Are you in need of a campground near Tempe, AZ? Tempe is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Find the best campgrounds near Tempe, AZ. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.
The campground has 138 sites: 68 sites with electric (50/30/20 amp service) and water and the remainder non-hookup sites on paved roads for tents or RVs. Every site has a picnic table and a fire pit with an adjustable grill gate. There are no size restrictions on RVs. Well-mannered pets on leashes are welcome, but please pick after your pets.
The office at Lost Dutchman is open until 7 p.m. for campsite check-in, but after hours (with campsite reservations) you can grab a map by the ranger station and head straight to your campsite! If you are staying multiple nights, check-in with the camp host, or a ranger to get a vehicle tag.
$25 - $89 / night
Cave Creek Group Site is located 20 miles north of Cave Creek and Carefree, Arizona. It is a historic campground constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This site is a short drive from the blistering heat of Phoenix offering cooler temps, a clear running creek, and plentiful shade to relax and enjoy nature. With food prep areas, grills and covered picnic tables, you're all set for a weekend with your loved ones you'll never forget!
At this site you'll enjoy camping, hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, sightseeing, exploring, bird and wildlife viewing, and there is even a game area for volleyball and horseshoes.
At this site you'll enjoy camping, hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, sightseeing, exploring, bird and wildlife viewing, and there is even a game area for volleyball and horseshoes.
This group campsite is nestled in a narrow valley of juniper and sycamore trees providing abundant shade. Water flowing through seven springs is minimal and only several inches in depth. The area has one large open camping area and a nearby trailhead offering access to over 48 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Bring your camera during springtime to get photos of the desert wildflowers in bloom.
Across the road, Cave Creek trailhead offers over 48 miles of hiking trails - great for overnight backpacking trips. Bronco Trailhead further south, offers parking for 40 vehicles plus trailers and six horse pens. Just seven miles south is Sears-Kay ruin. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this site features the remains of an ancient Native American tribe's hilltop village. For spectacular scenic views take Forest Road 562 to Humboldt Mountain. Or, you can simply stay on site and observe nature and hunt for crawdads in the nearby creek.
$150 / night
This State Park campground located in the Superstition Mountains is a frequent quick camp spot for me if I don feel like trying to beat the crowds to some favorite local dispersed sites.
They offer sites with electric and water, and sites for dry camping, along with some cabins and group sites you can reserve. The sites offer as much privacy as one can expect in the desert and are not super close together, except for the site numbers 70+ which are only available in winter typically. There are plenty of hiking trails and activities in the park and nearby. The bathrooms and showers are clean and well maintained, and they even have a small dog “park” for your best pal to run off some energy.
Favorite things about the park: The views and the wild life. We have seen so many beautiful birds, from quail and owls to roadrunners and vultures, along with several different types of squirrels, lizards, hare, and coyotes.
If traveling near Phoenix you should make this state campground a number one option.
The towering superstition mountain range is a beautiful site and while we were there we were able to watch a hiker who was rescued. This hiker was not injured, just afraid to come back down the trail. Guess going up is easier than coming down.
The site we had had power and water. The showers in the restrooms were not great but something is better than nothing.
We liked it there. Nobody else on Friday night, plenty of space
The typical rumble strip dirt road to this point but easily doable.
Service: 1 bar Verizon
Fairly close to our home (30 miles) but we love to do 1-2 nighters here when we have the time. There is plenty to see around the area. Park is well maintained. Spots are close but not too close to each other. Its a little elevated so the valley views are great. Gets a little warm during the summer - after all it is AZ. Theres an old Gold Mine nearby to visit.
Miles of desert and washes to explore with tons of dispersed camping sites. Can get busy on holiday or event weekends but worth it otherwise. Some weekends have horse or Dirtbike events. Nearby washes lead to tons of trails near castle hot springs that can lead to various abounded mine sites (including Anderson Mill). Obviously not ideal camping in the summer but GREAT for the fall/winter/spring months.
