Location:  Western Arizona south of Lake Havasu City.

Access:  From Arizona State Highway 95 at milepost 167 + .7 (15 miles south of Lake Havasu City, 23 miles north of Parker), turn west onto a paved access road; proceed 0.7 mile west to a fork in the road; turn south (left) and proceed 0.1 mile to the park entrance station; continue for 0.1 mile farther to the campground.

Facilities:  40 campsites, all with partial hookups; sites are rather small, reasonably level, with very little separation; parking pads are sand/gravel, medium to long, straight[ins or parallel pull-throughs; adequate space for large tents; barbeque gills; b-y-o firewood; water at faucets throughout; rest rooms with showers; holding tank disposal station; paved driveways; camper supplies at a nearby marina; complete supplies and services are available in Lake Havasu City.

Activities & Attractions; Boating; boat launch, dock and jetty; fishing; swimming; playground; horseshoes pits; small emphitheater; day use area.

Natural Features:  Located on gently sloping terrain above a small cove on the east shore of Lake Havasu, a 25,000-acre lake created on the Colorado River by Parker Dam; campground vegetation consists of some medium to large trees and sparse grass; day use area has a plot of watered, mown lawn; bordered by desert hills and mountains; average high temperatures exceed 100*F June through September; elevation 500′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  open all year; $12.00; 14 day limit; Cattail Cove park office (602) 8558-1223.

Camp Notes:  Cattail Cove is one of only two full-service public campgrounds on this huge lake.  (The other public camp is at Windsor Beach; the very large campground and marina right next door to Cattail Cove, at Sand Point, are concession-operated.)  Except on holiday weekend, there’s usually room for late arrivals here. In addition to the two regular public camps, there are more than 200 boat-in primitive campsites, some with vault facilities and ramadas, scattered along the shore of the 45-mile-long lake.

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Location:  Northwest New Mexico east of Farmington,

Access:  From the junction of U.S. Highway 64  & new Mexico State Highway 539 (23 miles east of Bloomfield, 55 miles west of Dulce), travel north on Highway 539 for 5 miles, cross the dam, and continue for 0.5 mile beyond to the campground.
ALTERNATE ACCESS:  From the junction of U.S. 64 & New Mexico State Highway 511 (12 miles east of Bloomfield) head northeast on Highway 511 for 13.6 miles to the dam and continue as above.

Facilities:  78 campsites, including 20 with electrical hookups or electrical and sewer hookups, in 5 loops; (additional sites are available during peak periods); sites are generally small and gravel/dirt), short to medium-length straight-ins; most pads spots; a number of sites have ramadas (sun shelters); barbecue grills, plus some fireplaces: b-y-o firewood; water at central faucets; restrooms with showers; holding tank disposal station most driveways are paved; gas and camper supplies at the marina; limited supplies and services are available in Bloomfield

Activities & Attractions:  Boating, boat launch; marina, fishing for rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, large mouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, crappie, bluegill and catfish; well-equipped playground; day use areas; small visitor center.

Natural Features:  Located on a juniper-dotted sloping bluff at the southwest corner of 13,000-acres Navajo Lake, a reservoir on the San Juan River; junipers and pinon pines, on a surface of campsites; surrounding by mesas, with low mountains in the distance; elevation 6100′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  One all year; $7.00 for a standard site, $11.00 for an electric hookup site, $13.00 for a site with electric and sewer hookups; 14 day limit; park office (505) 632-2278.

Camp Notes:  Pine River is the principal recreation area on the New Mexico side of Navajo Lake.  Lots of people come a long way to Navajo Lake.  You really can view a great expanse of this distinctive mesa country from Pine River Campground.

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Location:  North-central Utah northeast of Logan.

Access:  From U.S. Highway 89 at milepost 377 + .5 (3 miles northeast of Logan, 34 miles southwest of Garden City), turn south and go across the river bridge into the campground.

Facilities:  11 campsites; sites are small, closely spaced, but with good visual separation; parking pads are hard-surfaced, short straight-ins; small tent areas; fire rings; some firewood is available for gathering in the area; water at a central faucet; restrooms; paved, narrow driveway, with a turnaround at the west end; complete supplies and services are available in Logan.

