Best RV Parks & Resorts near Young, AZ

We decided on a whim to head north for the weekend. This was our first dispersed camping experience with our new RV.  We didn't know where to go and this was the first place we tried. 

There are lots of places to park, but many are a bit 'rugged' in trying to get to. We found a great place that suited our needs.

Here are the Positives: 

• Uncrowded. We were literally the only people there. There were 5 other RVs that people apparently had parked long term. Some had stickers on them indicating they were in violation of the 14 day stay policy. Interestingly all were moved out while we were there.
• Close to town. You're only 5 miles out of Strawberry so pretty convenient if you want to head to town for breakfast or if you need something.
• Strong 5G cellular signal on ATT. We got 120Mb/s speed there which was awesome.

Negatives

• Right off Highway 87. Lots of road noise. This bothered us just a little. 

• Big drop off on turn-in. We have a 39ft rig and the backend bottomed out when we pulled in. Keep that in mind if you have a big RV that tends to ride close to the ground. 

Overall I'd say this is a good place if you are just trying to get out of the heat and you enjoy going into town. It doesn't seem too popular so maybe less crowded than others?

We reserved here because there wasn't any availability down by Woods Canyon Lake.  Upon arrival, we were met by Larry the camp host (an amazing friendly gentleman) they gave us some brief directions, rules of the park and local places to visit.  We have a 19' travel trailer and the RV parking is parallel to your campsite so you're level.  The amazing part (space 21) is your campsite....you have .5 mile of wilderness to the rim and enough available free firewood to last a week.  It's quiet and away from the craziness of Woods Canyon and helps you relax and not deal with the noise.

Very nice clean rv park with well spaced campsites. Have yet to use the vault toilets or dumpsters so no opinion yet. Reserve and FFS sites there is a dumpsite and water, and some of the sites have electric. There are tent sites as well. Having been here through the afternoon/evening, I have to add that this campground is a bit noisy with hwy traffic and pets. I have to add that the staff here are very nice and helpful.

The only road open is from Roosevelt side over the dam wall … we had a 40 ft Cruise America RV. I would have been nervous taking an SUV down that road!!

We tried calling to ask about conditions and no one advised of road issues. Camp might be wonderful but the road killed any chance of us going.

We instead stayed at RV park by the town. Use google for directions and check with park operator before attempting this road. If you have a 4x4 it looks like an amazing drive.

Clean, very widely dispersed camp sites(lots of social distancing trees) especially in loop B (no electricity hookup); loop A sites a little closer but still great and most sites have electricity. Double lane dump station but no full hookups. Very clean restrooms and showers (require a ticket, not open on Mon & Tues). Campground mostly quiet after 8:30pm. Nice little (about 2 miles round trip) hike to Sinkhole. Campground close to several wonderful lakes for fishing, canoes, kayaks and stand up boards.

This spot really is nice. It’s right in town so if you need anything it’s walking distance full hookups and room for some pretty large rigs. Since you are in town you can hear the traffic and the spots are packed pretty close to each other

“The town too tough to die,” reads the slogan of the tiny village just about a half mile from this wonderful campground. On any night of the week, the campground boasts more residents than the village, at only 6, but during the day it’s a different story. People come from all over just to hang out, have lunch, or shop at this little speck on the map that could be adequately described as a “tourist trap.” 

For all the commotion nearby, the campground hears none of it. Tucked neatly under the road, the tiers of camping loops simply face out to a view that is magical and the rest of the world can just roll on by. This campground is unique in that each space has water and sewer, but no electrical…so bring those solar panels and leave the generators at home. The bathrooms are clean and offer a flush, but only accommodate one person at a time, which is great during a pandemic year.

For some reason, the people at this campground are extra friendly…each and every time we come here, we’ve made some new friends. If you go up the road, there is some incredible hiking and hardcore cycling. Down the road, and you’ll find gorgeous Canyon Lake and the Salt River. We’ve paddled all over the US and other parts of the world, and the Salt River Canyon still remains one of the most beautiful and most accessible. If you want to avoid boat traffic, go in the early morning or just before sunset. It’s divine!

The closest services for prepared food and ice are in the quaint town of Tortilla Flat, but you won’t find a grocery store. Further down the valley 15 miles or so is the Phoenix suburb of Apache Junction which has all the usual stuff for groceries, gas, and more RV parks than you can shake a stick at.

My first impression of Canyon Point was how clean and well organized the whole campground was. There is a kiosk at the front staffed with a couple workers who were very friendly. The provided a map and directions and offered lots of information.

It’s a little expensive but not terrible at $33 per night for hookups and $28 without. That being said, there are full hookups and a dump station, showers, and even an amphitheater with schedule activities. A and B loops, reservations required. I thought that the sites were a little close together for me.

This is one of the most well run and organized campgrounds that I’ve been to!

There are 28 RV spots and 18 tent sites. There are restrooms and showers, although on a holiday weekend, they can get gross. The view from site C, D, 1-14 is the closest to the water and in my opinion, the nicest sites. There is a beautiful hike just across the road. The views from the top of the mountain are amazing. The water and the views are breathtaking. We had several RV's side by side which helps as the sites are close to one another so if you have noisy neighbors, I could see that being an issue. We had a wonder trip and will be returning in October.

Campground sites are well spaced with lots of privacy. The dump and showers were out of service due to mechanical problems. The only downside is trying to find enough level sites when they are busy. The campground is also very close to Payson so you will hear Street noise if you listen.

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.

