Jet ski, powerboat, kayak, wakeboard and swim from a lakeside desert campsite on the beach at Lake Powell. Lone Rock Beach campground is one of the rare public lands developed campgrounds with no designated campsites. The campground is located on U.S. 89 2 miles south of Big Water, Utah, or 12 miles north of Page, Arizona.
Pick the place for set-up, drive right onto the beach and make camp. Open fires are permitted. There are vault toilets, water and an outdoor cold "rinse off" water shower. No reservations are required.
There is an admission fee to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and camping is $10 per night as of 2010
Lone Rock Beach
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
P.O. Box 1507
Page, AZ 86040
928-608-6200
Ruins with a message or sacred symbols, no one knows what the Sinagua peoples were communicating with the petroglyphs left to today's explorers. The acestors of the Tohona O'odam peoples wandered the Gila River area leaving these signs.
Modern explorers, including the Batista expedition and territorial Butterfield Stage routed through this area leaving historic "I was here" markings.
Some maps show the campground as the now-abandoned Painted Rock State Park, this BLM campground has picnic tables, fire rings and vault toilets. Pack in water for domestic use.
Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
Bureau of Land Management
Painted Rock Dam Road
Gila Bend, AZ
Phoenix District Office
Lower Sonoran Field Office
21605 N. 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
623-580-5500
blm.gov/az
Camping in Tucson is central to famous film and TV Westerns, so many made on location around the city. Saguaro National Park is located on both the east and west sides of the city.
Nature can be explored in the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum or the Coronado National Forest. Families can avoid the summer heat camping along the scenic Catalina Highway.
There are several full-service campgrounds along the highway. None accept reservations, but the multiple choices make it likely to find a spot.
Some of the campgrounds include Molino Basin Campground at an elevation of 4,500 foot; Peppersauce Campground (4,700 feet.);
General Hitchcock Campground (6,000 feet); Rose Canyon Campground (7,000 feet); and Spencer Canyon (8,000 feet).
All the campgrounds have vault toilets, trails, picnic tables and fire rings. Pack in water.
Coronado National Forest Santa Catalina Campgrounds
Catalina Highway
Tucson, AZ 85750
520-749-8700
fs.fed.us/r3/coronado