Activities & Attractions:  Fishing and a lot of fun for the party crowd this is a college town)

Season, Fees & Phone:  May to October, $6.00; 7 day limit Logan Ranger District (8014) 753-2772.

Camp Notes:  This small camp is the closet to Logan (and is attendant services) of all the Logan Canyon campgrounds along U.S. 89.  Be aware, however, that, if you entering the canyon from the west, this is (to quote the old tune) “just the start of something big”.  There are a number of other, probably more desirable, campgrounds within a dozen miles east of here.  Although this camp certainly has its redeeming qualities, it also appears to be a favorite handout of some members of the local party crowd.

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Location:  Western Arizona in Lake Havasu City.

Access:  From Arizona State Highway 95 (Lake Havasu City (1.4 miles north of London Bridge) turn southwest (i.e., left if you’ve arrived from the south and just passed London Bridge) onto Industrial Boulevard and proceed 0.5 mile to a fork; take the left fork on 0.15 mile, then turn west (right) to the park entrance station; take the first south (left) turn and continue for 0.7 mile to the campground. (a tip on finding the place; the far south end of the campground, i.e. the opposite end from the park entrance station, is directly behind the high-rise Holiday Inn).
                        
Facilities:  74 campsites; (a large group camp is also available, by reservation); sites are medium to large, essentially level, with fair to excellent separation; parking pads are gravel, medium to medium + straight-ins or long pull-offs or PUll-throughs; adequate space for large tents on a sand/gravel surface; fire rings; b-y-o firewood; water at several faucets; restrooms with showers; holding tank disposal station; paved driveways; complete supplies and services are available in Lake Havasu City.

Activities & Attractions:  Fishing; boating; boat launches; large, sandy swimming beach; day use area; Mojave Sunset Hiking Trail; famous relocated London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.

Natural Features:  Located on a flat along the west shore of Lake Havasu, a reservoir on the Colorado River, in the Mojave Desert; sites received minimal to ample shade/shelter from hardwoods and bushes; views of the lake and desert mountains from signs indicate that poisonous snakes and insects inhibit the area; total land area within the entire state park in 11,000 acres; elevation 500′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  Open all year; $7.00; 14 day limit; park office (602)855-7851.

Camp Notes:  The contrast between a contemporary desert community like Lake Havasu City and classic London Bridge is curiously appealing. As the story goes, Lake Havasu City’s principal real estate developer bought the historic viaduct when the City of London was about to scrap it and substitute a modern structure.  The bridge was meticulously dismantle and reassembled here in the Mojave Desert.  In keeping with the Britannic theme that pervades Lake Havasu City, Windsor Beach was named for England’s RoyalHouse of Windsor.

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Location:  Southeast California along the California-Arizona border east of Needles.

Access: From Interstate 40 at milepost 153 + .3 (1.3 miles west of the Arizona-California border, 11 miles east of Needles), take the Park Moabi Exit (the easternmost exit in California); turn north onto Park Moabi Road, and proceed 0.6 mile; turn left to north onto Park Moabi Road, and proceed 0.6 mile; turn left to the park entrance station and the campground.

Facilities:  664 campsites, including 31 partial or complete hookup sites; sites are all fairly level, and vary considerably in size and separation; from small to very large, from close to quite private; hookup sites are parking-lot style, on a gravel surface; tent spots are generally large and level; tenting not permitted on the grass on weekdays (because of automatic sprinkling); some sites lack table and/or fire facilities; barbecue grills in most sites; b-y-o firewood; water at several faucets; restrooms, some with showers; holding tank disposal station; gravel driveways; adequate supplies and services are available in Needles.

Activities & Attractions:  Boating; large boat launch area; marina nearby; fishing, small playground.

Natural Features:  Located along the west bank of the Colorado River; campground vegetation consists of some watered grass and short-to-medium height, bushy trees; sandy beach; surrounded by desert mountains; elevation 600′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  Open all year; $10.00 to $15.00; discount system for summer weekday camping and winter camping; 14 day limit; park office (619) 326-3831.