Lost Dutchman State Park isn't just a campground, it's an adventure paradise! I'm giving it a flawless 5-star rating because it truly blew me away. Here's why:
Off-Roading Nirvana: Dust off your UTVs(side-by-sides) and get ready for a blast! The washboard washes (river beds) offer thrilling rides for off-road enthusiasts, with stunning desert landscapes as your backdrop.️
Hikers' Haven: Lace up your boots and conquer one of the park's diverse hiking trails. From challenging climbs to scenic strolls, there's a path for every level and every desire.
Feast for the Eyes: Prepare to be awestruck by the breathtaking scenery. Jagged mountain peaks pierce the azure sky, while the vast desert stretches out before you, creating a postcard-perfect landscape.
History Comes Alive: Immerse yourself in the legendary lore of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. Uncover the park's rich history and explore the stories that have captivated adventurers for centuries.
Camper's Dream: The park offers spacious campsites with convenient power and water hookups, making it a comfortable home base for your desert exploration.(Note: sewer hookups are not available.)
A Final Note: While you're busy conquering the trails and soaking up the scenery, keep in mind that cell service can be limited in certain areas. This might just be the perfect opportunity to disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature! Lost Dutchman State Park is an unforgettable experience for anyone seeking adventure, breathtaking views, and a touch of history. I can't wait to get back and explore more of this desert gem!
Loved staying at lost Dutchman. We are full time in our Rv, stayed for a full week and had access to the bathrooms, showers, dump & fill stations. We dry camped with no hookups but were able to use our generator at certain hours of the day. Great AT&T service through our Insty to get internet for work. Mostly loved the copious amounts of trails to walk, hike and run on. Even did a bike ride up the Apache trail to Boulder lake. Such a beautiful location.
Lost Dutchman has amazing views, super clean facilities and spaced out sites. Highly recommend.
We really enjoyed this park. Sites were nicely spaced. Beautiful view of mountain and amazing sunsets. Great hikes right from the campground.
Spent two nights in January. Facilities were clean round the clock, shower water was hot, staff friendly , and hiking trails directly from the campground.
Wish we could have stayed longer. Great views and nice people.
Quiet (most of the time) and a beautiful view. Loved that the campsites were spread out. Only complaints are the weekend warriors being noisy at night and no sites have FHU. Only water and electric but still was nice to have those amenities
Very well kept full service campground with super helpful staff. I recommend sites with canopies if you don't have solid air conditioning as it can get hot in the sun and there's very little natural shade. All sites have power and water. There's a dual lane dump station on the way out of the park.
We stored our RV here for several years and they were easy to deal with. No hassles. The RV Park itself is nice and has a swimming pool and a little social area where they have game nights and parties.
We enjoyed our two night stay. The staff were helpful and friendly. The place was impeccably maintained. Had a campsite get a bit rowdy with a few choice words and the staff was on it before anyone complained. Top notch place. A bit noisy at night from traffic but almost all campgrounds are.
After years of reading rave reviews we finally got the chance to experience Lost Dutchman State Park, and we were fortunate to show up on a delightful Friday spring evening at 7p without a reservation and secure a last minute cancellation of Site 41 with 50 amp electric and water and a stunning view of the sunset on the Superstition Mtns. This is a very nice park, but also very crowded as it is basically within the Phoenix metro area, so it feels a bit congested and overrun compared to many state park campgrounds.
While it's on the bottom of our "Fave AZ State Parks" it's only there because, it's busy. It's right outside of Phoenix and folks from the valley frequent it. Being at the entrance to beautiful Tonto NF doesn't help with the traffic either. But, it's still 5 stars. The sites tend to be backwards for hookups vs how you pull in. So, if you have a long hose and power cord, park accordingly. Did not use any bath houses. Thankful we had electricity as we almost hit 100 in April after a chilly AZ winter.
Friendly rangers. Clean restrooms and hot showers. Hiking trails. Start early in the day. It can get hot in April. We hiked the Treasure loop trail to the green rock. Then the PV trail down. 500 feet elevation gain over 2 miles. Loose gavel in some spots. Moderate difficulty.
