Best Tent Camping near Superior, AZ

Tent camping near Superior, Arizona provides access to diverse desert landscapes within Tonto National Forest and surrounding public lands. Peralta Regional Park offers primitive remote tent campsites with spacious sites and basic amenities. Diversion Dam provides walk-in tent sites along the Salt River, while Sulphide Del Rey Campground near Globe features secluded tent camping surrounded by pines. The Shores Recreation Area along the Gila River offers waterfront tent camping with shade from riparian trees. These tent-only areas provide opportunities to experience the Sonoran Desert's unique ecosystem while maintaining access to basic facilities.

Most tent campgrounds in the Superior area require campers to bring their own water, as drinking water is limited. Diversion Dam is one of the few locations offering potable water. Walk-in tent sites at Diversion Dam require carrying gear from the parking area to camping spots. Fire rings are available at most established sites, though fire restrictions are common during dry summer months. Vault toilets are present at Peralta Regional Park, Diversion Dam, and Shores Recreation Area. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 100°F, making spring and fall the optimal seasons for tent camping. Rattlesnakes are present throughout the region, requiring vigilance when setting up tents and hiking.

The backcountry tent camping experience near Superior offers exceptional stargazing opportunities due to minimal light pollution. According to reviews, Peralta Regional Park provides "quiet and peaceful" tent sites with "plenty of space in between" campsites. Sulphide Del Rey Campground gets "completely silent at night" with darkness "except for stars between the trees." The terrain at many sites is rocky and uneven, requiring careful tent placement. The Point Campground, accessible only by boat, offers a unique tent camping experience with four official campsites featuring covered picnic tables and fire pits along the shoreline of Canyon Lake. Hackamore Road Dispersed camping area provides free primitive tent camping with mountain views, though access requires vehicles with high clearance due to rough roads.

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Presented byToyota Trucks

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win

Best Tent Sites Near Superior, Arizona (20)

    1. Peralta Regional Park Primitive Remote Campsites

    3 Reviews
    Gold Canyon, AZ
    16 miles
    Website

    $10 / night

    "Restrooms were great. Each campsite has plenty of space in between. Literally no complaints at all."

    "Very close to popular hiking trails. We enjoyed the rustic campsite. The camp host was very friendly and helpful (Darell)."

    2. Sulphide Del Rey Campground

    2 Reviews
    Globe, AZ
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (928) 402-6200

    "Beautiful campground on a hill surrounded by pines. Gets completely silent at night assuming other campers behave. Perfectly dark except for stars between the trees and your fire."

    3. Devils Canyon Campground

    1 Review
    Superior, AZ
    5 miles
    Website
    +1 (602) 225-5200

    4. Hackamore Road Dispersed

    11 Reviews
    Apache Junction, AZ
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (623) 580-5500

    "It's on BLM land, so you are out of the reach of the Arizona Land Permits.

    The road is a bit tricky."

    "It’s got great views of the mountains, TONS of awesome trails to walk/ride love the access to the little ghost town nearby."

    5. Kellner Group

    1 Review
    Globe, AZ
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (928) 402-6200

    $75 / night

    6. Shores Recreation Area

    4 Reviews
    Winkelman, AZ
    28 miles
    +1 (520) 258-7200

    "This will be a scorcher in the middle of summer but the sites do have tree cover for shade."

    "Theirs a little highway noise but with the river sounds and a fire it was just what we needed. Theirs sunshine and shade, a bathroom, and garbage."

    7. The Point Campground

    1 Review
    Tortilla Flat, AZ
    25 miles
    Website
    +1 (480) 610-3300

    "About 2 miles upriver from the Mormon Flat Dam, the Tonto National Forest maintains 4 official campsites, complete with a covered picnic table and fire pit at each, as well as composting toilets and a"

    8. Diversion Dam

    1 Review
    Roosevelt, AZ
    26 miles
    Website

    "You are allowed to camp there but not in the parking lot you can't take vehicles out of the parking lot so you'll have to hike in to any of the spots."

    10. McDowell Regional Park-Ironwood

    4 Reviews
    Rio Verde, AZ
    45 miles
    Website
    +1 (602) 506-2930

    "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."

    "One restroom, flush toilets, water spigot outside, dumpster. Friendly to camper vans. Showers down the road. Lots of hiking and biking."

Show More
Showing results 1-10 of 20 campgrounds

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Presented byToyota Trucks

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win


Tent Camping Reviews near Superior, AZ

479 Reviews of 20 Superior Campgrounds


  • Tara S.
    Feb. 22, 2023

    Roosevelt Lake - Cholla Campground

    Peaceful Spot in the Winter

    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.

  • R
    Feb. 29, 2020

    Roosevelt Lake - Schoolhouse Campground

    Quiet with Gorgeous Views

    Right on beautiful Theodore Roosevelt Lake. Nice sites, decently spaced (except 204 and 205 are pretty tight), beautiful 360* mountain views. Well kept. Nick, the host, is friendly and helpful. There are no showers, but there are a few flush toilets. No water hookups, but potable water is available at the restrooms. No electric sites, but we had all the 110 power we needed from our solar panels/inverter system. I’d give this 5 stars if there were a dump station, but there isn’t. The boat launch is very nice.

