Best Tent Camping near Wenden, AZ

I've been trail riding in the Wickenburg area since I was a kid, and the rodeo grounds across the street from Constellation Park is a gathering site for just about everyone who heads out into the desert on their 4-legged transportation. On my most recent visit to Constellation Park, the park and rodeo grounds were empty, but this place fills up fast whenever there are events scheduled, and the sites are first come, first served with NO reservations system, so plan ahead!

There are 35 dry camp sites along a dirt road north of the rodeo grounds on Constellation Road in Wickenburg - they are primitive dry sites with no tents allowed - all camping must be self contained. Site fees are $8 per night, or $12 per night to have a horse corral included. Yes, I'm confused too - horses are ok, but tents are not? I'm not sure what the logic for self contained camping is for these sites, as they would make excellent car camping/tenting sites, but I'm not the one who makes the rules.

The park opens onto state and BLM land, which you can ride or backpack into with a permit -

https://land.az.gov/recreational-permit-portal

Wickenburg is already a relatively quiet town with not much traffic outside the US 60 / US 93 interchange for people traveling from Phoenix to Las Vegas, so it's nice and quiet up here. The road undulates up over small rises, so unless there's a late night at the rodeo arena, there are no lights to compete with the star gazing show either. Again, tent camping would make so much sense here. . .

I'd give the park 5 stars for the pretty desert views, quiet location and big skies if you were allowed to enjoy them outside of an RV. Oh well, we don't get everything we want, right?

No tent camping. Self contained RVs only. Constellation park campground hosts horse events and rodeos that draw crowds from everywhere and of all ages. Campground is directly across the street from all horse and rodeo activities so this is very convenient if you are in the area for horsemanship.

I camped here in late November (not during any festival or anything) so this place was very nice and roomy with great cell service, and a quick and easy drive in - just a few minutes from town. Zero hassle. Very rocky if you’re tent camping but other than that, no problems.

Lots of flying bugs 30 min before and after sunrise and set but they all go away. Not many camping spots but close to water and clean restroom with hot showers. Boat launch, lots of RV parking dog friendly with a dog park. Get good water shoes or your feet will be cut up from river rocks that are everywhere. Close tent camping so if you hate people walking through or around this is not ideal for you.

Love this Saddle Mtn Campsite! The pin location is accurate but it looks there are multiple different access routes. We really enjoyed it here because you can pull up within 50-100 yards from Saddle mountain and camp right below it. So cool.

We tent camped for about 5 days here, the crowd was minimal, felt very safe. Plenty of trails to walk, can explore the mountain and there are petroglyphs here. We only found a couple, but didn’t look too hard.

Overall loved this place, easy access, safe, fun and some cool views!

Buckskin is an amazing park. We have tent camped and RV camped there. Hookups and restrooms are great. The showers are also nice. The best part is, you’re on the Colorado River!!! There are 2 beaches, one you can beach your boat and another that has a designated swimming area. (If you plan on leaving your boat overnight, anchor out about 10-20 feet from shore. The water level drops a few feet at night.) they are also planning to remodel the closed restaurant on site. This is a very friendly family environment.

PROS: 

• Some sites are right on the Colorado river.
• Beautiful mountain ranges in the background.
• Full amenities at this park including showers and restrooms.
• Our site had a nice fire pit and grill, where you could simultaneously cook over coals while still having a nice fire going in the other area of the pit.
• This campground is near a lot of incredible hiking opportunities.

CONS:

• Our site was right underneath a bright lamp that shined into our tent and made it hard to sleep. We were at the site next to the walkway down to the river. Sites next to the bathrooms will also deal with night lamps.
• Tent sites are gravel, which isn't so bad except the whole are kind of slopes down to the river, making sleeping flat difficult.

Overall a well maintained and friendly park. Would come again.

First, you get what you pay for, this tent site was 5.00 per night! The location is great, right on the Colorado River. We made reservations ahead of time using reservation.gov. We knew there were no amenities but were ok with it.

I use a rating scale based on amenities, location, cell service, cleanliness and campsite.

There is no running water available at the site, only one vault toilet, obviously no showers.

The campsite itself was great, nice shady spot with a grill, picnic table and did I mention right on the water.

Cell service was spotty, usually one bar with AT&T.

There are wild burros that roam the area and we were quite surprised that they walked through our campsite down to the water.