Camp Notes: Although it often gets pretty busy at this park, they’ve reportedly never had to turn anyone away.  Park Moabi’s campground may be handy for I-40 travelers, since the next nearest public camps along the Interstate in Arizona are 165 miles east of here in Williams.

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Location:  Northwest corner of Arizona south of St. George, Utah

Access:  Form Interstate 15 milepost 18 at the Cedar Pocket Rest Area (18 miles northeast of the Arizone-Nevada border, 20 miles southwest of St. George, Utah), proceed southeast for 0.2 miles to the recreastion area entrance; continue for 0.1 mile south to the east loop or 0.3 miles west (right and down) to the west loop

Facilities:  114 campsites in 2 loops; sites are mostly medium-sized with minimal separation; parking pads are paved/gravel, short to medium-length straight-ins or medium to long pull-throughs; many pads medium-sized tent spots, may be a bit rocky; a few sites have ramadas (sun shelters); barbeque grills; b-y-o firewood; wated at faucets; restrooms; paved driveways; adequate + supplies and services are available in St. George.

Activities & Attractions:  River access; Virgin River Gorge; SCENERY.

Natural Features:  Located along the bank of the Virgin River and on a bench above the river; sites in the east loop, perched on top of the rocky bench, have better views; west loop sites are situated closer to the river; campground vegetation consists of a few short to medium-height desert plants, including cholla cactus, Joshua trees, and sparse grass; and Black Rock Mountains border the canyon to the east; typically very warm during the summer months; evevation 1900′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  Open all year; $5.00; 14 day limit; BLM Shivwits Resource Area, St. George, (801)673-4654.

Camp Notes:  This Arizona Site is the only public campground with 15 miles of Interstate 15 along the 300-mile stretch of desert four-lane between St. George, Utah and Barstow, California. Virgin River Canyon Campground ius situated in a desert setting completely encircled by colorful canyon rock. Camping at this relatively low elevation is perhaps most enjoyable in the milder seasons of spring and autum. Named Rio Virgen (for the Virgin Mary) by Spanish missionaries, the Virgin River flows southwest from here for several more miles to its marriage with the Colorado River at what is now the north tip of Lake Mead. At the confluence of the two streams, scientist and Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell and his small band of river runners emerged from Grand Canyonk,and on August 30, 1869 ended their historic first exploration of the Colorado River system. 

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Location:  Northwest corner of Arizona between Kingman and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Access:  From U.S. Highway 93 at milepost 19 + .1 (19 miles southeast of Hoover Dam, 53 miles northwest of Kingman), turn north onto a paved road and travel north for 13 miles, then east/ortheast for 13 miles; at a point 0.25 mile past the ranger station, turn east (right) into the campground.

Facilities:  71 campsites; sites are small to medium-size, reasonably level, with fair to fairly good separation; parking pads are paved or packed gravel, short to medium-length straight-ins/pulloffsd; adequate space for medium to larger tents (somewhat depending on the size of the samp vehicle); barbeque grills or fireplaces; b-y-o firewood; water at central faucets; restrooms; holding tank disposal station; paved driveways; gas and camper supplies at the marina; nearest source of limited supplies is Boulder City, NV. 25 miles northwest.

Activities & Attractions:  Boating; boat launch; marina; fishing; interpretive displays inside the ranger station.

Natural Features:  Located on a gentle slope above a large bay on the south shore of Lake Mead; campsites are lightly to moderately shaded/sheltered by oleander, large hardwoods and palms; surrounded by a desert plain; rocky bluffs, buttes and desert mountains are visible in several directions; elevation 1400′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  Open all year; $7.00; 90 day limit; Lake Mead NRA Hq. Boulder City, NV, (702) 293-8920.

Camp Notes:  The road is paved, and is fairly straight along much of the route. But the numerous dips will probably demand a moderate speed for any vehicle with less ground clearance than an earth mover. The 26 mile, three-quarter-hour trip is worth it: this is one of the best camps on Lake Mead. The peculiar name forf this place? Before the lake was created, there was a gold bearing gravel bar in the Colorado River just offshore which had been named for a massive, vertical, slab-sided rock a few miles upstream called the “Mormon Temple” (No, it wasn’t named for the type of ‘bar’ some of you might have thought.

