics if your not up for the overnight stays... But a one night is a must :)" advises Liza C. about Spencer Canyon Campground.
Campsite availability varies seasonally: Many campgrounds fill completely during peak periods. "Your best bet for a good site for the weekend is to get there on Thursday or early Friday," recommends Christina C. about Spencer Canyon Campground.
Fire restrictions change frequently: Due to drought conditions, fire regulations are strictly enforced. "We drove 3 hours from Phoenix for a weekend in the forest, new to town and learning the ways of Arizona camping, didn't realize fires are some times allowed and some times not," notes Jenn L. about Mount Bigelow Dispersed camping.
Road conditions can be challenging: Many access roads require high-clearance vehicles or 4WD after rainfall or snow. "We got to the parking area about 7:40 PM on November 10th. Started up the road to the campsite about 2 miles further up the mountain but at about 1/2 mile the road was so icy that we lost traction," reports Daniel G. about his Mount Bigelow experience.
Bring proper winter gear: Even in summer, nighttime temperatures drop significantly. "It was packed on the weekends, but holy cow, was it gorgeous. Bunch of hiking trails near by, and perfect temperatures in the summer heat," shares Ethan B. about Mount Bigelow Dispersed.
Prepare for wildlife encounters: Store food properly in provided bear boxes. "Tons of sites make sure to lock up your food i had a skunk visitor," warns Eric M. about Spencer Canyon Campground.
Consider group sites for larger families: Some campgrounds offer dedicated group camping areas. "This is mine and my family's favorite place to stay when we go to Mount Lemmon. You can park right near your campsite and this site is only 5 miles from Summerhaven(the closest town). It is also a very beautiful area with springs and creeks everywhere!" shares a reviewer about Whitetail Campground.
Limited hookup options: Most campgrounds near Summerhaven have few or no hookups. "We had a nice area to park the car and a second area to setup our tent. There was even a third area beyond that, for another tent or a second spot for a campfire fire. Overall, it was a huge site, if you're pitching a tent," notes Dare to Everywhere about their experience at Redington Pass.
Tight turning radius on mountain roads: Large RVs struggle on switchbacks to higher elevation campgrounds. "Parking can be limited with only a few of the sites having adequate parking for trailers up to 22 feet," cautions Christina C. about Spencer Canyon Campground.
Consider lower elevation options: For larger RVs, campgrounds near Tucson provide full hookups with mountain access. "While this exact campsite was closed at the time, driving up the road across the street and into the mountains gives you the opportunity to camp in the wilderness. Finding a good little spot is not difficult, and you'll get an amazing view of the city lights at night, or the sunrise in the morning," advises Kristen about Whitetail Campground area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Summerhaven, AZ?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Summerhaven, AZ is Catalina State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 66 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 119 dog-friendly camping locations near Summerhaven, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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