Catalina State Park

Stayed here one night on 11/10/2019 in site A-15. Site was large with a paved pad with water & electric hookup right by the pad. Decent privacy and spacing between sites. Bath house was new, clean and had hot water. Only 15 minute short walk to the Romero Ramada and Hohokam Ruins. Campground in a flat, brushy area but with beautiful views of the Mt. Lemmons mountain range.

Went on ranger guided tour of the ruins by Ranger Jonathan McCabe. Very informative and we learned a lot about the ancient community that was there. Highly recommend the tour, and free.

Our stay in Catalina State Park was just such a great experience. The location is perfect - you are in a quiet state park with a view of the mountains, but there is shopping literally across the road from the park's entrance. The restrooms were kept clean and the tiled showers were clean and hot. We enjoyed a large "yard" as well as having a private path to the restrooms/showers just behind our site. We even had wifi! We were told that the wifi was only available in Campground B, but we were able to access it in Campground A. The campground hosts were lovely and made sure to let us know about the concert and star party on the day of our arrival. This is such a friendly, beautiful place and we will definitely be back.

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.