12 Best Family Camping Places In Scottsdale

Family Camping Places In Scottsdale

Family camping involves planning, negotiations, and compromises, which is a long-drawn process. It is a task in itself to get everyone on the same page regarding a family camp. When the dream of months or even years of going on a family trip finally comes true, congratulations. 

Family camping is important as it is a fun experience for the family and a learning experience for the kids as they learn a lot of outdoor experience skills. There may be different camping experiences at different places for everyone; spending the summer in Scottsdale camping is an experience like none other. 

#1. Pine Grove Campground

Sitting in the middle of Northern Arizona’s lush Coconino National Forest and set in a scenic landscape, Pine Grove Campground offers campers blissful recreation facilities. The campground comprises 46 individual sites with picnic tables, cooking grills, drinking water, coin-operated showers, and accessible flush toilets and boat ramps.

Campers can also go fishing at Lake Mary Narrows. Kinnikinick, Marshall, and Ashurst lakes provide the recreational focus of the campground. Campers can also go on short hikes which are within reachable distance from the campground.

#2. Spillway Campground

The Spillway Campground is located on the Wood Canyon Lakeshores in northern Arizona, making up the Rims Lake Recreation Area. It has individual campsites and group campsites for small gatherings in the middle of a pine forest.

Families and photographers flock to the area for its scenic beauty, given its proximity to hiking trails and the lake itself. Lake and stream trout fishing is one of the most popular activities in the campground. Families can also attend the educational events organized by the Forest Rangers on the weekend.

#3. Fool Hollow Recreation Area

Fool Hollow Recreation Area is different from other campsites as only RVs are permitted. Campers control the adventure when they use an RV. Campsites scattered across the several loops that wind among the pine. Many of the campsites provide a view of the lake and the wildlife islands.

The ponderosa pine dominates the scenery, with pinyon pine and juniper scattered here and there. Campers can go canoeing and kayaking in Fool Hollow Lake, which spans over 150 acres. The recreation area added a day-use area that provides for two playgrounds and five large picnic groups.

#4. Canyon Area

Canyon Lake is an artificial lake on the Salt River, complete with fuel services, boat rental, 46 camping spaces, and two boat ramps. Birds like the bald eagle and the snowy egret flock the place, and anglers flock to the lake for fishing channel catfish, yellow bass, large bass, bluegill, and others.

As the lake located close to Phoenix, campers can take a day off their trip or choose to camp for the long weekend. The lake is connected to other camping sites like the Tortilla Open Campground, open around the year, and the Point Campground with three recreational sites: Palo Verde, Boulder Creek, and Acacia Picnic.

#5. Kartchner Caverns State Park

Kartchner Caverns is home to the largest stalactite structure globally and introduces visitors to the world of caverns. Explored in 1974 and declared a State Park by Arizona in 1999, the Kartchner Caverns is home to diverse forms of life, including microorganisms. Visitors can get a guided tour of the caverns and bats that inhabit the caverns.

The Discovery Centre of the caverns is another attraction of the caverns. Interactive exhibits with multi-screen videos provide an immersive experience for visitors about the caverns. Campers can bring their RVs to the two-loop camping sites just off the Discovery Centre with water and an electric hook-up.

#6. Usery Mountain

The Usery Mountain Regional Park takes up to 3648 acres of the Golden Mountains’ western end. The park houses lower Sonoran flora and fauna like the Cholla, Palo Verde, Arizona barrel cacti, etc. The park offers a 73-individual sites strong campground. Each site designated as a ‘Developed Site’ with facilities like a picnic table, barbecue grill, dump station, etc.

The famous trail in the park is the Wind Cave Trail which covers 1.5 miles with an elevation gain of 810 feet. The trail leaves the park and proceeds to reach the Pass Mountain, the westernmost peak of the Goldfield Mountains.

#7. Cave Springs Campground

Cave Springs Campground is one of the Coconino National Forest’s popular campgrounds and sits in the picturesque Oak Creek Canyon. It is the largest campground in Oak Canyon, with over 82 single sites, which offers both privacy in the middle of the ponderosa pine and the comfort of watching others.

Campers can bring their RVs, but they should be only up to 36 feet in length. Campers can go hiking, swimming, fishing, or birdwatching. The campground is well connected to other tourist attractions like the Slide Rock State Park and the resort town of Sedona and is equipped with all amenities for camping: barbecue grills, fire pits, and tables.

#8. Roosevelt Lake

Roosevelt Lake is a creation of nature in itself. The weather around the lake changes from south to north. The south is hot and dry while the north is wet. The Roosevelt Lake houses over 200 bird species, 75 mammal species, ten amphibian species, and 15 reptile species, making it the perfect spot for sightseeing and bird watching.

Developed campgrounds provide camping facilities. The lake has largemouth and smallmouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, and others, making it the perfect spot for fishing. Crappies, another fish found in the Roosevelt Lake, weighing around a pound, are regularly caught, making it a fishing attraction.

#9. Jackpot Ranch

Jackpot Ranch is an 85-acre Ranch in Camp Verde, Arizona. The private ranch is never short of amenities. The ranch’s treehouse provides a panoramic view, and campers can use the kayaks and private boats on the back pond of the ranch. The fenced and lighted playground area includes sports courts and play equipment.

The ranch has a 705 feet frontage of the Verde River with areas for bonfires and camping. Campers enjoy the night sky with tepees large enough to accommodate six people, provided by the ranch, and can also choose the site to place these tepees. Campers get to spend time with the “members” of the Jackpot Ranch: deer, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, and rabbits.

#10. Christopher Creek

The crisp, fresh air of the Christopher Creek campground makes it a joy to behold for campers. The campground is located between Christopher Creek and houses 43 sites on both sides of the creek and a group site to accommodate a 25-strong group. The site is blended in nature and surrounded by ponderosa pine, oaks, and junipers.

The campground offers facilities for horse riding and mountain biking, and taking a dip in one of the three swimming holes of the facility. The campground provides facilities for cross-country skiing in the winter and fishing for rainbow, brook, and brown trout in the summer.

#11. Aspen Campground

Aspen Campground located in the aspen forest area in the Wood Canyon Lake of north-central Arizona. The campground made of four loops with 148 sites spaced between each other. The large campground has diverse environments, which is complemented by the diverse camping experiences. Birds, deer, and squirrel make the wildlife viewing, and the bears and skunks frequent the campground.

The camping experience changes with the season. Camping includes boating, hiking, trout fishing, and photography. The Wood Canyon Lake of the Rim Lakes Recreation Area is one of the most visited spots in the area. The paved roads of the campground provide the perfect ground for biking trips.

#12. KOA Campground in Flagstaff

The Flagstaff KOA is a beautiful campground at the base of the San Francisco Peaks and set at 7000 feet. The space of the KOA campground is large enough to accommodate 129 RVs, 30 tent spaces, and 14 cabins. The campground offers tepees, patio RV sites, cabins, and deluxe cabins introduced in 2016.

The banana-bike rentals, playgrounds, and hiking trails from the campground to the national forest are among campers’ favorite. The KOA also provides on-site mountain breakfasts and is the perfect spot to explore the famed red rocks of Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and the Meteor Crater. There are kid’s activities, family movie nights, and much more for family campers at the Flagstaff KOA campground.