Ranger Sara ROCKS!!! Her upbeat personality and kindness was greatly appreciated after a long day behind the wheel. The entire staff was welcoming and all the bath houses and showers were cleaned multiple times daily. Our site was spacious and well kept. Not a piece of trash to be found. Very convenient to Goldfield ghost town for a day of fun and a flowy 4 mile mtb loop as well. Our daughter did the jr ranger program and loved it!!! Thanks again, great park!
Spectacular views, quiet and clean. Trails are well maintained.
While the sites at Lost Dutchman State Park are quite close together, the views and hiking trails are awesome! We camped in a campervan here (site 106) and it was perfect. We were in the 'rustic' loop, which consisted of sites without water or electric, and we could see Flatiron Mountain from our campsite.
My only complaint with the site is that it was quite a long walk to the restroom! Tent campers may not be able to find a suitable spot to pitch as the sites are small, but if you can get a site between 33 and 40, you should have room to pitch a tent. There are also hiker/biker campsites that require a short walk. These have amazing views, as do the cabins.
We would definitely stay here again - maybe in early March so we can see the wildflowers blooming!
This is a nice little KOA. It’s a small resort with all the amenities. It has a small dog park but it gets the job done. The people in the park are very nice and the staff are extremely kind and helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here.
Let me just start by saying that I would probably be in jail or prison right now if I didn't change my life and have a career that I didn't want to risk losing. We moved to this park in February 2021. On arrival the staff was very friendly and welcoming. The park isn't the prettiest but the staff was friendly to us and our children. The park was alive and children played outside. It was a very comforting feeling. I had absolutely no issues with this park until ownership/management change. Rules started changing, especially for children. They basically made rules to restrict children from being children. One example is that children under the age of 14 cannot be more than 50 feet from their RV site without a parent. They say this is for safety purposes but even if that is true or whether you agree that it's a safety issue, it is an illegal rule in the Great State of Arizona. They claim that this is private property and they can make any rules they want but that also isn't true. I was also told"we have a lawyer that helps us make these rules and approve them". Well get a new lawyer because you were about 1 mistake away from getting sued ma'am When you make an agreement verbal or written to lease part of your property the"private property" laws do not apply as that individual is a tenant. All tenants rights laws apply at that point so no you cannot just make any rule you like. Now moving on to the biggest issue...... While a lot of the stuff was easily overlooked as their dumb illegal rules weren't being strictly enforced, over the last few months they have made aggressive moves to start"enforcing" their[illegal] rules which almost got their"head of security" hurt. I have 2 daughters that are 9 and 10 which I have on weekends and a 15 year old step son. I give my children chores and responsibilities so they grow up with discipline. My children are also very well manored and respectful especially for ages. One of my children's responsibilities were to take out the trash. One day my kids came from taking the trash saying some man said that they couldn't be out there and that they need to go home. Well immediately I told my kids that unless it's someone from the staff telling them anything that they don't have to listen to what some random in the park says just as I'm sure any parent would. Well here's the kicker. This old man that my wife, my children and myself had no idea who he was kept harassing my kids and never identifying himself as staff. He also never identified any rules to my kids. He simply just stalked my children any time they were outside riding around on his golf cart and waiting for them to get to where he was and telling them to go home. One day my kids come home and say the man was here to talk. I go outside and this old man with a really jerk smile on his face came walking up like he was going to tell me the law and I would bow like a dog. To be fair he didn't say anything but the way he presented himself you can tell that he felt he had some kind of authority. I ask"hey do you work here?" He says"I'm the head of security" with a very aggressive attitude. I said"okay?" and he told me they couldn't be outside without an adult. I said"okay, way to flex you'authority'". I felt like this guy just thinks that he is someone but has another thing coming. Well I called the front office and asked for clarification on the rules. They left a booklet with the"new" rules on them for me in the mailbox outside of the office door. I read the entire packet and checked their rules against Arizona State law and found that most of their rules are in violation. At this point I advised my stepson and daughters to ignore their security guard if he speaks to them(this is perfectly legal since security either public