Patagonia Arizona State Park RV Camping in the Winter

Hello beauties! Welcome back to my blog or if you are new here, thanks for visiting.

Today I am going to be talking about Patagonia, no not the famous outdoor clothing company, but the town Patagonia in Arizona. If you are in dire need of getting away from the cold weather, take a camping trip down to Patagonia Lake State Park. They have a beautiful lake to hang out and soak up the Arizona winter sun.

A little background before I start, my family of four have been on the road full time for about 1.5 years now, and we have stayed all over Arizona in the beginning of our travels. I am no expert, but I do like to share my knowledge of where we have stayed and the experiences we had during our stay at campgrounds, resorts, state parks and more. I hope you enjoy reading this post all about Patagonia Lake State Park in Patagonia, Arizona. I am in no way affiliated with the state park, I just love sharing with you! When looking for a camping spot, always remember to look at Google reviews, the campground website and other blog posters to get a better idea if it is the right place for you.

First, I would like to explain a little about its location. Patagonia is all the way down south near the Mexico border. It is roughly 16 miles from the border if you drove on the major highway. Yes, you will go through at least one border patrol point on your way back up from Patagonia. I wanted to make that clear, as it was a total surprise to us. As we traveled from Phoenix through Tucson to our destination, we got a little spooked as we saw it on the other side of the highway. I think it was because we didn’t realize how close we were to the border.

Now that we have that out of the way, Patagonia Lake State Park is a beautiful place to take your friends and family for a relaxing stay out in nature. They offer a campground, boat-in camping, tent camping and cabins to choose from. They have over 100 sites to choose from, and all vary in length so big rigs could potentially find a site. Check out their website for availability here. The developed campsites have a picnic table, fire ring/ grill, parking for two vehicles, and offer 20/30/50-amp hookups. Reserve online or call them to reserve the perfect spot for you.

We ended up staying in three different RV spots during our stay. We wanted to be down there for a specific amount of time and had to bounce around. It was great, it was fairly easy packing up and moving sites. Our first spot was very tight for us, we almost hit a tree while pulling our slides out. The other two spots were perfect and had plenty of room for our big trailer. We have a travel trailer that is 38 ft long to give you an example of our size.

I want to include a quick note on Reservation policies and fees while you are reading about this state park, just to give you a better idea of what to generally expect when making plans to visit. I like to know pretty much up front how much a place will cost per night just to decide quickly if I want to stay or if it is too expensive at the moment. Patagonia RV camping sites are generally around $27-$30 per night. It can vary due to holidays and location of site.

So, what makes this place fun? Well, if you like the water, there is a beautiful large lake to enjoy. My kids and I loved playing on the beach with sand toys and making friends with fellow beach lovers. We liked watching the ducks float around the top of the lake while enjoying the sunset too. Fishing and boating are also popular activities to do during your stay.

Other fun activities include wildlife viewing, like roaming cows, and a variety of birds. Other wildlife residents you may encounter are bobcats, coyote, white tailed deer, javelina, coatimundi and reptiles. My kids love their binoculars to peak at all the wildlife inside the RV throughout the day so they won't get spooked away. There is also one trail in the state park, but there is also access to more trails at the Sonoita Creek State Natural Area not to far from the campground.

If you like taking day trips and up for the adventures of what is surrounding Patagonia, there are an abundant number of places to visit. One of the first places we explored was Nogales, which is the cities main border entry points into Mexico. They have lots of shopping and entertainment right on the border. Another place we explored was the Coronado National Memorial where we explored the overlook trail and got to experience a natural cave untouched by man. What an amazing experience for my family and I to hike up to a cave and explore its natural beauty. Go to the front office and ask for directions/ map to go see this cave. It is not handicap accessible, due to the rocky and the opening of the cave is very dangerous if not extremely careful. We made sure to wear proper shoes, flashlights for everyone and a safety mindset to explore.

We also explored the towns of Bisbee and Tombstone and the Titan Missile Museum in Tuscon during another camping trip, but close enough to visit while staying at this state park. There is a list of attractions on the Patagonia Lake State Park website to get more information for you to go explore outside the park.

Overall, a nice place to camp with family and friends anytime of the year. Go off grid and spend time out in nature or have the ability to take on a work call out in the desert. I want to rate this camping spot a 7/10 for its natural beauty and an abundant of things to do and visit. As always travel long and travel happy!

Written by Shelby Long

Follow us on Instagram & Tik tok @longsaturdays

Feel free to email me at longsaturdays@gmail.com