Riverside camping creates a lot of family options, and the Tonto National Forest Verde River Riverside and Needle Rock campgrounds are perfect places. Campsites are right on the water and spaced for better privacy than at more developed campgrounds. Trails for hiking, cycling and ATVs abound and the river is stocked for fishing. Located just below Bartlett Dam, both campgrounds are on Forest Road 19.
Overlooking the Grand Canyon in the Kaibab National Forest with two free canyon rim and and two cheap deep forest campgrounds. Families can view wildlife, hike or make a short jaunt into Grand Canyon National Park for sightseeing, museums and ranger-led tours. Primitive sites Crazy Jug Point and Indian Hollow, off Forest Road 425, are free and on the rim. Deep in the forest on State Route 67, full-service Jacobs Lake and DeMott campgrounds are less than $20 a night.
Cool mountain streams brimming with fish and trails for hiking, cycling, and ATVs combine for family camping in eastern Arizona's White and Blue Mountains. Primitive and dispersed campgrounds located within 25 miles south, west, and east of Alpine are free. Set up camp anywhere it's flat enough to set up a tent. Avoid meadows or a site closer than 150 feet to a creek. Follow Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest for rules dealing with human waste, as these sites are completely free of services.
The Prescott Area, including the Prescott and Tonto National Forests, scatter primitive campsites along creeks or within easy walks of mountaintops throughout the public lands. West of Jerome off U.S. 89A, the steep mountains from Potato Patch Recreation Area and Mingus Mountain to Mt. Kendall are filled with primitive family campsites. ATV and mountain bikers have hundreds of miles of trails to ride.
The old west lives in Tucson, and cheap family camping is literally just outside the city limits. Along the Mt. Lemmon Highway in northeast Tucson, the Coronado National Forest has more than a dozen campgrounds, all with pit toilets, some with drinking water and prices at less than $20 a night. Hiking and fishing start right in the campgrounds. Up at the top of the mountain, the hamlet of Summerhaven has candy stores, fondue and family dining.
