Cochise Stronghold Campground

This is a lovely campground. It is accessed by several miles of gravel road. Washboardy when we were there, but not bad. You will go through a private residence area... keep going ALL the way to the end to reach Cochise Stronghold Campground. My Ram is 18' and easily fit into the camping space. My friend's rig is 23' and it was a challenge to maneuver into site #4, partly due to the angle of the sites.

The cost for a single site is $20. If you have a discount on Federal Lands such as the America the Beautiful Senior Pass, the cost is $10 a night. There are red pay envelopes as you enter the campground. The larger hang-tag goes on your windshield, the tiny tab on the site-post, and the envelope with cash or check in the payment kiosk.

Before coming to Cochise Stronghold Campground, you'll pass a pretty nice, modest sized Boondocking campground on the right (which is free); though be prepared for interior roads that (in some areas) need high clearance to access. For those that like the space provided while Boondocking, the free campground a couple miles down the road might be a better choice than Cochise Stronghold, as the Boondocking spots (in relation) are fairly well spaced.

I came with friends where we occupied sites #4, #5, and #6. These three sites sit on the upper side of the campground, have a little bit of a view over the rest and sit near the restroom and bridge access to the trails. Site #6 actually had a bit more breathing room and would be my first pick, as I faced my van door to the east where the neighboring site was a distance away. Site #6 required five levels of the lego-style chockblocks to get my rig up to height. Note: sites #2 and #3 are right on top of each other. If you are vehicle camping, you will be parked directly next to your neighbor. I didn't really assess the other sites.

The roads in the campground are paved, as are the pads (some of which are not very level). There are no hookups and there is no water available. The concrete picnic tables are positioned on a newer concrete living area and each site comes with a stellar fire pit, including cooking grate. The restrooms are outhouse style, but were cleaned and serviced twice a week and were very to moderately clean most of the time. It was overall pretty quiet in the campground, with slower weekdays and the usual weekend increase in traffic.

The Nature Trail is a modest little hike and was great for getting Jax out for a walk. Hiking the Cochise Spring trail isn't what I would term difficult, but it is not flat or wide and has many areas that require navigation of rocks and roots and is a 1 mile climb to the spring. Take water. Both of these hikes are accessed by a very pretty walking bridge over a large dry wash. There is an interpretive trail as well, that tells some of the history of the Apache people and of the area. Quite a few rock climbers and hikers came in on the weekend.

This campground is a very pretty developed site and felt very safe. Like much of the Arizona desert, the stars put on a brilliant show. If I could secure the rights spot, preferably #6, I would definitely stay here again.

I stayed at the free area about a half mile before the campground(2nd right after entering park/sign). there is a loop road with numerous sites to park. up against the mountain side is excellent with a small ravine and lots of hiking. they must of had a recent prescribed burn so the middle area is char city. As noted, there is maybe one bar of Verizon. I used my WeBoost to get 2-3 bars. Near a break in the fence by the mountain is the 'phone booth' with a mysterious 3 bars. Sunsite seems to be the closest town with any supplies.

Beautiful little campground. Quiet, shaded and secluded.

We drove here after camping at Franklin Mountains SP in El Paso. Family liked it so much we stayed an extra night. We stayed over Thanksgiving and at the peak there might have been five other campsites occupied.

As other have noted, the park used to have water but the spigots are turned off. I was told by the park host (who stays up the road) that the water table dropped year ago and they lost their water source.

Folks don't seem to close the door to the pit toilets so that smell can be strong if you camp nearby.

Phone coverage was non-existent with AT&T.

We did not stay here - we had read some reviews somewhere that said there was Verizon LTE, but we had none at all. Maybe 1x. We needed to catch up on some work so we didn't hang around. The price has gone up, it's $20.00/night. Pit toilets, no electric. The most level available campsite in the campground was next to some campers running a generator.

Quite a long drive in on increasingly rough gravel road. We did not see any dispersed campsites before the campground like some other reviewers mention. So all in all because of our expectations it was quite disappointing.

However - if we were prepared to be off grid and unplugged and pay $20.00, it looks like a great little gem hidden in the shadows of the mountain.

I have camped here at least eight times, perhaps more since it might be my favorite spot near Tucson. I have never stayed at the paid campground and likely never would as it is a very tiny and cramped little campground and you have to actually drive past the dispersed campsites to get to it.

The dispersed sites are all located on a short little loop and unfortunately, now that I have a much larger camper, there are only 2 or 3 spots I have a chance of fitting into. For smaller campers though, most sites are accommodating. Weather is usually a little cooler than Tucson but nothing like going up to Mt. Lemmon. There are some ATV trails in the area that are fun but certainly not the best (Bear Canyon Lake in Payson is great for this).

Campground is generally quiet and no-one bothers us. For day walks it is easy to just stroll around the loop. Town is only a short drive away if you forget some things, however, when I was there last, the only gas station in town had been closed. I don't think there is anywhere to buy gas or beer anymore without going to the next town. In any case, peaceful campground with some great scenery and we love it.

So amazing. Camping under the oak trees and the mountains. The five dollar price reflects our senior pass discount. There are pit toilets, no water. The drive in is a couple of miles down a dirt road. Take it slow and you will be fine. There are three stream crossings, but don’t worry. They are not deep. We have a 16’ trailer. The sites are short so maybe not much longer will fit. We rock climbed at Zappa Wall, but there are nice hikes and we saw a mountain biker who was having lots of fun.

I love this place so much and want it to remain wild that I almost did not write a review about it. But it's too amazing not to share with this great community! There are tons of spots to chose from and I highly recommend you do some exploring with a 4 X 4 vehicule before deciding on a spot. This is definitely not big rig friendly (there are significant bumps and dips on the road).

There is no water on site, so make sure you bring plenty!