Catalina State Park

Very convenient campground for being close to Tucson but not having to stay in a private campground. Sites were spaced decently and loved that I was close to hiking trailheads. Some of the trails do not allow dogs so that was a bummer but hiked the 50 year trail. Free wifi but I did not use. Seemed to me that my regular Verizon wireless was slow perhaps due to the parks internet. In my site, very little Over the Air TV stations.

This is a very pretty, but popular, state park. The views in the campground are top notch with Pusch Ridge of the Santa Catalina Mountains always right outside your door. We were lucky to score a weekend cancellation because this park books up months in advance. Keep watching the online reservations, and if you see an opening snatch it quickly! This place is popular with the snowbirds, and we were just about the only family camping there. The park and campground are well-maintained. The hosts are very friendly and keep the place looking sharp. The Campground B roads and site driveways are all paved, perhaps newly. They seemed to be in good shape. What was missing were the usual directional arrows painted on the streets. It's always really quite obvious, but we saw so many clueless drivers going the wrong way. Not sure why that was happening, but it seems like such an easy thing not to do.

Campground A is smaller and tighter and only a few sites have hookups. Campground B is spread out more and is mostly used by bigger rigs. The driveways are huge, so giant motor homes and fifth wheels fit just fine. The trees are all small and wispy at best, so nothing to watch out for overhead. The sites are spread apart and green grassy areas separate them. A few trees, but you can pretty much see everyone all around you but you're not on top of one another. Basically, plenty of room and easy to get around.

The restrooms had running water and flush toilets, all the free hot water you want in a shower, and the sinks even had soap and paper towels. There is a dump station by Campground B for one rig at a time and another by the ranger station at the entrance that can accommodate two rigs. All sites in B had water and electric hookups.

The trailhead to most of the hiking trails is about a mile away. That parking area fills up with hikers from the campground and also families from Tucson. The Canyon Loop Trail was a beautiful hike, but this time of year there were at least four water crossings to manage. Just bring a towel so you can remove your shoes, cross it, dry off, and put your shoes back on until the next one. That's the easiest thing to do although many were trying to hop rocks and such.

We also mountain biked up the 50 Year Trail, but if you don't like steep and rocky climbs and descents, skip that and drive to the trailhead for Honeybee Canyon. There are some nice, smooth, flowy trails there if that's more your thing.

The campground has free wi-fi, but that doesn't work in the rest of the park.

I considered myself very lucky to score a reservation at the last minute. A couple of days before we were to arrive, I went to the online reservation site to discover that there was only one site left.

When we arrived, we checked in at the entrance and were given identification tags for the motor home and our towed car. Since the site required us to back in (first one this trip), we stopped there by the entrance to drop the Honda CR-V and I drove it to our site in Loop A. The scenery was spectacular--see my photos--and the sites were generous. There was a metal picnic table and a grill provided as well as electricity and water. The dump station, which could service two rigs at one time, was located near the entrance.

Cell service was excellent, though over-the-air TV was a bit sketchy. However, if you're staying at this park for more than one night, there's plenty of nature to enjoy.

Not too far from the park entrance was a QT station where the price of diesel was some of the lowest we've seen. A Walmart Neighborhood Market is just outside the park in a small shopping center in case you need some supplies or food. And, there are several restaurants and fast-food places nearby if you don't feel like cooking.

OMG if we could have stayed here all winter we would have! We liked it so much we camped here on 2 different occasions during our stay in Tucson. Once, during our 12 day stay we had to move sites 3 times in order to piece together a long enough stay, but it was worth it! (It does get booked quickly in the winter, but if you are willing to move around in the park a bit, you can make it work).

Wifi worked great for us most of the time. Section A is a bit less crowded that Section B. Various hiking trails and plenty of space between sites (you can still see neighbors, but not packed in like a KOA). Friendly people and nice views. Clean restrooms. And you're only 5 min from shopping/food (there's a shopping center right outside of the park). Super convenient. Would definitely recommend if you're in this area.

Note: This park is in Oro Valley which is North Tucson- a much nicer area than some of the parks located in S. Tucson. Also, if you stay here, don't miss out on going to the Biosphere 2!!

Almost every review we read about this park was positive, and this one won't be any different. It's close-in (major shopping directly across from park entrance) but still wild enough to feel secluded. Its popularity during the winter months usually requires booking up to a year in advance.

The RV sites are paved, spacious and level, all with picnic tables and fire rings. (no ramadas) Although the park was full, the noise level was negligible.

The park offers free wifi (spotty) and there is great OATV reception.

The restrooms are clean, showers have plenty of hot water, but shower houses aren't heated, so stepping out is a bit chilly!

The major attraction, in my opinion, are the numerous hiking trails within the park. They offer a great variety of terrain, difficulty, and length -- what more could you want?! It's simply a beautiful park.

