When you picture camping in the U.S., what likely first comes to mind is a tent in a misty evergreen forest in the Pacific Northwest or waterfall views from your RV in Yosemite. But if you’re like me, an avid camper who lives in the Southwest, camping means something a little different. As someone who has called the Nevada desert home for nearly 15 years and has camped all over the American Southwest, when IÂ think about camping, what comes to mind is pitching a tent among car-sized boulders in Joshua Tree or sharing a campsite with a family of kangaroo rats in Death Valley. It also means rarely having to worry about being rained out and always bringing a marshmallow roasting stick from home, as sticks in the desert are often in short supply.
While camping in the Southwest might mean forgoing traditional camp settings like dense forests or alpine lakes — though the Southwest has plenty of those, too — you’ll get a few spectacular things in return, including miles of wide-open space, millions of stars twinkling above, and some of the world’s most spectacular sunsets. In fact, the Grand Canyon was named the best place in the world to watch the sunset, according to Tripadvisor reviews. These are seven of the most breathtaking spots in the American Southwest to go camping.
Lake Havasu
Camping along a white-sand beach might not seem like something you can do in the desert, but the waterfront campsites in Lake Havasu State Park allow you to do just that. Open year-round, each campsite has electrical hookups, flush toilets, and hot showers, and most sites have a covered pavilion you can use to escape the sun. Campgrounds include access to hiking trails, boat rentals, and a cactus garden.
If you’re visiting in the summer months, the 13 beachfront cabins are equipped with air conditioning, which is a necessity when temperatures average more than 100 degrees. My favorite part about camping at Lake Havasu State Park is that the campsites are located just a 10-minute drive from the heart of the city.