The Cave Creek Regional Park is one of the many Maricopa county regional parks near Phoenix Arizona. All of the regional parks offer camping, Most offer a mix of primitive (No hookups) and developed (i/Water) sites. A few like Cave Creek only offer developed sites which means each site has water and 20/30/50 amp electricity.
Cave Creek Regional Park is located north of Phoenix East of I-17 and North of the loop 101. The park offers a number of trails to hike and has a nature center. The park does close the entrance gates each night between 9pm and 5am, when you check in you will be provided with the gate codes to access the gate after hours.
Review
We used this campground as the final staging site before going full time in our RV. The factors in selecting it were that it was close to our house so we could easily go back and forth to bring things to the RV as we were getting it setup and that it was north of Phoenix which was the direction we would be leaving from. We reserved for 14 days to give us time to setup everything but ended up only using 13 of the days as we planned to leave a day early after making the reservation.
We arrived around 1:15 on a Sunday and was met by a host at the park entrance gate who provided us with our vehicle tag, some paperwork, and gave us directions to our site.
The park was quiet and calm which we appreciated and as expected there was no shade. The sites are spacious and spread out so you are not on top of any neighbors. The pads can be weirdly shaped which makes putting a longer rig into a spot challenging especially to leave room for parking a two vehicle.
The dump station is signed with do not enter signs if you are approaching it from the park entrance, I think this is to promote dumping on exit. There is no fee for dumping for camping guests.
If you are coming through Phoenix and heading north towards Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon this park would be a good spot to stay in. It will allow you to avoid Phoenix traffic when you are leaving. You will be close enough to the sites to enjoy them. The park is located about 30-40 minutes from downtown Phoenix and the airport. Located nearby is Lake Pleasant Regional park which also has a campground.
Campground Information
The campground is split up into two loops which I have named the main loop and the rhyolite way loop. The main loop is the larger of the two loops and is the one we stayed in. The main loop has sites which have paved pads , while the rhyolite way loop has gravel pad sites. All sites can accommodate up to a 30’ RV and there are sites that can accommodate up to 40’ RV.
Each site has electricity offering 20/30/50 amp service and water. The campground offers both back in and pull through sites. A dump station is provided near the entrance to the campground.
One thing to note like most of Arizona’s desert campgrounds there is very limited shade available at each camp spot. It is recommended that you have AC and a well insulated RV.
There are public bathrooms spread throughout the campground each contains both a bathroom and multiple shower stalls. The bathroom closest to our site was clean when I checked it out.
Amenities
- Electricity: Yes 20/30/50 – All Sites
- Water: Yes
- Sewer: No – Dump Station Available
Extras:
- Pool: No
- Cable: No
- Wifi: No
- Cellular:
- AT&T: ✔️ ( 4 Bars)
- Verizon: ✔️ (4 Bars)
- T-Mobile: ✔️ (2 Bars)
- Sprint: ❓
- Fire pit: Yes (Note Burn Bans are normally in effect)
- Picnic Table: Yes (Cement not easily moved)
- Check in Time: 1PM
- Check Out Time: 12PM
Fees / Limits
Fees:
- Reservation Fee: $8.00
- Nightly Fee: $32.00
- Extra vehicle fee: $7.00 per vehicle per day.
Note: The nightly fee includes one tow vehicle (Either towing or being towed).
Limit: You can stay a max of 14 days.
Notes
- Some sites have a sharp hill up or down near the entrance that would make it hard to hook/unhook a longer trailer.
- Pull through sites on the main loop are right next to the road.
- You may not be able to extend your drivers side slides.
- Services are on the passenger side so you will need longer cables and hoses.
Information
Address: 37019 N Lava Ln, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
General Directions: Take I-17 to Carefree Hwy (SR 74). Exit Carefree Hwy. and travel east to 32nd St. (7 miles). Turn north on 32nd St. to the Cave Creek Regional Park entrance.
Website: Cave Creek Regional Park