Friendly rangers, hot showers, several interesting short trails nearby, planned weekly events/music. Downside is the everpresent highway noise, but it’s not too bad. Also everyone seems to have dogs and some are less than well behaved. Site A1 is just off the entrance to A loop, nice and roomy, and close to bathrooms. Romero Ruins trail is perfect for a sunset stroll. Watch the sunset up top, and you’ll be back in camp before dark.

Hey, overall we had a great weekend. Only 10 miles from our home, we went to take in the music from a local band during an occasional offering at Catalina State Park. But yes, it was as hot here as anywhere else within 50 miles. Due to the heat at 1800hrs, we chose to stay home and play Scrabble, however I heard it was a good concert we missed from a neighboring couple. We will be back in a few months however. Fall of 2017, showed us that later in the year is better for sittin' n enjoyin' outdoor sittin' n pickin' concerts. Our two 4 legged kids came along. They and I learned that yes, we can bike and run side by side. They were successful again today, at home. The downside, NO WOOD OR GROUND BASED FIRES ARE ALLOWED! In contrast, a presto log (man made?) can be burned for "ambiance" at the waist high BBG grill. Of course, they also said that propane was allowed. Great bath/shower houses too as found in most AZ state parks. There is also an Equestrian center, but I don't know what the deal is. Probably a stall rental program. I cycled there and saw 5 or so empty stalls, empty, & one distant car. Very clean however. Lots of trails, but again, two days isn't hardly enough time to see the entire range of activities. Outside of a possible poisonous baby Colorado River Toad on a walk, I didn't see any other venomous or threatening wildlife, only the ground squirrels, and a lot of birds. As far as cells, our Verizons were fine, others, ?? Not why I go to the great outdoors, so I don't really care if I have em or not. As far as noise, occasionally, I would hear extremely slight urban noise. If you forgot anything, you can probably replace it PDQ. A major new shopping center that shares the entrance signal, is west of Oracle, aka SR-77, and a Fry's / Kroeger is a few miles south in the midst of a slightly older mecca of shopping. And, yes, in the "I hope no one ever needs it" column, there is also a fairly new Hospital a few miles NW. Have a safe Labor Day.

RV Park Review – Catalina State Park Campground, Tucson AZ
May 9, 2018 by Trout66

Arrival = 5/5. We stayed seven nights and paid $30 per night for partial hookups for our 33-foot motorhome. We also paid a $5 registration fee when making the reservation on Arizona’s State Park website. There were no separate park entrance fee when camping and the ranger provided entrance passes for our motorhome and dingy. The ranger also provided clear directions with a map and offered to answer any questions we had although it was several minutes past their office closing time.

Site quality = 5/5. We had reserved spot B73 at the back of the B-campground. B-campground had three one-way interlocking drives with 60 sites that were a mix between back-in and pull-through sites. Although we had made reservations, only about 10% of the sites were occupied, perhaps in anticipation of Tucson’s 100-degree late-spring days. Our back-in site fit our coach and dingy with much room to spare. The pads are asphalt with 30 to 50 feet of space and natural desert trees between each site. The low trees provided only a little shade but enhanced the separation between neighboring sites. The pad had no discernable slope. Hook-ups were 50/30/20 amp electric and water. Each site also had a nice picnic table and charcoal grill.

Facilities = 5/5. B –campground had a single large shower/bathroom, which although not new, was the absolute nicest and cleanest facility we had ever seen, whether in a public or private campground. Huge bonus points for that! The loop also had a dump station, a trash dumpster, some recycle bins, information boards and a leave/take a book library. 4G AT&T and Verizon cell service was two-to-three bars. Our campground also had basic WiFi which allowed email and document upload capability even though we were several hundred feet from the antenna. Our TV antenna booster pulled in dozens of stations including four major networks. The park had a sister campground (A) which was laid out in a similar manner and appeared to offer the same hookups. The park also had the Ringtail campground which provided group camping and overflow sites, mostly without hookups.

Area = 5/5. We were in Tucson for a family event but still took the time to enjoy area activities. Catalina State Park has many easy to difficult hiking trails throughout the park and into the surrounding national forest. The park had level bikeable roads and the surrounding suburban neighborhoods also featured many trails. Just outside the park gate was a big box store shopping center (Walmart, Best Buy) with all the gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, car and RV supply/repair places you’d expect within a few miles. If your Mexican food low-light is on, I’d strongly recommend La Hacienda Family Mexican Restaurant at the intersection of E. Tangerine Rd and N. 1st Ave, about 15 minutes from the campground. We ate there twice!

Overall rating = 5!

Summary: An exceptional State Park experience! Nicest restroom/shower facilities ever seen. It is obvious the park’s staff take great pride in maintaining the facilities and grounds.