Info: Desert Trails RV Tucson AZ? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

Info: Desert Trails RV Tucson AZ?

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here is a link to RV Park Reviews with a list of a number of parks in the Tuscon area.

Tuscon, AZ Parks

This is RV Park Reviews home page in the event you ever want to check out other states.

RV Park Reviews

Terry

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, that should help!

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Justins Diamond J right next door is also a decent place depending on amenities you want.Desert Trails has more things like swimming pool and such.

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll look into that also. Thank you!

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have stayed at Justin's and both it and Desert Trails are nice places if you want to be away from the city. You can walk out into the parkland right behind both campgrounds. Most of Tucson is at least a 20 minute drive and it is easy to drive 45 minutes one way to get to something. There is good cell phone service there. If you are looking for the best deal in Tucson, the fairgrounds is $100 a week, it is SE of town, while Desert Trails and Justins are SW of town. The campgrounds have more to offer. We preferred Lazydays campground in Tucson since it was closer to stores and restaurants, but it cost more.

If you think you will not be needing to spend much time in Tucson itself, Benson is about 40 miles east. The Escapees Co-op in Benson is a great place to stay. From Benson you can go into Tucson and are closer to Tombstone, Bisbee (a favorite place for us) along with natural areas and preserves for wildlife viewing.

Tucson is cooler than Phoenix metro since it is higher. Benson is a bit higher still, so it can be a bit cooler. But much of winter they are comfortable during the day.

We are in Mesa right now, which is Phoenix metro. But we like cities. There are huge numbers of campgrounds in Arizona, with the largest numbers in Yuma, Mesa and Apache Junction, with Casa Grande, Quartzsite, Florence, Tucson, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City and Benson not far behind.

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

There seems to be so much to chose from, I do have a lot of online exploring ahead.
Wish it were just a few choices: I spend 45 minutes in Baskin Robbins and walk out with vanilla.

We tend to dodge cities, I think after raising 7 kids we look for a lot of quiet, easy going relaxing atmosphere. DH is very money conscious so we will probably go with cheaper. We do like the ability to walk/bike out into the parks.

One thing about full timing you keep having to chose where you are going to live next :)

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

One warning is many "out of the way" places are also where people will bring their ATVs to have fun, which is not quiet. Plus, because of the sunny weather, there will be more motorcycles than normal, which I don't mind but some do. If you want to spend a lot of time in Arizona off by yourself, you need to be ready to boondock. There are lots of places to boondock in the state, including BLM land on the way to Desert Trails.

adeline and ed · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just stayed there and was surprised that they charged for electricity even on a one day stay.First time in 40 years of camping that it wasn't part of the fee.The amount charged was not a reduced type fee to need the extra charge

K & E · RV-Dreams Family Member

We stayed at Desert Trails for a month in January 2012. I think we paid $465 for the month including electricity. Most sites are quite tight and close together. It is an older park and many of the snowbirds seem to have been coming many years and stick together (clicky). The owner seemed very nice and there were quite a few activities and scheduled entertainment. The clubhouse is small for the number of people and was often very crowded for events. We loved being able to walk out behind the campground and hike in the desert which we did many times.

If we went back to Tucson we would check out some of the campgrounds north of the city. This seems to be a better part of town. Justin Diamond J's next door seemed like a nicer place, but not sure how the cost compares.

There's plenty to do in the Tucson area. You can buy a Tucson city coupon pass and get quite a few buy one, get one free offers. We would highly recommend going to Sabino Canyon and the Sonoran Desert Museum. We also enjoyed visiting Old Tucson Studios.

Although it is a bit cooler in Tucson than Yuma during the winter, we found the weather to be very nice while we were there. Enjoy your stay!

NINK · RV-Dreams Family Member

Although we didn't stay at Desert Trails, we did visit that park to see if it was a place we might like to stay. As others have mentioned, the park has a unique layout, and they have many activities for their guests. The folks we encountered while we were there seemed friendly and welcoming. By the time we made the decision that we wanted to stay at Desert Trails, it was too late in the season for them to accommodate us without our having to move from space to space, so we chose to stay at another park. We chose Rincon Country West RV Park in south Tucson, and we like it so much that we're planning to return next year. If you like to stay busy, Rincon Country West offers a ton of activities, and they even have a wood shop. Here's a link to their February newsletter so that you can see some of the things they offer.

http://www.rinconcountry.com/newsletter/February%20Newsletter%20Final.pdf

Happy travels.

Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 4th of April 2013 06:08:12 PM

Laura and Bunk · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks to everyone for the advice. DH thinks I'm anal because I plan so far ahead. Just don't like not knowing where we are going to park the rig after driving a couple hundred miles. Went ahead with the reservation and if we don't like it we can somewhere else next year😊 Never been that far southwest before so I am sure we will have plenty of exploring to keep us busy! THANKS!

Everett · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi,

I love - dearly love - Desert Trails. We spent 2 1/2 months there, from the end of October 2012 to mid-January 2013, and it we'll be going back this fall for 3 months. Yes, it's a bit funky since it used to be a water park many years ago, but the people there are wonderful. Pericles, the owner, is great fun and there is always something to do. Justin's may have bigger sites but that's the only semi-advantage. I'm not sure who got charged for one night's electric, but we paid $495 a month for everything, including tax. Almost all of the activities are guest-run and you can start up any group you'd like. I like that it is very low key and there is always someone who shares your interest. Want to play cards? Bocce ball? Learn how to carve gourds? Go hiking or mountain biking? Geo-caching? There is a group for that! There is a nice library, a hot tub, live entertainment every week, etc etc. It's not too rah-rah (that's not my taste) but it is just plain wonderful! And no, Pericles did not pay me to say this

Sue Everett