Cieneguita Camping Area

This place is the perfect getaway or place to stop and get some work done!

Most of the road on the way in is paved and it changes to gravel just after the entrance to the group camping site. There's a small bit of wash boarding but nothing teeth rattling. There's no major dips or pot holes so don't be shy about bringing your big rigs here, you don't even have to disconnect the toad and scout the road beforehand.

There are several pullouts along the road that can easily accommodate a large rig or even several rigs. The road in the actual campground is a bit sandy in parts so I'm not sure what it would do in or after a heavy rain although there are no ruts.

This location has VERY good, and stable, Verizon service. It's only 2-bars of 4G LTE without a booster but even so I will get a steady 50-70Mbps download, 3Mbps upload, with ping around 45ms. I've had no connectivity issues streaming content or attending video conferences while here, something I couldn't say while traveling through Phoenix, Sedona, or Tucson! If you need a quiet place to get some work done while on the road then this place is it.

There isn't much nearby in the way of groceries or other services. The town of Sonoita is a short drive away but there's only one gas station that's a little pricey and a small mercantile with snack food. I would suggest coming prepared otherwise the town of Vail is about 35 minutes away which has a nice Safeway.

Lastly, after leaving the minefields of trash and glass in Tucson, this place is very clean so lets please do our part keep it that way!

I have stayed here twice now, once at Cieneguita, and once a little north of the ranch near the air field. Always very quiet and peaceful. Short distance from downtown Tucson! Gorgeous sunsets every time! It is mostly desert with a few trees. There are a few spots in this designated camping area, and lots of spots not in the camping area. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick and easy escape.

Lots of positive reviews brought us to this area. The area has tall grasses and mesquite trees, just like the posted pictures.

Empire Ranch Road is paved until the ranch. Yucca Farm Road that leads you to the camping area is a dirt road in pretty good shape with a few pot holes. Be mindful of the cattle guards, most had big dips in front of them.

The camping area was busy midweek, we got the last "spot" just past the 3rd marked site. We stayed for 2 days, there was no movement from any of the other RV's in the area. We had good WIFI and TV reception.

We checked out the other camping areas and did a self tour of the ranch house. Others appeared to be bird watching.

Many trees in this area had been taken out and piled up. We saw a sign that said "Future site of Cieneguita Camp Area".

I absolutely loved this camping area. It was extremely beautiful and very quiet. I didn't want to leave! Couldn't believe we were in Arizona, the landscape was so unique and breathtaking. My partner and I both work from cellular data, and the speeds were great here. We used a MIMO antenna to boost a little bit and we didn't have any issues. We were able to fill up water at the Empire Ranch Headquarters which was 2 miles up the road, but you have to drive about 40 minutes into town for the rest of your supplies. Don't miss out on this incredible camping spot, you won't regret it!

We pulled in easily with our 41' fiver yesterday, and plan to stay 5 more nights.

Pay attention to written directions to turn onto Empire Ranch Road (we're not the only ones who relied on GPS, and ended up taking the wrong road first).

Looks like they're adding more sites here. As other reviewers mentioned, there's a loop at the end of the campground road, so it's easy to take a look at what's available before turning around and claiming your favorite.

Some markers were missing, so I'm not exactly sure which site we're in, but it's a nice big loop on the right with a fire ring, and we've got a perfect view of snow-capped Mount Wrightson out our rear window.

In fact, that view is the only "con" to this site. I spend so much time staring at it that I'm getting few other things done, but don't we all need distractions like that from time to time?

Cell service: 1-2 bars on T-Mobile; 2-3 on Verizon (I selected the minimums in the review menu)