Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Date of stay: Oct. 13-26, 2019

Campsite 110, Cooper's Hawk Loop: Site/loop is up on the hill and offers some views and better phone reception than elsewhere in the park. Although directly across from a bathhouse, the site had nice vegetation and felt more private that some others looked.

Bathhouse: Clean, plenty of hot water, push-button. Dish-washing stations and soda machines located at the back of each bathhouse.

Location: You could stay in this park and find plenty to do without ever leaving it. Hiking, biking, fishing, horseback riding (rental stable in the park), disc golf course just outside the front entrance, OHV trail access. We even hiked from camp to the Tuzigoot National Monument (5.8 miles roundtrip.) The park is practically in downtown Cottonwood, which has plenty of stores and eateries. It is also the perfect launching point to visit Sedona.

Extras: firewood for sale $7.00/bundle, plenty of OATV

Critters spotted: Anna's hummingbirds, blue herons, Gambel's quail, king snake, roadrunner, walking stick

This was a nice surprise. I’d been boondocking and wanted a short break. This park is close to and overlooks Cottonwood. There are many trails for hiking and most allow mountain biking and horseback riding. The sites felt spacious and were paved in Red Tail Hawk Loop where I camped. There were plenty of trees and shrubs in the park. Saw one Road Runner. It was peaceful and a very pleasant place to stay.

Summary: This is a nice state park with miles of hiking trails and close to Sedona and Jerome.
Sites: We snagged site 81 on a last-minute reservation. It was the only site available. It wasn’t ideal for backing in our 42ft 5th wheel but manageable. The sites are gravel and ours was level. There is not as much space between your neighbor and you as with some state parks but you are not on top of one another either. There are desert flora and dirt between and around sites.

Hook-ups: Partial hookups (electric and water). are available and the placement of the utilities is in the middle of the site. We had 50AMP at our site. I believe all RV sites have 50AMP.
Activities: There are miles and miles of hiking trails including the Lim Kiln trail connecting this state park to one outside of Sedona (15 miles). Additionally, there is an outfitter in the park offers guided horseback rides of varying durations.
Staff: The staff and volunteers that we interacted with were friendly.
Area: Cottonwood has a Safeway, a Wal-Mart, restaurants, fast food, etc. The historic town (ghost town) of Jerome is about a 20-minute drive and Sedona is 25 minutes.
Reservations: Call or online.
Access: Easy to get to with paved interior roads.

Cell Coverage/Internet/TV: 3 bars of AT&T and Verizon.
Price: The price is acceptable.

We loved our time at this state park. We stayed in the Red Tail Hawk loop, which looks to be the nicer loop. Sites were well spaced and our site backed up to the hill for some privacy. Great walks thru the park, including walking around the lagoons, where fisherman tried their luck and others regularly walked every morning. Beautiful starry skies at night! We were even serenaded one night by two gentleman who hiked up the hill and played their bagpipes! It was a beautiful site to see at sunset.

Big sites, clean bathhouses, spaces between the sites slows for a more privacy than other places we’ve been. Loved the trees and hiking! Next time will bring bikes/scooters and fishing supplies. Playground is nice, kids loved the zip line. Horses were awesome and the staff there were very friendly and answered all of my daughters questions without irritation. Loved watching them in the trails. Skate park before you come into the park. Close to old town Cottonwod for shopping, dinners and wine tastings. We will stay here again. (family of 5, kids ages 6 & 12)

May 3-5, 2019, ck in n out dates.

Great park!! We were there meeting others but the park seemed huge by AZ State Park standards. Our site was in Quail Loop, where it is hard to remember that there is desert in many other areas of the property when waking day one. Beautiful large native Mesquite and Cottonwoods offering cool shade over some areas with small amounts of grass are a welcome sight. There is a lagoon further in the park. A short drive or hike will get you to the water or rental cabins if you turn the wrong way. A day use area and a group camp area are also offered. Fishing and non-motorized boating are allowed as I remember. The Verde river flows a short distance away and can be accessed easily along with a short nature trail from a day use area On the other side of the main street within the park are two more camp areas, but are a high desert area with considerably less shade offered. The towns of Cottonwood, and Jerome are near with a lot more to do if you become overwhelmed by the beauty of the park. The area is also great for cycling. Besides clean everything, there are bath and shower houses. Occasionally on Saturday evenings, you may be fortunate enough to ear a local folk or cowboy group as we did. Hey, maybe we'll see ya at the next stop.

We loved being able to hike into the back country directly from our site, while being just a few short miles from charming Old Cottonwood and all the services one could ever need. We camped in the Coopers Hawk Loop, which is set on a ridge above town and offers long views towards the mountains to the southwest. Even though we were on the inside of the loop, site separation was very nice and our site was perfect for views from our rear panoramic windows. The contours of the land meant the eastern side of the loop was higher than the western side so all rigs could enjoy those good views and our main window didn't face another camper.

Our site was paved, in good condition, and mostly level. Utilities all worked perfectly. The dump station was busy on Sunday at departure time, but it is well positioned near the entrance where there was adequate stacking for traffic. The bathhouse was a little dated, but was kept spotless with daily cleaning. We appreciate that Arizona state parks have normal shower controls and not those annoying push buttons.

The park is located very close to Old Cottonwood, with lots of interesting shops and wine tasting rooms, and the main commercial areas of Cottonwood are just a few miles further. Be aware that this is not a remote park location -- we saw the lights of Cottonwood twinkling at night, and heard plenty of train and small plane traffic. But there are multiple trails heading north from the campgrounds into more undeveloped areas that quickly took us to peaceful, quiet mesas with nothing but mountain bikers and other hikers to contend with. Best mid-length loop: Lime Kiln to Thumper to Raptor. Being close to town, we had perfect cell service throughout our stay. This park really hit all the marks for us.