Bonito Campground

We stayed here the first night and the last night of a 10 day road trip in September 2020. Not a fan of the first come first serve campgrounds but we got lucky as they filled up both nights.

The bathrooms were spotless, but they lacked hand soap (I brought my own), however the hand sanitizer was plentiful outside the building.

Fire rings were awesome and we appreciated being able to have a fire in these designated areas despite local fire restrictions.

There are some great walking/hiking trials at Sunset Crater and the Indian Ruins about 18 miles up the road are cool to check out too.

Cell service was non existent for us, which is a good thing sometimes!

The campground is very well cared for, clean and neat. The camp hosts are super duper nice. Pull in and choose a vacant spot and the hosts come around to check you in. Sites are well spaced apart but things are pretty open so you’ll have clear views of your neighbors. Be sure to go for a hike at Sunset Crater NM, the lava formations are so cool.

No cell service in the campground itself but if you head out to the road you might get service.

They don’t take reservations, so I was a little worried about getting a site, but we rolled up at 11 am on a Wednesday and had plenty of great choices. The view and the hike to Sunset Crater and the Bonito Lava Flow was great! No need to drive into Sunset Crater NM, as you can walk to most of it. Super quiet and spacious sites. Best campground hosts I have ever encountered! Friendly and efficient! We loved it here. Our stay was cut short as we had some truck problems, but will definitely be back. No hook ups or dump station, but we’re used to dry camping.

A great, clean, quiet, orderly campground. Go prepared, though, with plenty of water and empty tanks. There is no water for rv tanks or a dump station. You can get water from spigots for your campsite. There is a KOA Flagstaff down highway 89, where you can dump and fill with water twice for $15. Check out the trails nearby! The Lava Flow Trail goes right out of the campground, which winds around and through 30 foot high walls of lava, which flowed only 1000 years and stand frozen in time. Incredibly amazing. Enjoy!

Date of stay: Sept. 30- Oct. 5, 2019...price $12.50 reflects 50% Access Pass discount...Even though this is dry camping with drinking water available but no fill or dump, it is a beautiful campground. We chose #7 for the most sun exposure we could get to power our solar. The restrooms were clean with flush toilets and (nice!) soap. No showers are available in the park. The sites had great paved patios with fire rings, barrel grills, and concrete picnic tables. Firewood is available for $7/bundle, 3 for $20, but gathering wood is permitted. Ice is also available for sale. The camp hosts were great, and they came around to collect the fees rather than visitors having to backtrack to a pay station. The campground borders the Sunset Crater National Monument which is easily accessible on foot. There is also more hiking down the road off the group camp area. Even though the campground filled up during our stay, it never felt crowded and was very quiet. We didn't have cell service at our site, but a short walkn or bike ride out the entrance gained enough for some basic communication.

Many reviews are old, but rest assured that this still a wonderful place to camp. Hosts are very friendly and conscientious about maintaining all sites and facilities! Plenty of trees but still enough sun for our solar panel.
We paid $12.50 per night with the 50% National parks pass discount.
No cell service within the campground, but less than a mile away is a turnout with service.
No reservations. First come, first serve campground only.

When we pulled into the campground, we were really impressed with how well spaced the sites were, the wonderful forest around us and the friendliness of the camp hosts. The availability of potable water is always nice, and it's close enough to town for good food (and car repairs) if you need it, and lots of hiking and adventure to be had nearby.