We stayed on a Friday night and there were people riding motorcycles or ATVs through the park chasing the burros, making a lot of noise. Also people on the river all through the night making lots of noise.

We rented kayaks in Parker AZ, Parker watercraft and it was great, we loved every minute.

While there we also made the quick trip to Lake Havasu city to see the London Bridge.

I grew up in Arizona and had never been to Alamo Lake.  The lake is kind of in the middle of nowhere but what a hidden treasure. We camped there in March 2018.  It was on the warm side.  The area is best suited for camping October - March.  This is the desert people.  Or if you have a giant RV with air conditioning and cable television, you could go anytime.  Fish early in the morning and late at night. 

The campground is rather large with different areas for tent camping and hook-ups.  We stayed with an electric and water hook-up in a pop-up tent trailer.  There were lots of big rigs and toy haulers.  We definitely had toy envy with only our pop-up and kayaks.  This is a big ATV area so there were lots of ATVs riding around.  People also had speed boat and canoes.  The campground was not completely full even though it was Easter weekend.  It was also relatively quiet.  The bathrooms were sparkling clean and had nice showers with hot water.  There was also an AMAZING fish cleaning area at each campsite loop.  If you aren't really a campsite person, there is dispersed camping available by the shore but you need to drive down a dirt road through a tiny fork in the road "town" called Wayside.  There is a bar/restaurant/store/campground/gas station in Wayside.  The next town is about 30 miles away.

We found some great fishing which is unusual for Arizona.  We caught bass, bluegill and catfish.  We saw people catching a lot of fish.  They have bass fishing competitions at this lake and I can see why. 

The lake is surrounded by pretty red mountains. The sky is a beautiful blue.  I highly recommend the area.  Not too crowded, good fishing, nice clean campground.  What more could you want but maybe a nice cold beer!

Gorgeous place to visit or stay love it!!!! Huge park with nice campground. Sites near the ranger station are paved and level. No cell service unless you hike up a trail or drive to the dam overlook. There are only a few hiking trails(easy to moderate) but they are well maintained. The lake is a great place to kayak. We saw many birds and wild donkeys. The views are excellent. Hiking trails were at a minimum. Saw Borros& quail. Located in the middle of no where. Be sure to have full refrig and gas tank before you come in.(There is a convenient store on Rt 60 between Solome& Wenden). We camped at Alamo Lake in a 5th Wheel.

This place is amazing. It’s feel like you are camping in wilderness. Lots of wildlife and beautiful views. The rangers are pretty kind. Plenty of services for campers (Tents, RV’s, cabins) and daily visitors.

I have logged more than 30 trips to this campground since the 80s. Sadly, my last visit September 2020 I discovered that the store, boutique, arcade, restaurant, dock and gas station were gone! Bulldozed. There was no warning or notification when making reservations. There was no.access to convenient purchases or fuel. The campground now caters more to rvs than tents but tents are still allowed. There are bathrooms with showers at no charge. But not as clean as they used to be. Please be cautious of the water levels if you are not experienced with this section of the Colorado River in Parker. The dam limits water flow overnight and the river drops. It rises during the day and is extra high in late afternoon evening time. People often lose watercraft, boats and beach gear because they.are not aware.

Not a bad place to stay, nothing fancy but it all works. Wifi Not the best, especially now with the BIG Tent Show. Free way close by, but doesn't bother us. Lots of nice people here that stay Year around or all winter. Will probably stay again.

I fought a Badger twice a night for three nights. The Rangers are aware of the issue but obviously nothing has been done. The Badger I delt with was 20-25 pounds and nasty. It tried to get in my tent and my Clam Shelter. I cleaned up the beach of plastic worms and fishing line. The campsites are kept nice and the showers are very nice. It's a drive to get to the park.

Rough sloped area at crest by cell tower. There is another better quality road slightly south of this rough upper area that I include in this camping area. This is AZ Trust Land so a $15 online permit is needed to be legit. Cell signal is very good. No toilets, no water, no tables, no dumpsters. Only a few miles into town and a grocery store.

Only 2 stars as the area is no scenic and had beat down vegetation and general vibe is sketchy with some crapped out tents and campers. .

THIS was my first time here in Quartzsite,Az. I stayed at La Posa South. It has been awesome!

I have made many acquaintances ,and friendships

With neighboring RVers, tent dwellers and van dwellers.The beautiful sunsets and sunrises.<

Although there is no electricity ,they do have clean / toilets , dumpsters and potable water as well as non potable.

