Rusty's RV Ranch

Have stayed at Sunny Flats which is great, but didn't want to take the chance I couldn't get it. Rusty's is a great place and convenient to Sunny Flats. Get gas at the fuel station when you exit from the highway coming south if you come that way. Bathrooms, Laundry and club house were all clean. Bathrooms are private with shower. This is a big stargazer area so the place is dark at night and beautiful. The full timers here a very friendly and a wealth of information. The staff were very helpful and friendly. Many afternoons were a bit windy but that is expected for the spring time. Although the sites are pretty open without much vegetation, they are spacious.

This place is a gem. We have tried for several years to get into Sunny Flat with our larger pull behind trailer to fit into one of the few spots large enough, and have never had it work. But Rusty's makes access to all this amazing land easy and enjoyable. She has great locals tips for hikes, we did South fork to Burro for a combo of Riparian and views and Winn Falls overlook. Delicious burger and onion rings and a cold beer at Portal cafe, and when you return to Rusty's, always a friendly face, interesting exotic animals, and the largest hot tub you have ever seen--clean, warm, with mountain/sunset/dark sky views, great for post hike recovery! Great dirt walking trail around the property, to get those last steps of the day. It just doesn't get much better at an RV park. No Tmobile service, but the opportunities for Starlink and star gazing are fabulous.

I had read the good reviews and they are accurate. There are many good things about this park but the best is the size of the sites. Our site, 19, was private, clean and open. The night skies are great.

Because of the trees and water onsite, there are plenty of birds. I think we enjoyed them as much as anything. It is a long ways from anything so come prepared. Verizon coverage is great. I had 4 bars on my phone nad 5 bars on my Wineguard gateway.

Pros: The staff are super nice, sites are really long, park is laid out well, location is very remote (dark skies).
Cons: Wifi was down, lots of extra charges, fuel is 20 minutes away, no propane, VERY remote.

It depends what your reason for going here is. We were hoping for lots of Jeep/off-road and hiking trails, but we also like a little bit of civilization. We didn't find any of that here. We did follow the host's directions to the black dam geodes and found a lot of them, although it was 2 hours away. Maybe it's fine if you just want to chill at the campground, but if you want to be out and about, finding fuel can be downright difficult. And when we asked where to refill our propane in the office, the response was, "What do you mean?" Uh, all these people in campers and no one has ever needed propane? Sites are long but it's like a long pull-thru site with 2 sets of utilities in the center and 2 RVs per site side-by-side. Wifi was down during our entire stay, we brought our own Starlink and it worked fine. I felt like all of the extra charges were unnecessary, there is a charge of $5 per person per day over 2 people, and they charge for electricity. So, our weekly site rate was $164, but we were charged another $115 for our kids and electricity, it would've been more for electricity because they tried to charge me for more than I used (2,000kw more), but I had taken a picture of the meter upon our arrival, so I was able to prove that the number they had and the number on the meter upon arrival were different. I mean, don't charge extra for kids AND extra for electricity, that's double-charging. For that reason alone, I'd never stay here again, but add the facts that this place is in the middle of absolutely nowhere with nothing to do other than stargaze, we definitely won't go back.

What an amazing RV Park. This was our first visit and we fell in love. Rusty and staff are super friendly. The sites are huge, the sunsets beautiful, and the amenities great. The pool and spa are lovely. The store is well stocked. We enjoyed the birding and the dark skies. We fell in love with the Portal and Cave Creek area. We saw so many birds that we lost count. The only downside is that we are on Verizon and the signal was very poor and the wifi comes and goes. We were able to do emails, but no videos/streaming.

We have stayed at Rusty's many times the past five years. It is still one of our favorite places to stay. It's time for an amenities update on this website (lots of good changes). FYI....Price we paid is for dry camping (the place was full).

As of today (April of 2022), Verizon no longer works in the area. I was able to get a couple of texts out by putting my phone in a high window of the RV facing Animas, but that was it. Something is up with the tower. So be aware. ATT however is fantastic. The new cell tower just 5 miles south has been a game changer.

Rusty's now has a heated above ground pool! This was a surprise when we arrived this year. A nice new deck surrounds the pool and the hot tub. Woohoo!

In 2021 they added two new bathrooms/showers. They are very good. I usually just use the shower in our rig. But these are so nice, I often have to decide where to shower.

Then outside patio at the clubhouse is now enclosed. That makes the area much more usable. There are three large screen TVs in the clubhouse. If you have a show you just can't miss, no worries.

Rusty's continues to make improvement. We will be back again and again.

We had originally planned to camp at Sunny Flats in Cave Creek Canyon nearby, but in the middle of January, the weather was really cold and we were recommended to try Rusty’s RV Ranch by birding friends we met along the road. We are SO glad we did! We loved this place. Staff is really friendly and Rusty runs a tight ship! Everything was very well maintained. Many of the residents are here for the dark skies and amazing birding in nearby Cave Creek Canyon. So no outside lights allowed at night. Made it lovely to see all the stars! Rusty has a collection of exotic caged birds well housed in a lovely little garden to attract birds migrating through the area. And we were given a map of the eastern Chiricahua area when we arrived, showing all the great birding sites and hiking trails. Rusty’s puts on a “Tacos Tuesday” and “Friday Potluck” (it was a well attended fish fry when we were there) to help build the community and meet your neighbors.

We are looking forward to coming back and staying here again - later in the spring when the birds are migrating through here. We will stay at Rusty’s rather than fight for a spot at Sunny Flats or the other NF campgrounds. They were mostly taken even in mid January! So Spring would be difficult for FCFS! Better to come with a reservation and get full hook ups for only $9 more a night at Rusty’s, than the NF campsites!

We had acceptable cell service with our T-mobile hotspot and WeBoost. Our phones - with AT&T and Verizon were ok, too, but much of the time only 1-2 bars of LTE. Just enough to do emails and small downloads.

This was my second stay at Rusty's, near the small town of Rodeo, NM. Since my last stay less than a year ago, Rusty's has made some great improvements, adding 2 new private full bathrooms and enclosing a former outdoor space. One of Rusty's biggest attributes, though, is its location. Far from any town of any size and surrounded by mountains and natural beauty, Rusty's offers a quiet escape from the stresses of everyday life. Rusty herself, and the rest of the folks who run the park, are genuinely friendly and very helpful. There are unique and exotic birds from around the world that Rusty houses in large cages along a shaded pathway (complete with full descriptions), as well as a beautiful pond housing 3 large black swans and, new from a year ago, 2 seemingly friendly goats. The surrounding area is ripe for exploring. The stunning Cave Creek Canyon is nearby in Portal, Arizona. The RV sites are spacious, with full hookups, picnic tables, and some include firepits. Every one of them offers 360 degree scenic views. Rusty's gets rave reviews across every platform I've seen, and I fully concur with the park's high ratings.

We love Rustys so much that we plan to come back and stay a month!! The reviews before me are all correct! This is a gorgeous place and so homey and so many amenities! I watched the sunrise from the hot tub today. Does life get any better?? It’s pretty far away from any town, but completely worth the trip. And there are very few hills on the toad in, despite being surrounded by mountains.