Campground Gems Around Phoenix

Remember the days when you used to actually go camping? We certainly do. We didn’t always have electricity or water and certainly not a generator either. As time moved along we ended up with all the conveniences of home. Our little camping trailer eventually was one with a kitchen and even a bathroom. In those days we never thought about an RV resort. We wanted to get away from it all so we went out of the city and went camping. We didn’t feel like we were on top of another camper either. We felt like we had plenty room. Perhaps, it’s because no one had slides and tried to get 40’ units in 30’ foot sites.

It seems rare anymore to have a large RV site unless you’re boondocking someplace or at a COE park. You certainly can’t find many of those large sites in RV parks. Some RV resorts and parks today really pack in the units. We were tired of the city parks and decided to check out a few little gems around the Phoenix area. These gems are part of the Maricopa Regional Park System. They offer huge RV sites away from the city but not too far away.

Estrella Mountain Regional Park is west of Phoenix and close to the Goodyear area. It would be prefect if coming in from the west or so we thought and a very active golf course sits across the road. There are a few RV sites by the golf course and the rest are by the horse stables. The park itself is beautiful but we weren’t very impressed with the campsites.

Our new RV site.

Lake Pleasant and Cave Creek Regional Parks are both just north of Phoenix. Both of these parks are absolutely gorgeous. We were just about ready to move to the Cave Creek park when we decided to check out one more. North of Mesa is Usery Mountain Regional Park. It’s close to everything but yet you can hardly see your neighbor through the vegetation. Obviously, other folks thought this park was a real gem too. We paid for one of the last spots and then headed off to get the motorhome. When we returned even the overflow was full.

This is where we were. What a difference!

Even though we had one more day left at the Elks, we were ready to go! After setting up in our gorgeous new botanical garden setting, we took a short drive to Apache Junction and met Jim and Sandie for dinner! It was two weeks ago that they left us in Las Vegas. Now here we are again.

After dinner the four of us surprised Eric and Karla at their Tiki Bar. Eric and Karla have been workamping at an RV resort in the Mesa area. It seems everyone's time in this area will soon come to an end and it’ll be time to head north again. We have a couple more get togethers planned this week to celebrate the end of winter.

The Jeep is in the shop getting taken care of but we won’t get it back until about April 5th. We have no choice but to hang around this area at least until then.