Camping near Tucson, Arizona

Camping near Tucson at a glance

Public campgrounds

10 (8 National Forest, 1 County, 1 State Park)

Getting a site

5 reservable and 5 first-come

Cost

Lowest posted fee at General Hitchcock: "Single Site: $20 per night; Double Site: $40 per night"

Distance from Tucson

16 miles (Gordon Hirabayashi Campground) to 20 miles (Spencer Canyon) in a straight line; none within 15 miles

Elevation

2,621 ft (Gilbert Ray Campground) to 8,180 ft (Spencer Canyon), 9 of 10 on record

Season

1 open all year, 9 seasonal with posted dates

Campsites

400 across the 5 campgrounds that state a count

RVs

7 take RVs; hookups at Gilbert Ray Campground and Catalina State Park; longest stated RV length 40 ft (Gilbert Ray Campground)

Drinking water

6 of 10

Distances are straight-line miles from Tucson's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.

More campgrounds within 30 miles of Tucson

• Peppersauce, 28 miles from Tucson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $15 per night; Double Site: $30; Group Site: $50 plus $10 per vehicle); listed under camping near Oracle.
• Peppersauce Group Site, 28 miles from Tucson in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group Site: $50 per night, plus $10 per vehicle per night); listed under camping near Oracle.
• Bog Springs, 29 miles from Tucson in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $20 per night; Double Site: $40 per night); listed under camping near Green Valley.

Things to do near Tucson

Public land and water within 30 miles of Tucson, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.

• Seven Falls, a waterfall whose mapped point is 13 miles from Tucson; details on the falls on swimholesmap.com.
• Saguaro National Park, a National Park Service unit whose mapped point is 15 miles from Tucson; its entrance fees, current alerts and fire restrictions, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Saguaro Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 15 miles from Tucson; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Coronado National Forest, 9 of the 10 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Gordon Hirabayashi Campground at 16 miles from Tucson; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
• Federal Honor Camp (Prison Camp) site, at Gordon Hirabayashi Campground (16 miles from Tucson): 1937 federal prison labor camp where WWII resisters of conscience including Gordon Hirabayashi were held; renamed in his honor in 1999.
• Pusch Ridge Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 16 miles from Tucson; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Arizona National Scenic Trail, at Molino Basin (17 miles from Tucson): The Mexico-to-Utah Arizona Trail passes through the campground; the Molino Trail leads to the Pusch Ridge Wilderness.
• Rincon Mountain Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 22 miles from Tucson; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Tucson

Nearest emergency room: Banner-university Medical Center South Campus, 2800 E Ajo Way, Tucson, AZ, 4 miles from Tucson , (520) 874-2000. Next nearest: St Joseph's Hospital, 350 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, AZ, 5.1 miles, (520) 873-3000. Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) . In an emergency, call 911.

Groceries

• QuikTrip convenience store · 1.4 miles · (520) 697-7987
• Speedway convenience store · 1.6 miles
• Circle K convenience store · 1.7 miles · (520) 574-2580

Fuel

• QuikTrip fuel station · 1.4 miles
• Speedway fuel station · 1.6 miles
• Circle K fuel station · 1.7 miles

Propane

• Arizona Propaine propane dealer · 1.7 miles
• Ferrellgas propane dealer · 17 miles

Pharmacy

• Walmart Pharmacy pharmacy · 3.2 miles · Hours Mo-Sa 10:00-19:00; Su 10:00-18:00
• Walgreens pharmacy · 3.3 miles
• Walmart Pharmacy pharmacy · 3.7 miles

Laundromat

• Mike's "Just Like Home" Coin Laundromat laundromat · 4 miles · (520) 745-1434 · Hours 07:00-22:00
• Sparkle Cleaners laundromat · 5.2 miles
• Linen Fresh Laundry laundromat · 5.6 miles · (520) 771-9466

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Tucson: RV dump station, potable water fill, and ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-09-29; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.

Common questions