Best Tent Camping near Parker Dam, CA

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.

This is a small campground located right next to the Colorado River. This site has a motel, RV and what looks like tent sites. Looks clean and has views of the docks right on the water

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.

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.

This is our 2nd stay at Lake Havasu State Park. We had site C-2 in the cabin loop with W/E. Recommend weekdays if you like quiet camping. We were there Monday thru Thursday with only a couple days advanced resi and had the cabin loop all to ourselves until the last night. Most weekends are booked. As always the park is immaculate with nice personal combo bathrooms & showers. Clean & level tent sites as well. The park staff had huge smiles and waves at the gate every time we returned from our days adventure. Great welcome!

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.

Great way to afford enjoying Lake Havasu. Note this is an Arizona State Park so daily vehicle rates do apply if just visiting and/or camping. Located on the east side of Lake Havasu side in Arizona state border. California to the west separated by the Colorado River/Lake Havasu. Lake Havasu City is 19 miles away and the Parker strip is 8 miles away (Lake Havasu separated by the Parker Dam). Remember you're camping in a hot, dry desert climate and limited shade as only palm trees and small shrubs. Campground has showers and restrooms as well as RV dump station. If you're looking for a place to enjoy Lake Havasu, lounging in the water or boating, highly recommend Cattail Cove State Park. A little more remote than right in the city.

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.

Cattail cove was another Havasu Campground my family frequented from 1984 to 2000 It has awesome memories of hiking along the red rocks and lake, following wild Ram through the mountainsides and finding great cliff-jumping spots into the refreshing waters in summer heats. It DOES get very hot here in the summer, so be prepared. I have been during a record 132-degree days. You stay in the water and dont get out under some shade!

Excellent swimming areas. Good docks for your boats- but make sure you have some good bouis so you dont get any damage. The restaurant / bar used to be really good. In 2012 we visited it and it was not great... but we didnt get sick. Functional store. Gas available for your boat or vehicle. Clean nice bathrooms. OK Campgrounds... clean, more-so meant for motorhomes however some pretty good tent sites in the valley area.
At night bring out your black light and look for scorpions. You'd never even know they were there if you were enjoying the night sky on the jetty. Awesome wildlife and nature. While wild burros / donkeys are more predominant on the California side of the lake you'd still be likely to see some. Skunks. Bats. Owls. Hawks. Rams, snakes (rattlers, king snakes, gophers and more though the campground maintenance is pretty good about keeping it safe). Great large mouth bass fishing, catfish and other species, crawdads, and other fun finds. I used to enjoy skin diving near the cliffs there and in coves.

Large campground with many permanent squatters. Positioned directly on the Colorado R. about 3-4 miles below Parker Dam. This could be a nice campground with the mountain views over the river. But the rundown nature and lack of maintenance here is very noticable. This place is definitely past it's prime. There is no cell service so you must rely on wifi, of which, there is none. I asked at the office...nope, none. There is a nice area right on the river to walk your dog or whatever. Sites are cramped, and there is not much gravel. Worst picnic tables I have ever seen situated between the tight(!) spots. Tiny homes are available for sale along the shoreline, so camping spots are slowly being devoured.

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!

if your not familiar with Laughlin it is super hot we came in October and it was still hot as can be, not as bad as the summertime and for sure not as crowded, we came on a weekday so I do recommend coming during the week. The water is still refreshing because it's still hot as heck out there…..Ok on to the good stuff, so the beach area is amazing. honestly, it's super neat and crystal clear river water and sandy beaches. The best part of this site for sure!!!!!  the campsites are super clean, and not on the beach area in case you were wondering you can walk or drive… ok so the campgrounds have desert landscape and NO trees between spaces, clean bathrooms and showers oh and the showers cost quarters so make sure you bring them.. anyway besides desert landscaping the spaces are pretty spaced out but still NO trees, also you're super close to a major street in Laughlin so not really impressed by that, the only spot that was left was right by that and you hear cars for a good amount of our stay.

if you have the NV state park pass be prepared to pay 10 dollars additional without an RV it's one of the few places I have noticed that make you pay even if you are tent camping, so make sure you put that in your budget!! 

So the grounds are dirt roads but the parking places are paved and they do have tables and awnings for each spot. some are pull through as well and like I said full hooks up and they do have a dump station right when you pull in so it's convenient for before and after dumping needs…

like I said it's hot even in October and November but it's not busy at all on the beach. Cool little gem because of the beach for sure!! Also just for extras.. raccoons, and skunks roam these areas at night so have your food and vehicles secured

cheers!

Crossroads Campground is located on the riverfront of the beautiful Lower Colorado River. This campground is popular with winter visitors looking to enjoy the warm winter temperatures and relax on the riverfront. This campground has great access to fishing, boating and off-roading.

Natural Features:

The campground is situated on the shoreline of the Lower Colorado River. The river runs through a backdrop of steep rocky terrain, and wind shaped sand dunes. The area is teeming with wildlife, especially fish, migratory birds and small mammals.

Recreation:

The Lower Colorado River offers excellent boating, fishing, canoeing and swimming opportunities. The campground provides river front views and a beach.

Just follow the Parker Dam Road Scenic Backcountry Byway to various recreation sites along the river. The Rock House Visitor Center and Boat Launch are within a mile of the campground, and offers information and a free boat launch open year-round.

Other popular activities in the Parker Strip Recreation Area include hiking, biking, rock hounding and off-road vehicle travel.

Facilities:

This small campground contains individual campsites and one accessible campsite. All of the sites are dry camping (no water) and provide a picnic table and grill. 

One vault toilet is available. There is a Campground Host available to answer questions.

Nearby Attractions:

The Copper Basin Dunes and Crossroads Off- Highway Vehicle Open Areas offer miles of off-road adventures. Rock hounders enjoy hiking and driving through the area to search for unique rocks. 

Rock House Visitor Center has a free boat launch and a visitor center stocked with brochures and information about the area.

Facilities are clean and spots are plentiful May-September due to the extreme heat. All sites are pull through RV sites that easily accommodate 2-3 tents (4man). Rumors have it they are clearing sites to create a tent only section but it will not be ready until fall 2020.

Until then expect to pay the $20/night + $10 utility hookup.

I used to visit this state park for Spring Break back in the 90's. Lots of people and lots of fun. Plenty of places to put up a tent and relax or party!

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.

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.

Enjoy Lake Havasu by being right on the lakeside. What better way to beat the dry, Arizona desert heat. We tented the weekend we camped. We also had hammocks to lounge in during the day when not in/on the water. Nice facilities and an easy way to enjoy Lake Havasu affordably.

This was a small, 24-site campground near the Colorado River. The sites are not reservable so first come first served. The grounds and bathroom were clean. There are coin showers so make sure to bring quarters if you’re planning to use them. Otherwise, the river was really cool and refreshing. There were ants on our tent pad so we didn’t use the regular tent. We were one of the few tent campers, everyone else was in RV’s/trailers.

It is somewhat near the highway so you can hear cars that drive over the rumble strips from time to time (so bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper).

The sites also have hookups, a grill, a fire pit and shade ramadas. There are a few bushes separating you from other campsites and they were spaced pretty decently where we didn’t hear the RV noises.

The beach area to the river was within walking distance. There are shade ramadas too and some have picnic tables. The water was very cold but refreshing.

I would camp here again in the cooler months or if I had an air conditioned rig during the warmer months. It got up to the high 90s during the day but was nice and cool late at night.

if it wasn’t for the river I’d give this campground about 3 stars because of the ants and highway noise.

(sorry for the lack of photos for the whole site)