White Tank Mountain Regional Park

White Tank Mountain Regional Park is hard to write a review about. There are a few things that I would ding it for that in other parks I would find unacceptable, but the location and park are just so great I'm willing to look past the flaws. It is a regional park that comprises over 29,000 acres to the west of Phoenix. It takes about 30 minutes to get into Phoenix proper and closer to an hour to get to Mesa.

The campground is close to the end of the road and about three miles from the entrance gate with the mountains in one direction and views of the Phoenix skyline in the other direction. There are wonderful hiking trails right off the campground loop that connect throughout the park for what feels like unlimited hiking potential. Saguaro and barrel cacti are everywhere! Just past the campground there is a competitive track for hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use that is great! There is also a brand new (2011) 29,000 square foot library and adjoining nature center at the entrance that is lovely.

The campground just upgraded all of the electrical at each site and offers up to 50amp service along with water at each site. There is also a brand new dump station at the entrance to the campground area for easy access. There was no dump station at the park prior to this year. The big ding for me is that the sites are un-level so be prepared when booking that the site quality is really mixed here. Also, be aware that the gate is locked at 8pm although they will provide a code to get in after hours!

PROS:
Hiking, hiking and more hiking
Close to the city but feels like you are out in nature
Sites are well spaced from each other (ours had views of the mountains)
New electric and water at each site
New dump station for easy access during extended stays
Mountain bike track
Great views
Friendly park staff
Library right at park entrance

CONS:
Sites are un-level
A little on the expensive side
Gate is locked at 8pm

We've stayed at several other Maricopa County parks surrounding Phoenix and have yet to be disappointed. White Tank Mountain is located about 30 miles northwest of Phoenix but it's hard to believe it is so close to a major city. Sites are spacious with lovely views of the desert, mountains, and even the skyline of town. Many of the sites are quite unlevel but the reservation website notes whether or not they are level, so be sure to check carefully when reserving. Also the sites are closer together than at some of the other Maricopa County parks.
There is only one restroom for the entire campground but nobody seemed to be using the showers while were were there except us. They were clean with plenty of hot water and good water pressure.
We really like the fact that there is access to miles of hiking and mountain biking trails right from the campground.
And any kind of shopping or restaurants you might want is an easy 15 mile drive to Surprise.
Verizon internet was painfully slow but variable, with 3G only.

I can only reiterate what the previous reviews have stated with a few additions. This is a beautiful and spacious campground. However, there is only only one shower stall in the only restroom that was a bit of a walk from our site. Even though we had four bars on our 3G Verizon phone the data feed was painfully slow and subject to dropped phone calls. You can buy firewood from the camp host but, it's rather high priced at $7/bundle. We had to drive 20 miles one way to a laundromat but hey, it is near the sprawling Phoenix area which is not unusual! Also, be warned that the map incorrectly shows the campground as a one-way but, you will not be able to back into most sites going that direction. We were told by the host that there is no one-way but, they haven't omitted that from the map. There are no extra parking spots if any friends visit. Our nightly fee reflects the inclusion of the gate entry fee.

This park is very scenic with some great hiking trails. What I particularly like about this campground is that it looks over the Phoenix metro area so you get beautiful twinkly lights every evening.

The sites are spacious but a few are quite close together, We could only get number #6 and it is very close to #5. The sites around the edge of the campground are much more private and if we came again we would make the effort to choose one of those.

The site we had had a very nice sitting area with firepit, picnic table and BBQ grill. We were there in March and the park was busy with people in town for Spring Training at the nearby Surprise training facility.

Even though we were warned about lack of cell coverage here, we actually had good coverage, and the towers were not overloaded as we found in other Phoenix areas parks, where signal was good but bandwidth wasn't.

Two dings for this park, only one shower stall for a park this big meant lines a lot of the time. Secondly the hosts here are pretty grumpy. We found the same in the other Maricopa Park (McDowell Mountain) that we stayed in. They buzz around in their carts with snarls on their faces, and when we talked to them they were just plain unfriendly. Finally one of them (I am not kidding) had a semi truck that would normally be part of a eighteen wheeler parked at their site with the engine running for an hour for some of the time we were there. WTF!

Shame that this county park system can't do a better job with their hosts because their parks are great.

I live only 15 minutes away from this regional park and never realized you could camp in it. We have been hiking here for years! We brought our airstream out there for the first time in April and it was gorgeous! This place with hopping with lots of RVs and we even ran into the Airstream Club having an event there. Even with all the people camping there to get the last of the cooler weather, it was very peaceful. This was a very quiet place. We never saw the site hosts. We were right across from a little park that my 3 and 5 year olds loved. Many people were there walking with their dogs and our dog got a little play date in. The bathrooms were clean. The hiking trails here are beautiful. Our favorite is the short hike up to the waterfall which may or may not have water depending on the time of year. I would definitely come back here again!

We love this campground, and will be back for a longer stay in the future. With 50 amp and good water at each site we felt very spoiled for being in the middle of such beautiful nature. The views in every direction are incredible, and the sites are very large with lots of privacy, and unobstructed views. The sunsets are wonderful, and watching the full moon rise over the valley was an extra treat. Exceptionally clear sites, the fire pits and bbqs are cleaned out after each camper, and the ground swept clean of trash and stickers.

The hosts at the kiosk and at the campground were very friendly and helpful when we extended our stay and moved to another site. Our AT&T cell and MiFi worked great the whole time.

It is a natural location so the sites can be un-level, but we were able to get level with just our jacks and no extra blocks in both site 14 and site 19. We did notice others had to use several blocks. The trails are wide and clean but our dog still picked up stickers in her fur so be aware when walking the furkids here.

This rate is for water and electric. There is an overflow area that allows dry camping only when the campground is full.

The campsites were spacious with picnic tables and fire pits, many with beautiful views. Campsites are on a hillside, and although ours was level others are not. There is a central restroom and shower house but we did not use them.

The park has great hiking trails and awesome mountain biking trails amidst a beautiful desert setting. And lots of nice paths nearby for walking older doggies like ours that can not hike a long way.

It is about 15 minutes from the suburb of Surprise and about 45 minutes from the center of Phoenix.

Only stayed one night, but it was worth the drive from I-10 to get to the park. Sites are generously spaced, so you can have privacy if you want it or be open to your neighbors. Site was dead level side to side and front to back. And it was so quiet, no street noise, no generators (power on this loop) and the bird song in the morning was beautiful.

One thing to note is that fighter planes from nearby Luke AFB might go over your campsite if they are in training. I kinda like that stuff, so I didn't mind it at all.

This is our second time here. We love it. The views are great. Each time we were here we saw rainbows. I did not use the bathroom facilities but my husband did and said they are just fine. The camp host sells firewood and will bring it to your site. If they had sewer we would diffidently stay longer.

We were able to park in the overflow lot for a much lower cost. However, this lot is only available if all the other spots are taken. The "camping" is in the open gravel parking lot for the mountain bike area at the very end of the road in the park. If you come without water, be aware the dump station does not have potable water. The potable water spigot is at the end of the paved road. There is a loop there with a picnic table and a water spigot. We had two campers who decided they needed to run their generators in the middle of the night. Perhaps someone was in an iron lung and had an emergency..... And the port-a-pottie in this parking lot has not been cleaned in years. But - beautiful drive through the park and lots of nice hiking. Very busy this time of year.