Best Equestrian Camping near Surprise, AZ

This area is best for its hiking and photo ops, in my humble opinion. As with most desert campgrounds in Arizona, there is not much privacy between the sites but take advantage of the beauty. The waterfall trail is an easy hike and very doable with kids. You can only bring a stroller so far unless it's an off-roading stroller but the hike is worth it (especially if there's water flowing). There's a playground across from the trailhead in case all else fails and someone stays behind with he little ones. Restrooms are thoughtfully placed here. DO watch for rattle snakes on this trail and all for that matter. Also, bring a lot of water and then some. Stop at the Visitor Center and library on your way in. You're not far removed from civilization so anything you need is just a brief drive away.

Skyline Regional Park, Buckeye AZ

www.skylineregionalpark.com and camping page www.skylineregionalpark.com/camping/ 

This is a brand new park in the city of Buckeye, AZ at the south end of the White Tank Mountains and is located about 20 miles from White Tanks Regional Park in the Maricopa County Parks district (see my review). The park itself is very pretty, all of the amenities are new and fresh, and several of the trails are under active construction. 

This is a very popular and BUSY park for mountain bikers - I was surprised to see the trailhead parking lot nearly full (almost 2 dozen cars) on a Thursday late afternoon/evening, and as people came back to the lot to leave nearly all of them were mountain bikers, with a few hikers mixed in.

The good - 

It’s neat and clean, nice new restrooms with flush toilets and sinks that also have motion lights to conserve energy - they stay dark at night, so there are fewer bugs swarming around the entrances, although the restrooms are marked with bee warnings.

The campsites are level, evenly spaced away from each other on a long loop, and have big sturdy concrete picnic tables along with a fire ring and standing grill. The parking spaces are easy to back into and help to block the view of some of the campsite from the road.

I stayed in site D, which is at the top of the low hill that composes a loop of 7 sites (A-G) but sites E and F would be my choice next time, as they are terraced into the hill as it comes down from the peak sites of C and D - each of the sites E and F have an erosion wall that makes nice seating (see photo)

Site G is currently under construction, and was not available for reservation as of my stay in the middle of October, but will be the site closest to the restroom and trail head when it’s available. Not a big issue, as each site is only a few dozen yards from each other.

The trail head has a nice map of the available trails, covered ramadas with recycle containers along with trash receptacles, and even a shaded horse hitching post area with an automatic horse waterer. There is no potable water for people to drink in this park.

The sites are cleared of brush/cacti and have a nice wide gravel path to the restroom - I carried a UV light but didn’t see any scorpions anywhere near the road or my camp, which is certainly not the case just up the road in White Tanks Regional part, where the campsites are more desert/less groomed (but have water&electric).

The less than good - 

It’s pretty boring. There are 7 sites that are basically identical with the same view of the trailhead parking lot - it’s nice that the restroom is close, but there’s not much privacy for any of the sites. No trees of any significant size, so none of the sites have appreciable shade available.

I’m not sure who these sites were designed for - they are deep enough for RVs to back in, but there is no electric or water, and they recommend driving 5 miles away to a truck stop as the closest RV dump site and pay showers, so that can’t be very convenient for non-tent campers. 

The campsites have a nice flat area for a tent, but it’s next to the “driveway” rather than at the back of the site so your tent has NO privacy from the road/trailhead parking lot, and the entire camping loop is located on a very uninteresting section of terrain. 

The park is far enough from the freeway (2 miles) that it’s quiet, and tucked into the foothills enough to block the city lights from Phoenix, so stargazing is quite nice. However, it’s under a flight path from Phoenix to San Diego/Los Angeles, so every few minutes a jet blinks through your sky space. It’s also apparently under a flight path for Luke Air Force Base, and I had several noisy jets pass overhead just as I was settling in for the night. I live in the area so those jets are a constant background noise in my life and they were no big deal to me, but might be unsettling for someone who was really looking for a “peace and quiet” camping experience.

There was a fire ban in effect during my stay and they don’t announce them on their website - you have to remember to call and ask before you get there. However, even during a fire ban you can use your fire pit and grill, so it’s really not a big deal unless you were planning to set up camp way out in the desert somewhere.

