Gilbert Ray Campground
Tucson Mountain Park
Write a Review 8451 W. McCain Loop Rd. Tucson, AZ 85735 520-403-8116 520-724-5000 Official WebsiteGPS: 32.2208, -111.1444
Overview of Gilbert Ray Campground
Weight restrictions apply to Gates Pass Rd. Long rigs should enter Tucson Mountain Park from Ajo Highway to Kinney Rd.
Generators are not permitted. Dogs are not allowed in Tucson Mountain Park, however, they are allowed in the campground.
Last Price Paid: $20
Reported by ElaineS on 6/29/2024
Longest RV Reported: 40 feet (Class A)
Reported by Geardowntravels on 1/12/2022
Number of Sites 130
Pad Type gravel
Reservations yes
Elevation 2,624 ft / 799 m
Max Stay 7
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Gilbert Ray Campground
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 520-403-8116
Kkenney asked on 2/14/2023
Are the site lengths listed on-line accurate? Looking at a site that is 28’ long, but we are 31.5’. Class C.
TwoChihuahuasTraveling asked on 2/6/2023
Are the skies pretty dark? Yes,I know that they're pretty, but, we'd love to see the stars! Thanks!
Ledhead asked on 1/2/2022
From what I'm seeing, I take it there are no sewer hookups at the sites?
nygirly asked on 2/11/2021
Does Gilbert Ray Campground have standard plug 15 amp electric service at the campsites?
Reviews of Gilbert Ray Campground 155 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 86 Users
Last reported 6/29/2024
Confirmed by 42 Users
Last reported 3/18/2024
Confirmed by 17 Users
Last reported 11/7/2023
“The Absolute Best ”
Reviewed 10/10/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 18' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This is one of the nicest campgrounds in the country. For $20 you get a site with 30amp. Very clean bathrooms and a dishwashing station at the back of the bathroom building. The only drawback is that there are no showers. Great hiking trails in the area and beautiful vistas.
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T-Mobile 4G
Patch would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Gorgeous Surprise ”
Reviewed 9/7/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 3 |
| Site Number: | H22 |
| RV Length: | 18' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
An unexpected treat not far from Tucson. A great home base for visiting friends and shopping in the area. Yes it was hot hot, but that’s where having an RV with A/C come in handy. They have electric-only hookups, but there’s an RV dump and water fill up on site. After too many RV parks that are crowded, noisy, and full of night light, ... more
An unexpected treat not far from Tucson. A great home base for visiting friends and shopping in the area. Yes it was hot hot, but that’s where having an RV with A/C come in handy. They have electric-only hookups, but there’s an RV dump and water fill up on site. After too many RV parks that are crowded, noisy, and full of night light, this was truly a wonderful surprise. Quiet, private, and dark skies. Great start gazing and sunsets/sunrises.
Be sure to visit the nearby Desert Museum. World class!!
It was to dangerously hot to hike but there were many many trails that looked fun and interesting.
RVs should come in through the south (Ayo road), GPS May direct you over agates Pass Rd which is definitely NOT for RVs of any size.
Excellent cell signal. No Wi-Fi.
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AT&T 4G
Tinlizzy would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great Campground close to Saguaro NP”
Reviewed 6/23/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | 34 |
Overall Rating
Great campground with beautiful surroundings. Nice and clean bathrooms. There are tons of cactuses everywhere, including the saguaro's. You can back right into a space with spectacular views of the start of Saguaro NP. We must have gone in the off season because the park was very empty and we had it all to ourselves. Only two other cam... more
Great campground with beautiful surroundings. Nice and clean bathrooms. There are tons of cactuses everywhere, including the saguaro's. You can back right into a space with spectacular views of the start of Saguaro NP. We must have gone in the off season because the park was very empty and we had it all to ourselves. Only two other campers further away from us. There are electrical hookups, and a spigot for filling your fresh water tank. We had a 33 ft RV and it fit very nicely. Nice and clean bathrooms as well. Only downfall was there is cactus everywhere, so you need to be careful with your pets. We had two dogs and I was not about to let them walk off of the asphalt path. The trash is far away. And no firepits. Because the campsite is part of Pima County it is a little hard to navigate to find and make a reservation, but once you figure it out its easy.
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Verizon 4G
Amythoms5 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Campground”
Reviewed 5/14/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| Site Number: | 53 |
Overall Rating
We’ve loved our stay at Gilbert Ray. Our site had electric to run our AC which helped with the heat. Water stations are ample throughout. We had a huge Saguaro out our back window and we even saw a coyote run across our camp one morning. Its close enough to amenities if you needed anything but you feel like you’re in the middle of no w... more
We’ve loved our stay at Gilbert Ray. Our site had electric to run our AC which helped with the heat. Water stations are ample throughout. We had a huge Saguaro out our back window and we even saw a coyote run across our camp one morning. Its close enough to amenities if you needed anything but you feel like you’re in the middle of no where for the peace and quiet. We would definitely stay again. We have a 41’ 5th wheel and an extra car that fit in our site.
FreckledFindings would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Wonderful with beautiful views!”
Reviewed 5/12/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
| Site Number: | 17 |
| RV Length: | 24' (Class C) |
Overall Rating
Although it was hot and there were no shade trees, this was still a wonderful place to stay. The spots were roomy with a table. Electricity available, cell reception excellent and lots of trails for early morning hikes! Lived the birds in the early morning; Coyote calls at night not so much.
