CAMP SITES IN ARIZONA

[VanIsle Gal]

? ??? ???? NOT SO EXPENSIVE CAMPSITES????????

Can any one out there name/suggest certain campgrounds in Arizona? that you've been to and would say they are OKAY, but not too pricey.? With the CANADIAN EXCHANGE putting the prices up and the rising cost of gas for our gas guzzler truck & camper, we want to try and keep our costs down.? I looked up a few KOA sites and think they are a little high in price.

We would like safety, water and electricity for most of the time.

We have the BC AA Campground book.........maybe that's all we need

Getting anxious to start on our first trip to Arizona in October.....we have 5 weeks.?
Hoping to get a few responses.

(I have been told there are zillions of campgrounds...........that is unnerving when one doesn't want to search when at the end of the day you are tired of driving.)
Do you get discounts if you stay for 5 days in one spot?
thankyou kindly.................VanIsle Gal

 

[Tom]

I've found KOA parks generally to be overpriced for what you get. I'll let others talk specifically about parks in AZ, but don't forget the great boondocking (dry camping) opportunities on BLM land in places like Quartzsite. The BLM permit, available at one of the ranger stations, was something like $35 for 21 (or was it 28) days.

 

[VanIsle Gal]

Thanks TOM.

Dry camping.........I'm assuming that means no water? No electiricity?  Right?  sounds okay.

And being new to this, what does BLM stand for?  Some government thing?

 

[Tom]

Oops, sorry, should have been more specific.

Yes, dry camping means no hookups whatsoever. It does mean you need to conserve a little so as not to fill your waste tanks too quickly, but there are places nearby where you can dump and fill up with water. Electricity will be provided by your onboard generator &/or batteries.

BLM = Bureau of Land Management.

 

[Jeff]

Yes, dry camping means no hookups whatsoever. It does mean you need to conserve a little so as not to fill your waste tanks too quickly, but there are places nearby where you can dump and fill up with water.

And you are hearing from a real expert here! ;D ;D

 

[Tom]

And you are hearing from a real expert here! ;D ;D

LOL Jeff. Despite the ribbing I've taken here, we've boondocked by RV many times over a period of 20 years. We're also used to boondocking by boat. Admittedly, 10 days at QZ was the longest we've dry camped at one time in the RV, but it really wasn't a big issue. We just had to conserve water and use other folks' bathrooms so we didn't fill up our tanks. Several others had to leave to dump and fill, but we stuck it out 'till the end of the rally.

 

[Ron]

Several others had to leave to dump and fill, but we stuck it out till the end of the rally.

Yep you did good Tom.  After your performance at Moab we kinda suspected you would be making trips across the highway to the dump station. ;D ;D

 

[Tom]

LOL Ron, Moab was just a performance to get y'all to think we couldn't go more than two days without a sewer hookup  ;D

 

[Ron]

Ya had us but after QZ we began to think the dump station runs in Moab  was just a ploy so we wouldn't know Chris was letting you practice driving a diesel Rig. ;D ;D

 

[VanIsle Gal]

? I can see you fellas are having fun.? ;D

Isn't there a cactus out there that men can go behind, so that we don't have to empty the tank very often?

What's at QZ?? why is it so popular?? Just the price?? ????

 

[Ron]

What's at QZ?  -  I will leave this for Jim Dick to answer.  As I recall he is the one that wrote up an excellent discription.

why is it so popular? - Well to begin with it is the largest single gathering of Framily members in one place at one time.  I wouldn't be suprised to see 50 coaches there this year in our group.  Then there is Quartzsite interesting place with all those fle markets and the RV show during the time of the rally. We will just be a small number of the thousands of RVers gathered on the Arizona desert south of QZ.

Just the price? - even though the price is right it isn't the reason we gather there.

You just got to experience QZ to understand it.  By all means come and join us.

 

[Tom]

To read Jim's first impressions of QZ click on the Library button above, select Places to see and things to do, then click Quartzsite impressions.

 

[Carl L]

? I can see you fellas are having fun.? ;D

Isn't there a cactus out there that men can go behind, so that we don't have to empty the tank very often?

What's at QZ?? why is it so popular?? Just the price?? ????

What's at Quartzite?? In the summer 400 people.? ?In the winter, about a quarter million or so.? ?Also the largest, goofiest flea market west of US-127.? (Did you know that there is an active market for glass powerline insulators?).? ? There is a supermarket in a tent, a bank in a trailer, and the only McDonalds in North America with live music.? ?You can go up in a balloon, buy a Jurassic ammonite from Morroco, a Class A motorhome, or get your soul saved at a couple of revival meetings.? ?

 

[Ned]

And ultralight aircraft, and gorgeous sunsets.  The sunrises are pretty decent too

 

[Phil]

What's at QZ?  why is it so popular?

The world famous RV Forum Potluck!!!  ;D-

 

[Ken & Sheila]

The Phoenix area has numerous "snowbird" RV Resorts. These are not campgrounds in the normal sense. These contain hundreds to thousands of small rectangular lots (30 to 50 feet wide, 40 to 60 feet deep - my estimate from seeing only four). Most contain a high percentage of lots with Park Models. These are used only in the winter, but the lots are rented annually because the Park Models don't move. This also means that these parks have a large percentage of people who already know each other. When we first came to Phoenix we stayed for a few week at Mesa Regal RV Resort (in Mesa of course). This is a large resort with over 1000 lots, but it did have one section that was mostly open lots (versus  lots in between Park Models). Mesa alone probably has over 10 large RV resorts.

ON the west side of Phoenix there is Cottonlane Rv Resort (newer, fewer Park Models, smaller fewer amenities) in Goodyear and Sunflower in Surprise. Sunflower also has a "Campground" section for short term stays, but it is overpriced.

There are also numerous smaller parks.

Tucson also has several large RV Resorts (Voyager, Rincon West etc) for seasonals (snowbirds) as does Yuma.

On the cheaper side, in and near Quartsite you used to be able to get a seasonal rate of $1,000 plus electricity for five months (this was several years ago)

All the seasonal parks that I know have daily, weekly, monthly, multi-month (5months) and annual rates.
The longer terms are far cheaper.

Some Parks do fill up in January thru March, but there are others that never fill up (at least not when I was there).

I would suggest you pick an area and a park and sign up for a week to see if you like it. You could also use this time to explore other parks yourself.

ken

 

[ryegal]

Hi all, any rv person should experience Quartsite, It is super !!! even if you don't stay go see it for yourself. Donna

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi all, any rv person should experience Quartsite, It is super !!! even if you don't stay go see it for yourself. Donna

Donna,

You are so correct!!! Many of us here on the forum have been there many times. We have a rally every year around the time of the RV show and have close to 30 rigs each year. Anyone who owns an RV should experience QZ at least once!!

a

 

[wilde]

Don't forget Mcdowell state park campground on the outskirts of Fountain Hills, outside of Scottsdale. Stayed there a few times, only about five minutes from the Mayo Clinic. Water and electric with a dump station. I think I paid eighteen dollars a night. Nice spot large sites beautifly desert scenery and coyotes at dusk!

 

[Clay L]

We have a rally every year around the time of the RV show and have close to 30 rigs each year.

We will be in Bouse (between Q and Parker) again this year. Where is the rally held?