Dead Horse Ranch State Park Campground

Stayed at the Blackhawk Loop campground. $15/night with hot showers and large facilities. Didn't think that there would be any spots, since we arrived after sunset but were happy to find a couple of spots to choose from that were really nicely maintained.

Creosote and hot air balloons in the morning, love it!

This makes for a nice little getaway. We enjoy fishing, or walking around the area. It is very close to many very nice little restaurants and bars so if you aren't into "roughing it" you can come go fishing in the afternoon and then relax and tell fish stories over a beer or wine at one of the local places.

They stock the lagoons with trout, I believe so there's always good fishing, and of course they have horses you can ride-- which is ironic given the park's name. It actually got its name from the family that owned the land before. They were looking for a ranch, and they found a dead horse on the road by this one. When the parents asked the kids which ranch they liked best they allegedly said "The one with the dead horse!" The name stuck, and when the land was sold to the state for a park, keeping the name was one condition of the sale!

Right between Sedona and Jerome, Dead Horse Ranch is a great campground to settle in for a week. We've stayed here twice and though I don't remember the details, I know we'd stay here again.

We've stayed here multiple times and think this is a great place. All the camping loops have attentive hosts, easy back in sites and all are well maintained. Big rigs have no issues here. All sites have fire rings, tables and there are several handicap accessible sites. There are miles of hiking and biking trails, fishing ponds, and horseback riding. It's very close to all the Old Town Cottonwood activities/restaurants. Bathrooms and showers are clean. The campground sits on the Verde River which attracts a lot of wildlife and birds, we see eagles here regularly in the winter. Beware of foxtails and goatheads, two extremely annoying barbed thorns commonly found in the area. Will continue to come here, it's a very well managed place.

This was our second stay at Dead Horse Ranch SP. We have stayed in the Cooper Hawk Loop both times. The back in sites are all level but the pull-thru sites do have a hump at one end but seemed long enough to level away from the hump. Each site does have water, electric, table, and fire ring. Restroom are adequate and well maintained. There are a number of walking, biking, and horse trails within the park. You can, also, take a trail to Old Cottonwood for a five mile round trip hike. The perfect location to visit Sedona, Jerome, Camp Verde, Tuzigoot Indian Ruins,and Montezuma's Castle and Well.

Overview
Our first trip and we enjoyed our visit. It was not a place that we are dying to get back to, but would stay there again. The surrounding area and access made it a great stay. Also the good cell coverage allowed us to get a little work done.

Review of the Park
The park has 3 camping areas and we stayed in Quail Loop, the oldest area. The sites are a little tight and some have length and height limitations. The outside spaces have some nice views of the mountains or the river. Each site has power, picnic table and a fire ring.

We found the park very quiet considering how close the sites are. Lots of kids, as we visited during spring break but no issues.

The bathroom is clean, but much smaller than some of the other areas. Showers were clean and hot. The bathrooms were heavily used compared to other parks. I think because there was a number of tent campers.

Verizon access was good at 2-3 bars. AT&T was lightening fast at 4 bars.

Review of Surrounding Area
There are some great walking and biking trails straight out of the area. The park sits on the Verde River. Fishing on several of the lagoons and even horseback riding.

Shopping Access
Cottonwood is close and has easy access for shopping. Walmart, Frys and Safeway are all there. The choice of stores is limited, but we did find some great restaurants and microbreweries in Oldtown Cottonwood.

Nearby Activities
Historic Cottonwood - great restaurants and beer
Sedona - not too far
Jerome - so funky and worth the drive but NOT in the RV
Flagstaff - worth the day trip for the microbrews
Tuzigoot National Monument - a good leg stretcher
Mountain Biking - Lime Kiln Trail (and yes you can see the old lime kilns)

This park is right out of Cottonwood, AZ which makes it a great base camp to explore the surrounding areas. We visited Montezuma's Castle & Tuzigoot in the same day, and spent the rest of our time relaxing in the park. Our kids earned their Jr. Ranger Badge, Sam and I both got in a mountain bike ride (Definitely intermediate to advanced trails!), and we explored down by the lagoons. Overall we had a pleasant experience!

We'd just acquired a dog from the shelter in Cottonwood and it was between our feet that he rest, staring at the campfire. I thought perhaps he might catch like a Q-tip, his hair thick and wispy at the ends. Though our neighbors were nearish, the night was quiet.

We were young and in love then, still figuring out the ins and outs of living with someone new--and now, for some reason I don't recall, a dog--in a small campervan with no running water, no bathroom, just a broken 12v fridge worth of IPAs and a pee cup.

And so it was through everything starry eyed and new hope for this future together that we saw everything. The short walk around the lake felt remarkable. Families on horseback screamed romance. And the little town of Cottonwood played the perfect adorable backdrop to it all.

So I leave the true reliability of my opinions here up to you. Be you a hopeful romantic yourself you may take them at more than face value, concoct ideas in your own head about the proximity to the mountain clinging ethereal several streets of happiness that make up Jerome and how it will ignite a passion with you and yours never seen before. Or if you're the cynical type, you may note that while it's also fairly close to Sedona, the town has been overrun by a sort of low key strip mall-idis that stings more than blatant Walmartian advertising principles.

Either way, I still recall the place fondly.

We arrived close to 7:00 pm, but we were able to meander to our site easily. They had the orange cone out to reserve our spot, and we backed in easily as there are not too many big trees around the sites in this campground. There are a few in between your neighbors, but it's pretty big and open. Though it's located in the hills, the site driveways are paved and fairly level. The hosts are friendly and helpful, and they kept the restrooms very clean. The hook ups worked just fine. Though you can see city lights in the distance, you still felt like you were out there. The park is about thirty minutes outside of Sedona, so a day trip there is very nice. We hiked in Fay Canyon, and that was very pretty and not difficult with kids (12 and 9) and Grandma (60-something). It was short trip, but a very nice weekend.