Rusty's RV Ranch

Stayed at Rusty’s for 7 weeks and can honestly say it is the overall the best RV stop we’ve ever been at! Rusty and Tim (the owners) have created a family atmosphere. They treat their guests like family. RV spaces are huge (all pull through) at 150 feet with large spacing. Huge, clean whirlpool - probably 5 ft deep. Comfortable clubhouse with great outside seating. Pristine laundry facility. 1.2 mile path around the property. Extremely clean and well-sanitized during this challenging coronavirus crisis. Ten miles from one of the best birding areas in the world! In a dark sky area that attracts many stargazers. At the edge of the Chiricahua Mountains that have hundreds of miles counof spectacular trails. It is somewhat off the beaten path but absolutely worth going there. You will not be disappointed. In a county that as of May 18th had ZERO COVID-19 cases!

We got here just in time for the shutdown. $313 for a month. Buy one get one for a short stay, I think. Huge lots. Rusty collects exotic birds, plus there's lots of birds migrating through. Birders paradise. About ten miles to Portal AZ and the famous Cave Creek Canyon. Also residents yards where you can watch birds. Only negative was the distance to get groceries, 50 miles, but Rusty and a couple local stores had eggs, milk, etc. Come prepared. Huge sites. Minimal highway noise. AT&T tower close, otherwise slow wifi and 3G Verizon.

Amenities aren't usually a big deal to us, but they really stood out here. They have a very nice pond with a black swan and ducks, a small aviary with some interesting exotic birds (and Koi pond), and a lot of astronomy lovers willing to let you check out their telescopes. There was also a lot of little touches like having free bikes, games, and grills available, a 24/7 hot tub, and dog walk. Even without the amenities its well worth the Passport America price, the spots are huge and everything was exceptionally clean and well maintained.

Great RV park to recover from remote camping. We loved it!

PROs

• well kept park w beautiful mountain views
• shower and toilet is kept clean, just for one person, like at home
• awesome hot tub pool, available 24/7
• club house open 24/7 w full kitchen
• full hookups and wifi for surfing not streaming
• amazing dark skies
• they have a little zoo going on w ducks, birds and turtles

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

• it is REMOTE, bring all the groceries you need. There are some spices in the club room if you are in a pinch
• you are 50 miles from MX so the area is patrolled. This may bring some people comfort, or feel like a military state to others. I kinda go both ways.
• Goatheads - they are pervasive in the entire southwest. I got one in my flip flop one the way to the hot tub and the hurt like hell. Stick to the roads and not the softer ground. Not a good place for paws.

We needed a place to bathe and recuperate from boondocking. Rusty’s fit the bill perfectly.

PROs

• Well kept grounds and spaces
• Awesome hot tub - can use 24/7
• dark skies, wonderful star gazing
• Sites are full hookups, plus fire pit and picnic table
• Nice shower facility for one (basically a bathroom like you would have at home)
• very quiet and remote

GOOD TO KNOW

• the office closes at 5 or earlier, depending on season. Call ahead if you may arrive later. The gate opens to let you in, but it may feel sketchy arriving at night since it is so remote and dark
• the hot tub may be covered but you can still use it, leave it as you found it
• come prepared w groceries, etc as Rusty’s is very remote
• goat heads - those mean little seed thorns are everywhere (not just at Rusty’s!) so mind your feet. I was wearing flip flops to the hot tip and got speared. Walk on the road and it’s safer

I needed to recharge, do laundry, etc after boondocking for a couple of weeks. This place is great! From the koi pond by the laundry room to the spacious level sites to the starry night sky, great space to recharge. Easy to find, right off state route 80, but very little road noise. Staff is very helpful and friendly. Definitely will come again, probably for a bit longer.

On our way out of Saguaro, we hit a hidden pothole and our food cabinet blew out. The spaghetti sauce exploded and covered our bedding (and much more.) We did our best to clean up, but really needed a dryer before turning in. So our plans to boondock disappeared and we looked for an RV Park around Animas. Lo and behold, there was Rusty’s. It’s in the middle of nowhere on the eastern flank of the Chiricahuas, quiet and very beautiful. The staff is super sweet, the spots are spacious, and there’s an enclosed area for our pup. And, yes, there’s a dryer.

This is a great park with long pull-through sites. The desert and mountain views are stunning all around. Level gravel with 50 amp FHUs.

Rusty is very welcoming and the professional star-gazers in the park are very friendly.

No headlights allowed at night so its VERY dark for amazing starry skies.

Do your shopping and fill up with fuel as there's nothing close by. Easy access, watch for the signs if you come at night because there's no where to turn around for miles.

She has shower houses and laundry room which we didn't use.

We visited Rusty's RV Park for two days in December. It's about 20 miles off the Interstate, in a pretty isolated, desert area, with nice mountain views. The campground itself is pretty nice, but the interior roads are dirt and were pretty rutted/bumpy (e.g. deep, hardened tire ruts from what was probably a rainy/muddy season). Our site was at the end of a row so we had tons of space on our camping side, but rigs are parked next to each other facing opposite directions with shared utilities in between, so we had a rig very close on the driver's side. There's no AT&T service at all, and we were only able to get 3G on our Verizon. Fortunately, the free campground WiFi worked pretty well for the basics (e-mail, social media, maps, etc.). The price was a little high for basic amenities ($32 with tax), and while they offer a 50% discount for Escapees members, it's only usable for 3+ night stays. Since we stayed for two nights, we actually paid more ($64) than we would have if we'd stayed for three ($48) which is a strange way to do business. It was very quiet during our stay. Also, it was fairly windy each afternoon. We'd stay here again if we ever return to the area, as long as we don't need high speed internet/cell service.

This was our 3-4(?) visit and we stayed one night this time and got caught up on laundry and email. It is a clean and mostly welcoming campground. But, in a rush to try and get a campsite in Cave Creek we forgot to dump black and grey water. Came back the next day and asked to dump then, but were told even after offering $20.00 "we do not offer that service". I thought it was rude after we had stayed there at least three previous times for them to deny the dumping service.