or private has no more legal authority than a citizen on the road) and if he harasses them we will take action then. My kids took out the trash one last time and Mr"head of security" harassed my kids and said"your father will be hearing from me" but i never heard anything. I even waited outside for an hour while he drove around on his golf cart. Instead i found a written warning on the windsheild of my work truck the next day. I was very upset because they were illegally restricting my children from being children. The old me would have stopped right there and someone would have gotten hurt but i just decided to ignore it and hope that it would come to an end. So my step son which is 15(above the age of going outside alone) liked to take showers in the shower rooms. One day he goes to take a shower and guess who tells my step son he couldn't be there and would have to go home. Yes Mr"head of security". When my step son came and told me he couldn't take a shower that was the last straw. I immediately walked to the office in hopes to talk this out and resolve this. As I got to the office the old man steps out with the same jerk smirk and aggressive persona and says"ah yes come on in" in a very condescending way. I lost it. This dude has no respect, no idea about the law and no idea what a security guard is supposed to do and neither does the manager Debra. I may have been screaming and cursing at this man but they don't realize that he was 2 seconds from a memorable or I guess possibly hard to remember ambulance ride. If I didn't turn my life around and didn't want to lose my job he would have learned a very valuable lesson that day. Debra threatened me with a 24 hour notice to leave the property. I told her she wouldn't want to try that because if she did she would have a lawsuit. I decided that moment that we had to leave for the safety of my future and their head of security.
This is a very well-kept campground. It is has restrooms and showers. The sites are nice and mostly flat and nicely groomed. The staff here is very friendly and helpful! I really enjoyed it and I will be back. I have a virtual job and I was able to work from this campground with no real issues with network connectivity for a full week.
Boondoocked here 4 2 weeks. Nice hiking trails, mountain bike & road trails, neat activities, including songs & history around sunset campfire, clean, quiet & comfortable, lovely spot. Apache Trail is spectacular; reminiscent of CA Hwy 1, without the ocean but same magnificence & grandeur. All within a home run of Phoenix.
Lost Dutchman is a beautiful campsite however the sites are a little closer than what we prefer. We were in site 98 which was right in front of the Superstitious Mountains with no obstructions. The site was a pull thru but was barely long enough for our Toyota Tundra max cab and 20-foot trailer. A picnic table, fire ring and a couple of camp chairs is about all that fits at this site. If you want your trailer door to be lined up with the table, it will require you to pull the trailer through and park your tow vehicle behind it. Firewood can be purchased for$8 cash from the ranger station and ice for$6. If you want to use the well-maintained bathrooms or showers don’t stay in the 75-104 loop since the bathrooms are almost a half mile away via a trail that I would not recommend without closed toe shoes. We saw Quail and tarantulas on the trail. Although there were multiple signs to beware of rattle snakes we did not run into any. There was also a dog park near the main restrooms and showers. There is a dump station on your way out of the park that was easy to access. Goldfield Ghost Town just down the road, although a tourist trap it is a must see. There are multiple gift stores, a restaurant as well as a hamburger/ice cream stand and bakery, a train ride and Mine tours. Just a little farther down the road is the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum which is more than just a museum full of old artifacts. There is a great gift shop and 15 acres of mining artifacts, artwork and a movie site Chaple used in a 1968 western called Charro which started Elvis Presley as well as the Apacheland Movie Barn used in multiple westerns. They even have a working 1914 Stamp ore mill which was used to crush boulders that had small pieces of gold within them. When enjoyed our two-night stay at Lost Dutch and spending the day learning about the history of this little community.
This place is pretty okay except the price and then the price goes up in December. But staff is friendly the maintenance people are helpful. And the neighbors are friendly.
Camping near Tempe, AZ, offers a mix of stunning landscapes and outdoor adventures. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an action-packed getaway, there are plenty of campgrounds to explore.
Camping near Tempe, AZ, has something for everyone, from families to seasoned RVers. With beautiful landscapes and plenty of activities, you're sure to have a great time!
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Tempe, AZ is Lost Dutchman State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 78 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 11 glamping camping locations near Tempe, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.