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Location:  Southeast Nevada Southeast of Las Vegas.

Access:  From U.S. Highway 93 a milepost 4(3 miles northeast of Boulder City, Nevada, 3 miles west of Hoover Dam), turn north onto Nevada State Highway 166 (at the Lake Mead NRA Visitor Center); proceed northerly for 1.8 miles; turn easterly (right) and continue for 0.2 mile to the campground.

Facilities:  155  campsites in 2 sections; sites are small - to medium-sized, with fair to good separation; sites in the western loops tend to be more private, those toward the east are more level; parking pads are gravel, medium to long, straight-in or pull-off; some pads may require minor additional leveling; tent spots are reasonably level, sandy, and adequate for large tents; fire rings; fireplaces or barbecue grills; b-y-o firewood; water at central faucets; restrooms; holding tank disposal station; camper supplies at the marina; limited supplies and services are available in Boulder City.

Activities & Attractions:  Boating; sailing; boat launch; waterskiing; fishing; designated swimming beach adjacent; amphitheater; large visitor center with interpretive displays and audio-visual presentations; guided tours of Hoover Dam.

Natural Features:  Located on the southwest shore of Lake Mead which was created on the Colorado River by Hoover Dam; vegitation in the campground consists of fairly tall tamarisks and palm trees, with a profusion of bushy oleander; some sites have views of the lake, the barren desert and the surrounding rocky mountains; summer daytime temperatures rise cdonsistently above 100*F; elevation 1400′.

Season, Fees & Phone:  Open all year, $7.00; 30 day limit; Lake Mead NRA Hq, Boulder City, NV, (702) 293-8920.

Camp Notes:  This is the closest Lake Mead campground to a major throughfare near the Arizona-Nevada boarder. Since thousands of campers in the southwest come to this huge recreation area every year,l and the long trip off the main Arizona highway to Temple Bar might be a bit far to go for an overnight stop, Boulder Beach has been included as a Lake Mead quickie.

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Camping is a great way to spend quality time with your family and it gives you occasion to explore outdoor sites and places during the day while also being able to enjoy a quiet meal at night by a cozy campfire. There are many exciting places to visit and perhaps the best of these many places is America’s Best Campground which is located in Branson, Missouri and it is large enough to contain more than two hundred tent campsites as well as RV hookups.

This is a place ideally suited to get authentic camping experience while also being able to enjoy the best in comforts including satellite television as well as telephone and warm water. Here, there are also alternative arrangements such as cabins and also deluxe cabins those are available on rent.

Petit Jean State Park

Another great site for camping in the United States is at Petit Jean State Park that lies close to Little Rock, Arkansas which is ideally suited for a holiday having more than one hundred twenty campsites and more than thirty cabins. You can also try out swimming and picnic areas and there are also many wonderful trails for walking and even viewing the excellent waterfalls at Cedar falls.

For those who wish to go camping in the western parts of the United States, there is the Montana de Oro State Park situated in the south of California and this place actually means “Mountain of Gold” and it is a great place to visit. Here, you can escape the hustle and bustle of city life and come close to nature, and there are also many a hiking trail lined with flowers, and you also get excellent view of the sea lions and of course plenty of opportunity to camp out. These are among the more primitive sites to visit and so you need to be well stocked up when camping in these parts.

Also, in California is the Angel Island Park situated in close proximity to San Francisco Bay and this site can be reached by ferry boat where you get to see outstanding skylines and the quiet of the area certainly enhances the camping experience, and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge is splendid, if nothing else. However, campsites are limited though you can take to the trails and take a general tour of the island where you will also find bike rental shops and a few more retail outlets as well.

And, in the northern parts of the United States it would make great camping if you were to visit South Dakota and Fort Welikit Family Campground in particular. This is a place ideal for camping being close to Mount Rushmore and there are also numerous parks as well as caves, and plenty by way of recreation available close to the lakes and you can also take the time out to try out equestrian activities.

So, camping in the United States is fun, diverse as well as very appealing. Why not then head out to some of these fantastic locations and experience the joys of nature and take a break from city living?

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