The campground itself was decent. Clean, basic spots with fire pit and picnic table. Fairly level, very little shade. We were in spot 135 which was a higher price because it was "waterfront" but all of the spots were pretty much waterfront so really not worth the extra money. The spots on the west end had grass and trees so they were actually nicer. If you're into kayaking or paddle boarding this is a great place to go. If you go to the east it's super quiet and calm and it goes back quite far. No boats go back there, it's peaceful and gorgeous. That was our favorite part of the trip. The drive to get there was a little scary in the RV, the turns on the 88 were very tight so you have to go super slow, but it's doable. We have a 25 ft motorhome, but there were much bigger rvs there too. At night there was a lot of noise from the road,seems like the 88 is the place to go on a motorcycle and they fly by at high speeds until about 10:30 at night. Super annoying cause it's loud but it at least didn't go too late. We also did the Dolly Steamboat dinner cruise and the food was amazing and the scenery was beautiful. No sewer hookup or dump station but you can pay $20 for a pump out. All in all a good place to stay.

Super accessible from the Phoenix area, very easy to find. You can choose your own camping spot, and there are many existing stone fire rings and pits that are spaced out decently across the area. The earlier you arrive, the more spots you'll have to choose from; most are filled by sundown. A sedan can easily get across the Flat with some careful maneuvering. Vault toilets are all the way at the entrance of the Flat so plan accordingly. (Or... bring a trowel.)

Lots of families, which means kids, music, and laughter. Never a bad thing, but even if they're not particularly loud, there's no trees or shrubs on the shoreline to dampen the sound and it carries pretty far—especially when kids figure out the lake is basically a giant echo chamber!

The wind can really whip across the lake when it picks up, and it makes it hard to pitch a tent or run a stove. I recommend setting up camp up by the trees if you don't plan on boating/fishing/RV camping to give yourself a bit of shelter from the wind.

No hiking or trails to be had here, but definitely a relaxing, pretty spot.

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.

One of our all-time favorite boondocking spots. There are many forests roads off 188 on the southern shore of Lake Roosevelt where dispersed camping is allowed. Some have spectacular views of the lake but are high up and difficult to get to. We found the most easily accesible dispersed camping off Forest Rd 83 between the national monument and little town of Roosevelt. There are large level sites here right off the forest road. As you go further up the forest road, sites get smaller but more private.

This is all working open range with lots of stock. We woke up many mornings to cattle rooting through our stuff and one morning to a real roundup with cowboys on horses. Amazing. There are lots if Saguaro and jumping Cholla cactus around as well as rattlers and scorpions so be alert.

We stayed nearly three weeks here and will go back. Lots to do around and across the lake.

No amenities but there is a dumpster at the head of FS83. Otherwise nearest towns are Punkin Center to the west and Roosevelt to the east, Globe being the nearest large town about 40 min away.

Note there is also dispersed camping off 88 along the Salt River, also worth taking s look. No cell service along 88, no amenities and roads get much more steep and difficult.

When traveling to new places, I want new things to look at and unique experiences when I camp. I couldn't have asked for a more unique first day in AZ when I made my way to Apache Lake Campground (at the Marina) in AZ. It was late when I arrived, and I was starved, so it was the perfect time for dinner and a great view!

It says that it takes over an hour to go less than 30 miles to the campground, and I assumed this was one of those GPS errors...until I saw the road to get there. Mostly washboard dirt, a little asphalt and a lot of twists and turns. Upper speed limits of 20 mph made it very clear that the GPS knew what it was yapping about. At one point, I thought I was on a movie set and seriously didn't know how any car coming the opposite direction would pass, if it came to that. But all that aside, it was a beautiful, peaceful drive! Just don't do it in the dark. It's called the Apache Trail and it's Arizona's oldest highway, originally built in 1905. Serious history here! Absolutely worth the drive, if you don't have a fear of heights and have extra time to kill. It passes through a little town called Tortilla Flat and there is apparently an ice cream shop there with prickly pear gelato!

About the campground. It's deep in a valley, on Apache Lake. What a view!! Down a steep road that's about a mile off the main highway (Route 88), you can see the camp before you even get there. Once there, it's a little confusing to find what you need because signage isn't terribly apparent and it's a kind of "lazy-kicked-back" sort of atmosphere. Nothing up scale about it, at all. But that's part of it's charm. I guess I was there at the tail end of the "off" season, so it wasn't terribly busy. It's not fancy, by a long shot, but what you need is at your fingertips. You have to check in at the main building, which isn't very clear, especially upon arrival in the dark, but in the office, they will take your money, show you a map, and point you in the right direction.

There's a section for RVs with hookups (and they do have a dump station). There are restrooms in a few spots, and while not fancy, they let you "do the job" you came to do. Also some showers, and again, not the Ritz, but there is water to rinse with. I'd suggest shower shoes. The camping is kind of cool, though. It's dispersed. I mean, there are many little spots nested in the trees, around the lake, on the sand, where you can just pick a spot and stay. It was only $10 to pop a squat (I think it says $5 online, but that is incorrect). Some are far better than others (on little jetties or in the trees) but they all have sweet lake views and fire rings! You are allowed to collect dead wood to use, so that makes it easier to fire up at evenings end, but they sell firewood bundles too.

I had a little spot right off the lake, and it was quiet. A few night sounds, but nothing more than fish and birds. The only thing that bothered me were some bright lights, almost like on a jet plane, that were at the other end of the marina. I just positioned my tent so that I didn't get the runway lights right through my screen. In the morning, I took advantage of the big huge bathtub outside my tent (most people call that a lake) and took a very quick dip, since it was like ice water. Boy was it refreshing!!! Perfect little site for my first night in the desert. Not dessert. Big difference.