Gunsight Wash

I was very surprised how far back this area went. If you want more options and privacy follow the drive on the far left. The section on the right becomes unpassable after a couple hundred yards and the RVs tend to clump up. The sun is very strong, so try to find a site where you open to the East or North. We felt safe the entire time. We had good cell service (voice/text), but data was slow and spotty.

Unlike some of the other reviews we found this site quiet and peaceful. There were only 10 or 12 other campers in here at this time. I felt very safe. Loved being close to Organ Pipe National Monument and found the town of Ajo charming. We had a 39 ft class A and had many choices of easy access sites away from 85. Will definitely stay here again.

Road noise and lack of natural beauty generally detracts from the appeal. Small and medium size rigs have many more campsite options. There are about six good spots, fairly level, for a big rig with easy access in and out. All of these sites are either to the left or to the right immediately after passing over the cattle guard into the BLM area. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 6.68 Mbps download speed and 5.71 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cell service was 3G and unusable for a speed test. There is a border patrol checkpoint approximately 2.4 miles south of the BLM site entrance on Arizona Route 85. The Gunsite Wash BLM does provide easy access to the Organ Pipe National Monument, but the lack of recreation/hiking trails on-site, road noise, and the nothing spectacular setting detract.

Maybe our standards of peaceful, quiet and empty are different from other reviewers or maybe we were just there at an unusually busy time (mid-February) but I found the place to be zoo-like and overcrowded!

It felt more like an RV park with lots of people crammed in, especially up front. There were some better spots further back, but the road washes out in places.

All that said, it’s a totally fine spot - we enjoyed ourselves and found everyone to be very pleasant and respectful, it just isn’t our ideal boondocking environment.

Location can’t be beat if you’re heading to the monument. You do have to go through border patrol each way, but no biggie. And, as another reviewer said, the campground at Organ Pipe is pretty crammed, it does have water and showers, but we preferred staying here, just don’t expect to have the place to yourself!

Great site only a couple miles from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

So much nicer, less congested and quiet than the campground in the park. Please don’t misinterpret me, the campgrounds in the park are fabulous. They are some of the best in any NP. We just prefer the quiet Boondocking.

Great sun exposure for those chasing the warmth or solar power capability.

We have 4 bars of cellular (Verizon).

We will definitely be returning to this area and this campsite.

Despite having lived across all of Mexico for a year and a half, my wife found something disturbing about Gunsight Wash. I did not share her sentiment, but I can appreciate it nonetheless. We sleep with our van doors open completely, two young children in tow, and this is how we have done it every single night regardless of what state, country or setting we find ourselves in, for years now. So if she says she’s uncomfortable, it warrants attention.

Thus, we moved the second day into the park proper. And I’m glad we did, for no other reason than Twin Peaks is paradise for $16 a night while Gunsight Wash is just a little better than just okay. Big cottonwoods cast lovely shade and previous campers have constructed impressive fire pits. A variety of animal waste, including much cow poo, adds a secondary lingering scent atop the creosote smell. No one else was camping there during our stay, which if there were other campers, I bet she would have felt safer.

We saw a man in handcuffs with a border patrol agent flashing his truck lights as we drove into the park. The visitor center is named for an agent who was killed by a drug smuggler. I believe in completely open borders and support any notion that Mexico is a wonderful country full of amazing people, and think if there were no need to immigrate illegally we would have a safer, more well rounded and diversely powerful nation. I don’t imagine most folks are trying to cross this harsh land with the intentions of hurting anyone and thus increasing their odds of being caught and tossed back to Mexico. All of that said, and while we actually had absolutely no problems, I believe those who are concerned that some amount of true danger could exist are not necessarily wrong.

I just don’t think 99% of us will ever run directly into it, and while we were alone here, i saw evidence that this place serves as a Winter snowboarding retreat for more than a few RVers at a time.

Very easy access to many spots that are level. Good star gazing at night. We felt very safe here. Good bike riding and easy access to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We have a 44 foot fifth wheel and had to problems finding a good spot. There were about 20 Rv's when we were there....plenty of space! Make sure you do not attempt to drive in at night when you are initially arriving. It is way too dark and there are huge holes and washouts.