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AT&T 4G
Debbra would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Quiet Campground”
Reviewed 4/28/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| Site Number: | 43A |
| RV Length: | 20' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
This campground is very beautiful, quite, and close to Tucson. Our site was a decent size for our 20 foot trailer. The spacing between the sites was nice so you do not feel like people are on top of you. The site was slightly off level but nothing too bad. We had great views of the mountains behind our site. For the size of the ca... more
This campground is very beautiful, quite, and close to Tucson. Our site was a decent size for our 20 foot trailer. The spacing between the sites was nice so you do not feel like people are on top of you. The site was slightly off level but nothing too bad. We had great views of the mountains behind our site. For the size of the campground and the relatively close proximity to Tucson this was one of the quieter campgrounds I have stayed. The Verizon coverage was excellent and we had a good number of over the air tv channels. The dump station has multiple dump locations and the quality of the dump station was excellent. This campground offers close proximity to Tucson, Saguaro National Park, and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. There are other great natural sites within an hour or two drive. It was a great base for our stay.
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Verizon 4G
Wogggieee would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Beautiful Campground ”
Reviewed 4/25/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| Site Number: | 22 |
Overall Rating
Beautiful campground around the mountain and saguaro cactus. Sunset are stunning. We wish to come earlier as the temp hit in the 90’s. But overall love this place.
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AT&T 4G
Hblinka would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Good location and inexpensive”
Reviewed 4/22/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| Site Number: | A34 |
Overall Rating
For $20/night and with electric hookup, this is a deal. We were here April 9-14. There are no showers at this campground, but we were in a trailer. You do need to be careful when making a reservation for a site because even if the site says it is long enough for your rig, the approach may be a challenge. Make sure you check the site... more
For $20/night and with electric hookup, this is a deal. We were here April 9-14. There are no showers at this campground, but we were in a trailer. You do need to be careful when making a reservation for a site because even if the site says it is long enough for your rig, the approach may be a challenge. Make sure you check the sites out on Google Earth first. The only real negative about this area is that it is located in Tucson Mountain Park which does not allow dogs. Therefore, the only place your dogs are allowed are on the roads in the campground.
There are numerous trails in the area for hiking and mountain biking. The Saguaro and Ocotillo were starting to bloom so that was a treat.
I have been to the Sonora Desert Museum before and would have loved to go again, but with their COVID restrictions and not reducing the price . . . It isn’t worth seeing at this time.
While here we mountain biked, hiked, saw the Pima Air & Space Museum, the Mission San Xavier and drove to the Madera mountains for a day hike to Roger’s Rock.
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Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice desert campsite ”
Reviewed 4/20/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 5 |
| Site Number: | A43 |
| RV Length: | 25' (Class B Plus) |
Overall Rating
$20/night for electric hookups only. Threaded water spigots nearby, and campground has RV dump with water fill station. This is the nearest campground for (West) Saguaro NP visitor center and AZ-Sonora museum just down the street and are must see activities. Lots of hiking trails and Tucson is only 12 miles away. I would try for w... more
$20/night for electric hookups only. Threaded water spigots nearby, and campground has RV dump with water fill station. This is the nearest campground for (West) Saguaro NP visitor center and AZ-Sonora museum just down the street and are must see activities. Lots of hiking trails and Tucson is only 12 miles away. I would try for west facing sites (A loop odd sites 5-13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22,24,25,27,28,30,32,33,35,37-39) as those have killer sunset views, but all the sites are otherwise pretty similar. Very clean water toilets nearby, but no bathhouse or laundry. Even though it wasn’t super hot end of April 2021, I liked keeping A/C on to limit dust in rig and keep my pooch comfy. Dogs welcome in campground but not on trails (also no E-bikes allowed on trails, but you can drive down McCain loop just outside campground as the road is rarely used). Campsite loop H is all first come first serve with space very likely from April thru rest of summer due to heat, I would plan all hiking for early AM. I would definitely recommend this place.
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AT&T 4G
Verizon 4G
Law would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Incredible, peaceful, almost boondocking experience!”
Reviewed 4/12/2021
| Nightly rate: | $20 |
|---|---|
| Days stayed: | 6 |
| Site Number: | A-74 |
| RV Length: | 35' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
We stayed here for a week and it was without a doubt one of our favorite State Park Campgrounds. Period. Our site was surrounded by tall brush and cacti giving us a nice sense of privacy. The back of the site opened up into the desert and we spent every night walking into it to watch the sunsets. Oh, the sunsets! Exquisite each and... more
We stayed here for a week and it was without a doubt one of our favorite State Park Campgrounds. Period.
Our site was surrounded by tall brush and cacti giving us a nice sense of privacy. The back of the site opened up into the desert and we spent every night walking into it to watch the sunsets. Oh, the sunsets! Exquisite each and every night, especially if there are clouds in the sky.
We have a 35' travel trailer and that was quite possibly the longest rig you could fit in A loop. Our site, located on a bend in the road, made it possible to fit. You'd be hard-pressed to get it into some of the other longer sites which provided little room for maneuvering on the road.
Quick access to Saguaro National Park and the impressive Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum. We paid for a year membership to the museum and the kids spent the whole week unschooling in the museum. It is a diverse museum combining zoo experiences, botanicals, art, and an aquarium.
You will be so happy you stayed here. We were sad to go!
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AT&T 4G
alwaysbecampin.com would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
Page 6 of 16
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Amenities
Hookups
- 30 Amp
- Partial Hookups
Recreation
- picnic area
- recreation trail
Site Amenities
- big rig
- picnic table
- pull thru
Facilities
- dump station
- ADA Accessible
- recycle
- restrooms: flush
- trash
- water available
Pets
- pets
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