My least favorite -

The mountain bikers take these trails seriously and are out on the trails with head lamps and bike lights until LATE at night, and their voices carry all over the park so this is NOT a quiet place to camp. 

The signage all says that the trails are open from sunup until sundown, and that the park gates close at 10pm. The reality is that the hikers and mountain bikers wear lights and stay out on the trails until far after sundown because even though my campsite reservation said I would need to use a gate code to leave the park after 10pm, that is not the case. The gate leaving the park has an auto-opening feature, so you can drive up to it in the middle of the night and it will be triggered to open and let you out. Day-use park visitors can and do stay until very late, as there is no consequence for being in the park after the trails “close” or even after 10pm, since they don’t risk being locked in. I didn’t see any park employees driving around to enforce the park closing time, and I did become a little concerned (as I was the only camper that night, and alone with my dogs) when someone drove up to use the restroom at the trailhead at 11:30pm (car headlights shining directly into my camp of course) - again, not much privacy.

All in all - I’d come back to this park to hike any day of the week. The trails are wide and new and well maintained, and it’s a new area to explore. As far as camping goes, there are plenty of nice parks not far from here, so I’d probably recommend driving an extra half hour to one of the Maricopa county parks at Estrella Mountain or White Tanks to take advantage of the same or better mountain views with more amenities.

Constellation Park campground is a clean campground located in a Sandy area near the town of Wickenburg. Fee is $8 a night at a self pay station. There is trash service and there is water across the street at the horse trough by the rodeo grounds. You can fill jugs, but there is not room to fill a trailer. People with horses are given preference in the spaces with corrals. There is no host. Sites are large, widely spaces with plenty of desert shade trees. Cell service is good. Just a mile to McDonalds. Don't try to stay here when the rodeo is scheduled.

General: Located less than an hour from Phoenix, this campground is an easy getaway. There are two campgrounds: The Family Campground (40 sites) with water and 30/50 amp electric hookups and the more“rustic” Willow Canyon Campground (19 sites) with no hookups. This campground is good for tents, campervans, or small (16 feet or less) trailers. There was a gate attendant when we checked in around 6 pm on a Monday and we were given an information packet with information on the campground, nearby facilities in the town of Surprise, and trails, which was very helpful considering we were not familiar with the area. 

Site Quality: We stayed in the Family Campground so we could take advantage of the electric hookups. The sites are gravel, a good size, well-maintained, and spaced a decent amount of distance apart. Some are pull-through and some back-in. In addition to the aforementioned water and electric hookups, each site also has a picnic table, bbq grill, and fire pit. Some have covered picnic shelters but not all. Most of these also have space for tents. 

Bathhouse: Is located in the center of the loop and was clean. Sites on the inside have paths leading to the bathhouse but if you are on the outside of the loop, access is via a path between sites 34 and 36 or sites 11 and 13. Three stalls, one sink, and one shower. One sink is not really adequate for 40 sites, but I did not encounter more than one other person at a time. Soap dispenser, rack, and air dryer. The way the water faucets are is wasteful: once you turn them on, they run for quite some time before turning off. Hot water was appreciated. Did not use the shower so cannot comment on that. 

Activities: Several hiking trails. The most popular one is the waterfall trail, but you need to drive to the trailhead for this. It is paved for the first half mile (shortly after the petroglypghs) and then it is a rocky, gravel path. The waterfall only runs after heavy rain (I would think this would make access very challenging). There was water in the “pool” and it is scenic so it was worthwhile to go despite no running falls. There are restrooms, a picnic area and a playground near this trailhead. Some of the other trails are used by mountain bikers or horseback riders. The information you receive at check-in details the usage for each trail. 

This campground was mainly an overnight as we continued to head west but I am glad we took the time to hike the waterfall trail before leaving. If you need groceries or other supplies, the town of Surprise, about 8 miles to the east, would have everything you need. Note there is a nearby air force base and you will hear jets flying by, although this was during daylight hours.