Twin Peaks Campground

Organ Pipe Cactus is a beautiful desert campground that was built in the 1950's for autos and teardrop trailers. In 2021 it has remained almost unchanged despite the advent of motor homes, 5th wheel and modern camp trailers. Sites are mostly pull through and have almost level concrete pads. Electric, water and sewer hookups are non-existent. The access roads to sites are narrow, about 8 feet wide. Large trailers or vehicles often have a tough time negotiating the tight corners. Sites come with a wooden picnic table that may be in need of repair. A few, very few sites have ramadas shading the picnic table. The campground is laid out like a clam shell and served by 16 narrow, one way, access roads. A single one way loop road connects all 16 access roads. If you miss your turnoff you will have to circle back to the Registration Kiosk and start over again.
There are six small restrooms that serve 208 camp sites. Three rest rooms have timed, push button solar heated showers. Each men's bathroom has one urinal and one toilet. In March of 2020 the National Park Service (NPS) closed three of the six restrooms. Two weeks later they closed the entire campground and forced everyone to leave. Reservations were refunded. In 2021 NPS again closed half of the restrooms but did so on a daily alternating basis. They also closed about 1/3 of the campsites so spots were more difficult to acquire. All showers were turned off. A few tent campers had personal bucket showers but most, thankfully, decided to leave after a few days in the desert heat. The cost of a campsite was not reduced even though amenities were. Each camp site driveway is about 60 feet from the next driveway. 70 years of vegetation grows between the close sites and helps to mitigate neighbor noise while providing a little bit of privacy.
At night time I could hear and see the Border Patrol chasing illegal aliens and drug smugglers across the desert. The loud whop-whop of helicopter blades and bright lights often pierced the desert night. Fortunately none of the criminals ventured near the campground. During the day I often hiked the magnificent desert trail network. The scenery is lush and spectacular. The trails are often ATV trails that the Border Patrol uses in performing their mission. Empty, black, one gallon Mexican water jugs are a common sight in the desert. They are a favorite of illegals. Food wrappers, tin cans, clothing, back packs and even suitcases litter the desert landscape. "Leave no trace" is not practiced by the criminals who stalk the desert at night.
Free Wifi is available at the Visitor Center, 1 1/2 miles from the campground. Both the Visitor Center Ladies and Men's rooms were closed to visitors. A uni-sex, single toilet restroom was open. A needle depository box is included for intravenous drug users. The Visitor Center was closed most hours but a few Junior Rangers were available outside. Back doors led to both the Men's and Ladies rest rooms and were accessible by employees only.
Gasoline at a reasonable price, laundry, limited groceries, dirty propane and many services are available in Ajo; a 70 mile round trip north of Organ Pipe. RV and trailer camping is also available in Ajo and Why, 5 miles further south. Free dispersed BLM land camping is available 4 miles south of Why. In early March of 2021 the Border Patrol auto inspection station on route 85 was abandoned. When I left Organ Pipe two weeks later the inspection station was being dismantled. Drugs and human traffickers were often apprehended here. If the station is permanently removed I expect Route 85 to become a major open corridor for criminal activity. The Border Wall has been completed from Organ Pipe to Yuma. That part of the desert wilderness is starting to heal. Re-vegetation areas are marked off and slowly new plants are moving in. The wall is incomplete further east allowing illegal activity to spread across the border and into the park.

I spent 3 days at the campgound in late January. I'm not sure how long ago the camppground was built, however I don't recall a campground laid out so well. Cactus typically grow slowly, yet this campground has spectacular plantings. There are cactus barriers between the pads which gives the area a peaceful feeling. Several restrooms are located in the campground and there is a designated no generator area. I was a late arrival and ended up in the generator area. Some people have not heard about "quiet" generators.

There is gasoline about 5 miles south at the US-Mexico border on Rt 85 and more 24 miles north near the junction of Rt 85 & 86.

First of all, as with other areas along the border, if you have a prepaid cell phone plan, your coverage may be different than what other reviewers report. My prepaid ATT plan showed me as being on TelCel (Mexico) and provided occasional data connectivity and good phone service, but I have no idea how long that would have lasted on my plan. I had zero prepaid T-Mobile connectivity here. The sites are paved and level side-to-side, though you'll need to level up front to back. The hosts do an excellent job keeping everything clean and tidy. There are some fabulous walks and hikes in the area, all of which have been beautifully designed and maintained. The only downside with this campground is the sites are a bit close. One neighbor's inverter alarm rang for five hours solid one day; after three hours, I asked the hosts if I could move for one night and they graciously let me. Two other days I had to deal with loud, incessant talkers. Once they were all gone, the peace and quiet in my space was lovely.

Stopped here on our way from Tucson to LA. It’s a bit out of the way but worth it. Our campsite was a nice distance from the adjacent one. Paved and level pull through with no hook ups. Picnic table and sturdy grill were provided. Very strict and restrictive campfire rules.
Location was beautiful! Mountains and amazing cacti. Wonder sunsets. Great hiking trails right from the campground. This time of year it was on a first come first served reservation basis. Plenty of open sites mid week. Campground is very well maintained. Very peaceful.

Spaces are spread out, RV sites have a level paved pad, everything clean, this is the desert so sites are not shaded, didn’t use the restrooms, hike to Victoria mine is great, nice dump station. I was here the end of November and there are very few campers here, due to Covid half the sites are shut down. Weather perfect . I don’t think I’d be here April through October as it would be way to hot. Nearest gas station is 20 miles away. I would definitely camp here again. January thru March reservations are required, I don’t think I’d like being here with 200 sets of snowbirds.