Castle Hot Springs Road Dispersed Camping

This spot was okay. There was plenty of space so it felt private and relatively safe. The ground was very uneven and covered in bullet casings, broken glass and other target trash. There was occasional noise from others shooting but most of the time it was quite and peaceful.

We love getting to watch the Burros and birds and picking up trash was a daily pass time requested by our little explorer.

Our cell service cut in and out frequently but was mostly usable. Very slow, but usable.

It was only 30 min drive to Peoria for shopping which was nice.

We stayed here for one night on our way to Cow Creek Rd dispersed camping just north. This is really just a fairly small flat area right off the road, and we wouldn't have been interested in setting up camp here. Recommend getting out and scouting the (short) road before driving down it, as there is a pretty significant washed out portion on the far side of the road after/while you turn. Once you get to the flat opening, there is a road that continues straight, but it doesn't go far and we wouldn't recommend taking it if you're in a big rig.

Desert Tortoise campground, and the entrance to the park ($7/vehicle), is just a mile or so south of this area so you could be fine parking here if you were looking to enjoy the park without paying campground fees. the gate is open 6am - 8pm currently. We did go into the park for the dump station and to fill water for boondocking. The water was a little tricky, as there isn't a potable spigot at the dump station. To fill water, follow signs for the boat launch. After turning left from S Park Rd (the main road) to the boat launch (Waterline Way), take your first right into the big parking lot. There is a bathroom at the back corner with a spigot on it. You will still need a good length of hose to make this work, as it's offset from the road a bit, but it was the closest spigot we found (there is also a spigot on the bathroom structure at the boat launch but it will require a very long hose).

The area is small and limited to a few RV vehicles at best. The area has a decent view but was within distance of the the main road so you would hear traffic during the day. When we stayed we were here by ourselves with nobody else. Looks like BLM is building a visitor center to one of the mining areas but is currently enclosed by a fence and no timetable to when it might be open. We did have other campers before us that did use the area for a shooting and have left debris around without picking it up. It is a decent place to stay a for a night or two but really not many trails to explore

Note: this review is for the camping area on Castle Hot Springs Road at 33.858098, -112.320610. There are multiple places to camp on this road - make sure to scout appropriately.

We're torn on our review of this campsite. Overall, our stay here was peaceful: beautiful views, fast WiFi, and relatively quiet. We would camp here again if it wasn't for one thing - the hill to get in and out of the area.

The hill is extremely rutted and steep. We couldn't get up or down it without putting our truck into 4-wheel drive - and that's without the fifth wheel hitched up. We ultimately made it out with our RV, but I wouldn't attempt it again.

If you have a small rig and good 4x4, this spot would be great for you! We did have the area all to ourselves for two weeks because no one else would brave the hill.

As someone else said, basically a big turn around type area. Only 2 other rigs were there, and if we had stayed we would have been too close. Also got stared at coming in and out by a gentleman in a 5th wheel, as if he was the only one allowed to be there. Waved twice and he just stared in an unhappy way. Anyways drove down the the OVH area about 6 miles west. Lots of room there.

I was staying in Phoenix for several days at Lake Pleasant, Desert Tortoise Campground. My friends asked if I would stay a couple more days but Lake Pleasant was booked for some event so, I thought I would boondock the last two days of my trip.

My last day at Lake Pleasant was Friday, February 24th so, on Thursday, February 23rd I took a drive out to scout the area without my trailer since this was only a mile from the entrance to Lake Pleasant. Wow, to the left of the gate the road was badly tore up from 4 x 4 tires and water. Large wheel depressions my little Subaru would not make it to the back area. To the right was a little area with two fire rings very close to the road. I tried to continue farther to right past this area but the road turned very very muddy and was afraid I would get stuck. So, thought I would just stay at the little area at the beginning of the right turn.

Left Lake Pleasant at 11:30 am to move to the boondock location on Friday, February 24 when I see a large trailer there with several 4 x 4s parked around the trailer. When I pull up to the other fire ring. I see several men dressed in camo outfits drinking beer with big military type weapons around the camp. I walked the dogs quickly to pee and thought I move on to another location since, I could not go back deeper into back country without the possibility of getting stuck.