Painted Rock Petroglyph Campground

Lower Sonoran Field Office

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Campground guide

What to know before booking

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, approximately 90 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, provides visitors the opportunity to view an archaeological site containing hundreds of figures and designs carved into rocks, known as petroglyphs. The campground offers visitors 59 individual campsites and two large group sites featuring picnic tables and steel fire rings. Set between impressive geologic features such as Oatman Mountain, a few miles to the northwest and the Painted Rock Mountains, situated on the eastern horizon, this campground offers scenic panoramic views and plenty of opportunities for solitude and vast night skies.

Official campground details, summarized

Concise planning notes based on the public Recreation.gov campground information.

Facilities

The campground offers visitors 59 individual campsites and two large group sites featuring picnic tables and steel fire rings. There is no water or electric hookups at the campground, but there are two vault toilets and trash collection. The neighboring day-use site has two shaded picnic areas with tables and charcoal grills. The path to the Painted Rock Petroglyph Campground is on 11 miles of paved roads with an additional 1/2 mile of a dirt road. All roads in the campground and day-use site consist of hardened dirt and gravel suitable for larger RVs (Class A) and trailers (fifth wheels) when road conditions are dry. This area is prone to flash flooding during monsoon season, so be sure to check the weather before planning your visit.

Natural Features

Set between impressive geologic features such as Oatman Mountain, a few miles to the northwest and the Painted Rock Mountains, situated on the eastern horizon, this campground offers scenic panoramic views and plenty of opportunities for solitude and vast night skies. The surrounding area features a diverse Sonoran Desert plant community including the iconic saguaro cactus, various cholla species, barrel cactus, creosote bush, and both ironwood and palo verde trees. The area is home to a large population of desert mule deer and many other desert species such as kit fox, Gambel’s quail, chuckwalla, and desert iguana.

Recreation

The day-use site is right next door to the campground and offers two shaded picnic areas and a small interpretive trail around the petroglyph site with informational displays. The petroglyphs face the east-southeast primarily and would have been noticed by any travelers approaching from that direction. Hiking, birdwatching, and star gazing opportunities all present themselves at this site.

Nearby Attractions

Woolsey Peak Wilderness Woolsey Peak Wilderness offers rugged topography, colorful scenic vistas, rich variety of wildlife and vegetation, and outstanding opportunities for solitude and unconfined recreation. Woolsey Peak stands 3,270 feet above sea level and about 2,500 feet above the Gila River (to the south). The Painted Rock Dam flood- control dam is situated on the Gila River not far from the southwestern corner of the area. Encompassing a major portion of the Gila Bend Mountains, it is barely separated from the smaller Signal Mountain Wilderness to the north. Signal Mountain Wilderness A narrow, four-wheel-drive road is all that separates Signal Mountain Wilderness from Woolsey Peak Wilderness to the south. Signal Mountain itself, rising just north of the center of the area, reaches a summit of 2,182 feet (1,200 feet above the surrounding desert floor).

Important notices

Respect these fragile features by taking only pictures!

Water is not available at this location.

Electrical hook-ups are not available at this location.

There is no dump station at this location.

Surrounding campgrounds

Other tracked campgrounds within driving distance, nearest first.

Alamo Canyon Primitive Campground

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

68.3 mi

Twin Peaks Campground

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

76 mi

Picacho SRA

90.6 mi

Larry Forbis Overnight Group Site

Tonto National Forest

92.5 mi

C C C (Az) Tonto Nf

Tonto National Forest

94.3 mi

Common questions

How do I book Painted Rock Petroglyph Campground?

Reservations are handled by Recreation.gov, not by Kestrel. Use the official reservation link on this page to book. Kestrel only watches availability and tells you when a site frees up.

How quickly will I hear about a cancellation?

Kestrel rescans every two minutes, and every 30 seconds during the provider's daily release window. Alerts go out by email as soon as a matching site appears.