  • KJ G.
    Feb. 16, 2025

    Pinal County Fairgrounds

    Quick practical spot

    We were dry /primitive campers saving our coins here and there camping! This was an easy quick $10 but I do recommend getting there before closing hrs. As you have to call the camp host to let you in. There is no designated camp zones it is a very dry area ofcourse being in the middle of Arizona. But we were prepared with sleeping pads and tent tarps for comfort. But for 10 bucks you can’t beat that! There was an animal 4H fair of some sort going on which we enjoyed even through all our sleep! The animals did seem to “sleep with us!” There is showers and easy convience to I-10/I20? Also Walmart/standard fast food defiantly more RV friendly but with the right gear you should be fine! I love supporting places like this over the hotel industry

  • Jamey R.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 31, 2018

    Oak Flat Campground

    Desert Camping

    We came here for our wedding anniversary in November since it wouldn’t be too cold. We enjoyed the peace and quiet, but not much else to say. The sites were pretty small, but we have a pop up so not bad. It was very busy that weekend. It was only 5 minutes from Superior, which was nice for gas, food, water, etc. There was a few vault toilets throuout the grounds. Each site had a fire ring and tables. It was clean for the most part, but there was some sketchy people there and a couple sites reported theft. There was recently some vandalism as well. It’s only about an hour from Phoenix, but we probably won’t go back

  • Jeni G.
    Oct. 18, 2019

    Tonto National Forest Riverside Campground

    Cool spot, too much trash

    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.

  • P
    Nov. 24, 2020

    Canyon Lake Marina & Campground

    Noise all night long and not from Campers

    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.

  • Crystal D.
    Jan. 15, 2022

    Lost Dutchman State Park Campground

    Beautiful Views

    My husband and I dry camped in our RV here for one night in mid January. Park was very packed, but very clean and quiet. Nice place to get some rest. Gorgeous views of the superstitions. Unfortunately we had to buy an extra day pass to hike in as check in is at 2pm and check out is at noon. If you are planning to hike into the mountains I recommend booking at least 2 nights in the campground. Staff was friendly. Dump station very crowded starting a couple hours before checkout time

  • Connor N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Dec. 23, 2021

    Timber Camp Recreation Area and Group Campgrounds

    Decent campground, few amenities, in the middle of nowhere

    Enjoyed three nights and generally had the place to ourselves excluding the host. The host was very nice. The fee station was out of order during our stay, so we paid via daily tickets at a place in Globe on our way out. The campground is right off the highway so there was a fair amount of traffic noise, but not unbearable. Little to do in the way of hikes within walking distance, but we enjoyed walking around the campground and into the woods to the north and east. Verizon service was great the entire time. Sites are well maintained and level. Vault toilets were clean. Each site has a steel fire ring and grate as well as a nice metal picnic table. There a a few group areas with full grills and communal tables. The campground appears fairly new.

  • Matt M.
    Jun. 29, 2018

    Burnt Corral Campground

    Apache Lake, lower Burnt Corral

    Apache Lake is a beautiful desert canyon lake. Getting there is a little difficult via a dirt road known as the Apache Trail. Nice improved maintained sites, most are shoreline and with fire rings, picnic tables. There are some open beach camping spaces as well. Expect a dirt and rock floor, mature desert trees and low scrub. Within the campground is a small boat ramp with dock and a parking lot for your trailer if you bring your watercraft There is a self serve pay station and a camp host. Dumpsters, vault toilets and a few freshwater stations.


Guide to Superior

Tent camping near Superior, Arizona offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the stunning desert landscape while enjoying a variety of outdoor activities.

Tips for tent camping near Superior

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • The Diversion Dam provides picnic tables and vault toilets, making it a convenient spot for those who want basic facilities while enjoying nature.
  • At Bachelor Cove, you’ll find toilets and trash disposal, which can enhance your camping experience despite the lack of drinking water.
  • The Sulphide Del Rey Campground features picnic tables and a peaceful environment surrounded by pines, perfect for a quiet getaway.

Local attractions for outdoor enthusiasts

  • The Point Campground is located near stunning desert canyons, ideal for kayaking and birdwatching, especially for spotting Big Horned Sheep.
  • Explore the diverse wildlife and cacti at the Tonto National Forest Dispersed Camping at Lake Roosevelt, where you can also hear coyotes at night, adding to the wilderness experience.
  • The Devils Canyon Campground offers a unique opportunity to witness the area's mining history while enjoying the rugged landscape, although it may not be suitable for RVs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Superior, AZ?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Superior, AZ is Peralta Regional Park Primitive Remote Campsites with a 3.7-star rating from 3 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Superior, AZ?

TheDyrt.com has all 20 tent camping locations near Superior, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.