They also have non - potable water, and places for emptying our Rv tanks.

Yok can buy a pass ($180 to stay for 7 months in the winter,from Sept.15- April 15.

If you decide to stay in summer you pay $75. You can cam 14 days and then move 25 miles away every two weeks.

There are many options to accommodate your camping experience.

I have taken beautiful pictures since being here.

I most deffinately will be coming back.

My last stop before I continued my trip into California and what an awesome stop it was. I’ve spent a month in Arizona roaming around and each area has me fantastic!

I’d immediately recommend having a truck or suv so you can really explore the entire area. I was camping in my overland Tahoe on this stretch and it handled the area well. My buddies has a Tacoma and Land Cruiser respectively so we were set.

It’s all about exploration out here. Lots of RVs bringing their play toss out here so you’ll run into a lot of dirt bikes and utvs which is awesome. Numerous mining areas and ranch buildings still dot the area and are fun to respectfully explore. Sunsets are beautiful, shade is non existent, and rocks aplenty. Cell service was non existent for majority of my trip, and no water that we came across. Saguaros and ocotillos are everywhere which add to the AZ landscape

Do your best to understand the local rules and regs here and abide by them. This is an area we need to respectfully use so we have it for decades to come

A little introduction may be in order. My name is Randy Mahannah, aka Randoo, I am 67 years old, accompanied by my dog and I’ve been on the road since February 23, 2018, as of this writing just over 3 months. I have been in 5 states, 4 Motel 6’s and 10 different campgrounds over 6300 miles and stops at friends and family. I am on the road and I’m enjoying it. Let’s start with a bucket list item.

There is a place in the far western and southern desert of Arizona called the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. At first glance, one might question the possibility of wildlife even remotely living in such a harsh desert environment but live there these creatures do, most amazingly, desert bighorn sheep. But it isn’t just the critters, it’s the desert, some of the most rugged, badass, beautiful desert in America, the border of the Sonora and the Mojave deserts and amazing country.

Oh yeah, campground rating, uuhhh, no campground unless you consider the entire refuge as your campground because that’s what it is, primitive camping at its best. At Kofa there are no facilities, no restrooms, no designated campsites, no water, no nuttin’, just a bare spot in the dirt and a place to dig your privy. So in terms of a best-of-five something rating probably zip. In terms of desert lonesome awesomeness, 5 +.

Take lots of water, you’ll need it, at least two five gallon containers and if you are so foolhardy as to visit Kofa between May and September, take a fiver for each day you will be there, just in case. I was there in March and was quite comfortable, day and night. Winters will be mild daytime, chilly to cold at night, summers, oppressively hot daytime and dance-naked-under –the-moon beautiful at night with more stars than you have ever seen unless you’ve been to Machu Pichu under a new moon. 

As for things to do, desert hiking both flatland and in the mountains is what is offered. Take a camera and try to get a sheep shot. If that doesn’t work the native palms in Palm Canyon that stand still and won’t run away from you and the landscapes under a changing desert sun are wonderful.

I spent three nights there and was enchanted by a desert landscape I’ve wanted to visit since I was draft eligible. It’s all about timing and tolerance but if you find yourself in the neighborhood of Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, 23 miles south of Quartzite, 60+ miles north of Yuma, Arizona, allow yourself a night or two. Might pleasantly surprise you.

This dispersed camping area which requires a ridiculously inexpensive online permit ($20 per year), was perfect for what we needed. Our closest neighbor was about ¼ mile away, and we had views and sunsets aplenty. There is access to the Lake Havasu, but only by OHV or on foot, we chose the latter. 

The roads in from the highway are rough and rocky, but doable if you take it slow.  Once again our 67 year old vintage camper did great getting to our spot, though we recommend parking and walking the roads before committing to the drive in.

There’s hiking opportunities right out your front door, and nothing but the highway or the lake to stop your progress. The nearby Cattail Cove State Park offers designated hiking trails through the rugged desert terrain. 

Nothing in the way of services, so bring your own...but lots of space to be alone and private.  And, with sun, sun, sun, the California/ Arizona skies are great for solar gathering, so bring out all your panels. Starlink internet worked well too. 

Lake Havasu city is about 15 minutes up the road, and there you can find everything you might need in terms of services and supplies. Check out the world famous London Bridge while you’re there, too!