Arizona state parks

[Mike-Gloria]

Hello,
We are travelling to Arizona and would like to know where you stay and if there are any great state parks? We have almost two months to just wonder and can go anywhere in the state. Appreciate any and all information.
Thanks

[Hittenstiehl]

It is a varied and beautiful state and many will weigh in. Some of our favorite are McDowell Mountain State Park, Lost Dutchman State Park. For us both of these parks are close to Phoenix so city things are available and then you are just a couple of minutes out of town for a peaceful and picturesque evening with incredible views.

[TinShack]

Usery Mountain Regional Park is very nice. East of Phoenix and on the edge of the Tonto National Forest so easy access to urban services and desert wilderness. Beautiful cactus gardens too. If you're a baseball fan, go in March for the Spring Training games.

[Rocinante]

Check out Lake Pleasant Regional Park, north of Surprise. The park itself comprises some striking desert high country with plenty of Saguaro, at least one interesting hike, and wild burros running around. There are also a couple of small campgrounds. We've not camped there yet, but it's on our list.

[NavyCorpsman]

I went to the Arizona Department of Tourism website, and they sent me literature of every imaginable place in Arizona. Its broken down in to areas of interest, Agri-tourism, dining, camping etc. I've been to AZ 7-8 times and never knew some of these places existed. It's a great resource and free! Order online and you will get a package in 5-6 days. I also received coupons and discounts for some things as well.
If you are ever planning on going to Oklahoma, check out their website. They have the most beautiful and comprehensive guest package I have ever seen. It's free too.
As we plan our trip out west, each state has given us a great way to plan the trip at the dinner table, and they even throw in a folded map for us low tech old school types.

[AnnArborBob]

You might consider ordering the Arizona Guide from these folks:

Shunpiker

And definitely get this map/atlas:

http://www.amazon.com/Arizona-Road-R...benchmark+maps

Have fun! We are in Florida this winter but are headed out to AZ and Southern CA next fall/winter.

[Mike-Gloria]

Thank you all, can't wait to get there and check out these places. Maybe we will see you there.

[Ahab]

When you come into the state by road make sure you stop at a welcome station, they will have a State Parks brochure that lists location and amenities of all our parks.

[Cyclist]

The more popular parks near Phoenix and Tucson (Lost Dutchman and Catalina respectively) get booked up early so reservations are needed. We are booked into Catalina next week and I reserved back in October when there were only a few vacancies left. Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood is excellent and a nice base from which to visit Sedona. We've also stayed at Picacho Peak State Park about 40 miles north of Tucson. We liked it notwithstanding its location near I-10 and it was relatively easy to get into (only weekends were busy).

Lake Pleasant Regional park is nice and was easy to get into when Lost Dutchman and Usury Mountain were booked. We were there in early March last year.

[Hittenstiehl]

See great recommendations from locals and visitors. When you are here also feel free to join either the 4CU (4 Corners Unit) or Phoenix Units for some great get together's in Feb and March.

[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . just a thought, everything around PHX gets pretty full at Spring training, so reservations would be a good idea. As others have said, Lost Dutchman & White Tanks S.P.s are very nice & very convenient to the area. The State Parks are on line if you get impatient. . .regards, Craig

[Phoenix]

Catalina State Park has an overflow camping area. It has a new, very nice restroom and shower facility, with a central area of picnic tables and fire rings. However, there are no individual tables and fire rings at each site. And, of course, no hookups.

We have stayed in the overflow area several time waiting for a spot to open up in the regular campground. Every time, it ended up easier to remain in the overflow lot, instead of moving.

Great campground with lots of equestrian and hiking trails. Also, many lower trails are wide and well-suited for mountain bikes.

[TBRich]

Our very favorite AZ State Park is Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area in Show Low, AZ...if you are going to be there in Spring, Summer or early Fall. It's open year round but it can be cold and snowy in the winter... And while you're there you might want to check out the many National Forest Camprounds on the Mogollon Rim that extends across Arizona ... from just above Payson east to the NM border. We like Lost Dutchman and Picacho Peak a lot as well. (Picacho is closed in the summer.) Dead Horse Ranch in Cottonwood is great base park to see the Sedona area.

Some of the parks mentioned above area actually not AZ State Parks (McDowell Mt, White Tank) but part of the Maricopa Count Regional Park System along with Usery Mt, Cave Creek and Lake Pleasant (and more)...they are all great parks and you can make reservations.

[eubank]

One state park that we've used several times as a pass-through from here to there and back is Homolovi Ruins just outside of Winslow. It's got lots of interesting Hisat'sinom (Ancestral Pueblan) stuff and is still a sacred place for their descendants, the Hopi. And it's got a decent campground for RVs and is only a short drive in to eat at La Posada!


Lynn

[clamb]

We spent Thanksgiving to New Years staying at Az state campgrounds. During that time they are very empty. We stayed at Picacho Peak, Patagonia Lake, Kartchner Caverns, Roper Lake, and Lost Dutchman. All great parks. I would definitely recommend Kartchner- the caverns are spectacular! One of the two tours is closed after Apr. 15, due to bats nesting. A good day trip from there is Tombstone or Bisbee. A great day trip from Picacho Peak is the Biosphere 2

[Jim Lee]

We spent some time in North Arizona this past summer..... we had good luck with Bureau of Land Management Campgrounds, especially around Taos. Also FOrest service campgrounds and boondocking.

The BLM camps had lights and water usually hot showers.

With the golden age access pass our camp fees were below $10 in most places. State parks were more.

[tevake]

Another nice park to put on your list is Buckskin SP. On the Colorado river a bit north of Parker. Cool and mellow by the river in the winter.

I hear it is jumping in the summer with all sorts of river antics going on.
But quite mellow this time of year.

[nilesrob]

We are sitting in AZ as we speak, have been camped for a few days (boon docking) just a mile outside of the south entrance to the Grand Canyon. Temperatures here are a little cooler than in the Phoenix area (20's at night, low 60's during the day), but it has been great. We are sitting on a fire road and there are multiple "campsites" (obviously there are no camping fees), although we are the only ones here. A little slice of heaven. And with our senior pass access to the Grand Canyon is free as well.

We will shortly (as in later today) moving to Lost Dutchman and McDowell who others have commented on - this will be our first time at either of these locations, but will try to give you some insight after our visit.

[nilesrob]

Oh, and I forgot to mention we stayed in a national forrest campground called White Spar which was great! Just outside of Prescott, which is a cool little town. Near Prescott also are a couple of lakes (Watson Lake to name one) which are just drop dead gorgeous if you travel with kayaks or canoes; very quiet, no motorboats. You can see some of our AZ travels if you click on travelwiththeslowskys.com, a blog I use to try to remember where the heck we've been! We will be in AZ for another week or two.

[nilesrob]

All right, last post. We will also head in a few weeks down near Tucson to Catalina and Valley of Fire campgrounds. We have not been to either, but I believe these are both supposed to be nice.