Government Parks

Government Campgrounds

Government parks, which include State and National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, State and National Forests, etc, have the advantage of being located in the most scenic areas in the country. However, the quality and price can vary greatly. And some can also be quite crowded, especially in peak season. Despite this, most of these parks are treasures, and we’re grateful to have them. We especially enjoy the dispersed camping areas run by the Bureau of Land Management as well as campgrounds built by the Corps of Engineers.

Below are government campgrounds we’ve stayed in most recently. 

Potrero County Park - Potrero CA

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦
  • Dates: Feb 10, 2019 – Feb 15, 2019
  • Length of stay: 5 nights
  • Cost per night: Included in caravan cost.
  • Discount: SKP caravan group rate
  • Hookups: Water and 50 amp electric, with dump station
  • Site number/quality: #28. Asphalt pad with extra asphalt pad for toad vehicle, plus a spacious sitting area with picnic table. Unfortunately, the pad was not very level and leaned significantly to the rear. We have leveling blocks for the front, but nothing large enough for the rear. Leveling with only our jacks would have required us to raise the rear wheels off the ground, which we are unwilling to do because of safety concerns, so we lived with the rearward list.
  • Park Quality: This is a beautiful park in the mountainous southeast corner of San Diego County. It’s wonderful that the county still maintains remote and unspoiled camping areas relatively close to its population centers. Less than an hour east of downtown San Diego, the park sits in a broad mountain valley surrounded by a grassy meadow and rocky hillsides dotted with wonderful old oak trees. We spotted numerous red tail hawks who live in the area.
  • Access: The campground is just off CA-94, about 10 miles south of I-8 via Buckman Springs Rd. CA-94 is narrow, hilly, and curvy, so the drive in was a little challenging for our 40 foot rig and toad, but doable.
  • Connectivity: AT&T is OK. T-Mobile is non-existent.
  • Return yes/no?: Yes, if in the area again.
  • UPDATE: When we returned from Baja, we crossed at Mexicali instead of Tecate. So we did not return to Potrero, though we would like to explore this area again in the future.
  • Notes: Potrero is only a few miles from the Tecate, Mexico border crossing, which makes it a perfect staging area for RV caravans traveling to Mexico. Our travel group spent a day going across the border to Tecate to get our tourist permits. We’re part of the Mexican Connection Chapter 8 group from Escapees, which is caravaning with 55 rigs for an 18 day trip in Baja.
  • Website: Potrero County Park

Plomosa Road (BLM) - Quartzsite AZ

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦
  • Dates: Jan 17, 2019 – Jan 25, 2019
  • Length of stay: 8 nights.
  • Cost per night: Free.
  • Discount: N/A.
  • Hookups: None.
  • Site number/quality: This is dispersed camping with no amenities. Sites are located in a large gravel area off the highway.
  • Park Quality: The Plomosa Road BLM camping area is one of the 14 day camping sections in the much larger area managed by the BLM in the Quartzsite area. It’s a great place to boondock, especially with a group.
  • Access: Our camping site was along Plomosa Road off AZ-95, about 6 miles north of Quartzsite.
  • Connectivity: We were able to get usable service from all three of our carriers: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, but the T-Mobile towers seemed to be less busy.
  • Return yes/no?: Yes.
  • Notes: This was our first real boondocking experience, and we had a great time. We camped with the Boomers group from Escapees. There were over 200 rigs in our group known as Boomerville. A number of the people we met at Boomerville were also part of the Mexican Connection caravan we took to Baja in February.
  • Website: Plomosa Road BLM

Rockhound State Park - Deming NM

RATING: ♦♦♦♦
  • Length of stay: 5 days
  • Cost per night: $17/night
  • Discount: None
  • Hook ups: 30 amp electric and water. Dump station.
  • Site number/quality: #18. Large, sloping, gravel pad on hillside. Though sloping, we were able to find a section of the large pad that was level enough for us to set up comfortably.
  • Park Quality: This is a small state park overlooking the town of Deming NM. The park is rather spartan, but quite beautiful. It’s on the side of Florida Mountain (pronounced Flo-rita) with the town in the valley below. Wonderful sunrises and sunsets.
  • Access: The campground is about 14 miles south of I-10. Access is via decent, mostly well marked, county roads.
  • Connectivity: Verizon OK, AT&T OK, and T-Mobile OK. All worked on and off for some unknown reason.
  • Return yes/no?: Yes, if back in the area.
  • Notes: Not much to do here if you’re not into rocks. Deming is a sleepy town with basic shopping and restaurants. However, we visited a surprisingly interesting museum in the old National Guard building that documents the broad history of the town and surrounding valley. It includes fascinating exhibits on the ancient Mimbres Indians  who farmed the area a thousand years ago as well as displays of more recent ranch and town life from the 1860s on up to the 1960s. Admission is free. Donations accepted.
  • Website: Rockhound State Park

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Click here to see all the government campgrounds we’ve stayed in since going full-time.