Desert Tortoise Campground

I’ve stayed at a lot of campgrounds, but this one was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had. Upon arrival, we found trash scattered all around our site, which set a bad tone for the entire stay. To make things worse, there was donkey poop all over the place. The donkeys themselves were aggressive and were even fighting right next to our site—one of them was injured and bleeding, which was both alarming and terrifying, especially with dogs around. To top it off, there were multiple dogs running loose without leashes, despite the clear rule that dogs must be on a leash at all times. It was frustrating to see that rule being completely ignored, and honestly, it felt unsafe. The water situation was absurd. The only place to fill up your RV was a water spout that was at least 20 feet away from the road—super inconvenient and frankly, not ideal. The biggest issue, though, was the construction noise. Nowhere on the website or in any communication did it mention the ongoing construction. From 7 a.m. ALL DAY every day for two weeks, there was non-stop banging and loud noises coming from just across the way. It was impossible to get any rest, and it was beyond frustrating. I was shocked that no one even mentioned it during check-in or in any of the emails. The purpose of going camping is to get away from things like this! On top of all this, the bathrooms were disgusting, and the campground rules were basically unenforced. People were running their generators all night, ignoring quiet hours. It felt like no one was paying attention to anything. I will not be returning to this campground, and I’ll be sure to warn others about this terrible experience. A heads-up about the construction and a little more attention to cleanliness and rules would have gone a long way, but this place just didn't deliver on any front. I’m extremely disappointed and honestly feel like I should get my money back.

It was awesome and quiet. Went on Thursday came home Saturday during the week it's not crowded at all. We had site 120 and it's a great spot close to bathrooms but not to close.Donkeys,donkeys,donkeys oh and fish , crawdads and lots of wildlife. I loved it!

The good: beautiful setting, especially if you are in one of the developed loops. Also, close to Phoenix for activities. Lastly, the restrooms were clean and well stocked. Lots of bad. Frigging noisy with horrendously loud music. Lots of park police in the Discovery Center area, but they need to spread out and patrol and enforce in the desert tortoise campground more than they do. Most of us campers don't want to be around noisy, drunk parties. We closed up our camper and ran the ac and could still hear the music so clearly we could hear the words. And the bass...ugh. after a few hours of this, I walked to the offending site to make sure i could report the correct site number, and when they saw me looking at them while calling on the phone, they must have put 2+2 together, knowing I was calling the park, and turned off their music before the park ranger came by. But it would have been much better if either the host (who was very nearby) would have been proactive, and/or the park would patrol once an hour during business hours at least and shut this crap down. Campground hosts. If they are here, they don't display signage that they are hosts. On our first visit, we made the mistake of booking in the first loop, which had no showers and only 1 working restroom. We looked for a host to ask where the showers were. No hosts in first loop that were identified. We walked to second loop. The first site looked like it could be a host...very large site with more permanent amenities, but again, no signage. So we loudly said hello, and was answered by a surly guy who did say he was a host, but clearly did not want to be bothered. I think hosts should be readily identifiable with signs and should be required to be helpful and should be prompt about dealing with bad campers. They are not either of those here. At our recent visit, again, no signage of hosts. And with the loud music and party, the hosts should step in right away. They did nothing. Another issue is that the restrooms can be very distant for many sites.

Great place! Quiet and clean. The bar and store are really awesome as well. I will be back. I wish I could stay longer than 14 days!!!

Great campsite! A bit far from the water but not a deal breaker. Burros are a nuisance but harmless.

This is a wonderful spot where you can enjoy a pleasant Lake that is very clear, can see to that bottom for over 30 ft and hangout with Donkeys! 🫏✨️ yes they make noise, and yes they will make their rounds... so don't leave any food out, made the mistake of leaving an orange on the table and a donkey just ate it all in one bite.

Absolutely love this place. Went for mother's day week and had a blast with the kids. The showers and bathrooms were surprisingly clean and always filled with toilet paper. The camp site was very clean and we had a great time. Lots of wildlife. Recommend keeping food in tubs or in the car at night. We had donkeys that decided to play with one of our boxes they found by the picnic table and kept us up kicking it around and tearing it up. Was funny to watch though. They came up while I was sitting down later and just stood there while we talked. Insect repellent or citronella is definitely a high recommendation. Have places for extensions cords if you need to charge a phone or bring a fan. Love this place!

We are on another road trip and trying to hit some random campgrounds and towns/ cities along the way. We stopped at this park and asked if a campsite was available with a fire ring and bathroom, the lady actually took out an album and checked the photos to make sure! The site is not in their main camping area but I think they had it classified as semi-developed. We were in spot 118; the bathroom was clean (no shower but the other camping areas seem to have them), the area was quiet (one guy with a generator several sites up from us but he turned it off before quiet time), and our site had a great canopy over the picnic table. This was an excellent stop for one night and would love to come back for a longer stay.

The camp/lake was fine, but our campground was disgusting. Trash everywhere. Upon arriving, there were several dirty diapers thrown around our site, probably from the last family.. Not to mention broken glass under our table even though glass bottles are prohibited. Seems like no one maintains these campsites even though they are always booked and always have a host on site??