Cieneguita Camping Area

The Cieneguita Primitive Camp Area in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is a beautiful spot for boondocking.

There were 2 other rigs here, one 5th wheel and one motor home. We were all spaced really far apart so there was a lot of privacy.

We had 22 HDTV channels including all 3 major networks.

Our iPhone is 3G and our data card is 4G. The data card had an LTE connection, while the phone went back and forth between 3G and extended.

We love this place and will definitely go back. Hubs and I have boondocked a few other places in Arizona, and the only downfall for us, is our puppies' paws. They get cacti thorns in them within the first 5 minutes - not this place!!

The grasslands are beautiful and for the most part, thorn free - which is a huge plus for us!

The drive down here is washboard, dirt road - as in - make sure nothing is loose that could fall and your frig door is locked. Take it slow, enjoy the scenery and don't be in a hurry. It will take quite a while to drive to this camp area because of how slow you must drive - but it's worth every minute of patience!

When we arrived it was very clear where to camp, with previously camped-on spaces. For us "newbies" to boondocking this made it easy on our minds that we weren't in the wrong place, or going to get in trouble or something.

Firewood easy to find, stars beautiful to see, sunsets amazing - it just doesn't get any better.

During our stay there were two other campers at other sites - but we didn't even know that until we were out taking a walk!

We camped here in a Motorhome and worked on our AT&T 4G hotspots the whole time without much trouble at all.

We camped at Las Cienegas National Conservation Area Cieneguita Camp Area in the 2nd camp site on the right. It was a huge pull-through that had nice view of the valley toward the north. All of the sites here are very secluded thanks to the many mesquite in the area. There were many places to walk our dog off-leash. There was only one other trailer that stayed for the length of time we were there; other rigs came in, stayed for 1-3 days & left.

The main road leading into Las Cienegas from Highway 83 is now paved all the way into Empire Ranch & the 8-mile long road connecting highways 83 & 82 has been improved. Note: the sign leading into Las Cienegas says "Empire Ranch Headquarters" not Las Cienegas NCR. When you enter the area from highway 83 go to the stop sign just past Empire Ranch Headquarters & go a right. Cieneguitas Camp is 1.1 miles from there. There are 6 campsites along the road & they all looked great. A 40' diesel pusher even made it into the area, although they stayed at a site close to the road.

It's worth spending time at the Empire Ranch Headquarters. Check their web site--twice a month they have docent-guided tours that would be very interesting. This is still a working ranch so you may have cattle walking through your camp site but they are not intrusive. There is also water available at the ranch headquarters & vault toilets as well. There was no camp host at either the ranch or the camp area when we were there.

The town of Sonoita, about 10 miles south on highway 83, has some great restaurants, a very nice hardware store/gift shop & a little post office. There are some nice wineries in the Elgin area near Sonoita & the town of Patagonia is a nice little day trip--it's about 12 miles south of Sonoita. We also made day trips into Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Tombstone & Tucson.

Wow! If you are looking for a quiet, remote and beautiful spot, this place qualifies with flying colors. If you have dogs, it scores even higher for the lack of cacti in the area.

The landscape resembles the show Little House on the Prairie as far as looks go. It's a grassy land at around 4,600', it's hilly and surrounded by mountains. Getting there is SUPER easy.

Oh, wait. I almost forgot. My map took me down the wrong road on my first attempt off of 83! I entered the coordinates from Campendium, and I don't think it was Google maps, it was the map that came with my iPhone which led me astray. I was led down Yucca Ash Farm Road, one road down from the correct road which is E. Empire Ranch Road. Strangely enough, it looks like it connects to the roads in Las Cienegas. However, I did not continue down the road once I hit a cattle guard with NO TRESPASSING signs all around it and a house on the other side of the fence. As I was initially going down the road, I remembered reading another review which mentioned that the road in has been paved. This road was not paved and it was horrendous! I will include this photo of 'you're on the wrong road' in the photos.

There is a sign at the correct entrance off of 83 (which I overlooked) making it fairly easy to find the place if your brain is not solely focused on the navigation on your phone! It is paved until it's not paved, but the unpaved roads were as pristine as they could be. They are very well managed, with little to no washboarding.

You come to a three way in the road and make a right. The sign for the camping area will be on the right about 3/4 or 1 mile down and the tiny sign does NOT face you, it faces the road you are on making it almost impossible to see! It's about as small as a street sign, and it's about shoulder high. They really need to change that. After coming to a screeching halt and then backing up, I turned into the camping area.

Never fear, there is a cul-de-sac at the end where you may turn around if you don't find your spot on the way in. Also, you MAY go through the gate at the end, you only have to close it behind you as cattle roam the property. This was told to me by a ranger, so it's legit. You may camp anywhere outside of these designated camping areas as long as you aren't destroying grassland to get there and the area has been obviously used by campers before.

The 6 spaces are mostly spacious and a few are large enough that you can drive all the way through and out. Some are large enough for more than one rig. I don't remember the number of my spot, but it was the second spot on the left. The area is high enough so that you have a view of the surrounding mountains and the sunrise/set.

There are Mesquite trees everywhere here and there are lots of critters living under them and in the grass. (Prairie dogs, rabbits, etc) If you venture off exploring, you are likely to see a rabbit take off if you get too close.

The roads are amazing. However, if you keep going straight on the main road, instead of turning where the little sign is so hard to see, you will come upon a pretty steep wash. I would be VERY hesitant to take my 24' TT through it for fear of my hitch bottoming out so badly that I could get stuck. Just FYI. Maneuvering through the official campsite area was a breeze. This is something that is always spooky because of the unknown, but when I was there, all was good in the camping area as far as maneuvering. My mom visited in her class A 36' coach, and she did just fine.

I couldn't believe how quiet this place was. My ears were ringing, and that's all I heard. Even the birds are quiet. I only heard coyotes twice and they sounded very far away.

I saw pronghorn twice, deer once, rabbits, prairie dogs (?) owls and of course, cattle! They came pretty close to the site a few times.

Cell service was stellar. I have Verizon. I had a work T-Mobile phone which had NO service, by the way.

The ranger only came through once, and he was quite helpful and friendly- gave us a map of the area which was very helpful for the 'off roading'.

Amenities- there's not much nearby. You have Sonoita down the road but there isn't much. Maybe a gas station. There is propane at the feed store in Sonoita. We used the trash cans at the rest stop on the west corner of 83 and 82, which is south, for our trash. I got my water in Tucson, but there is potable water at the Empire Ranch, a historical ranch which will be on your left as you come in off of 83 and it's close to the three way. (There is not a stop sign at the three way) I highly recommend taking the docent tour of Empire Ranch which I believe they do twice a month.

There are bathrooms and potable (well) water at the ranch, and a green hose is provided, but bring your own if you plan to drink it of course.

If you come from I-10, your drive will be stunning! It's a great 'preview' of where you are about to stay.

There are no other facilities at this location.

I will be back, this is my favorite booning location so far, but I am a newbie. No matter, this place is special.

The Cieneguita camp area was our first boondocking experience, and it was perfect! The road in was the nicest gravel road I've ever seen. Entering the camp area was easy and the road was a little washboarded, but in great shape otherwise. There was one rut in the middle of the road that's easy to straddle.

There's 8 pre-made spots for you inside of a fenced area, presumably to keep some of the cows out. Most of the spots will fit a couple rigs, or one big 35+ trailer.

We heard coyotes a few of the colder nights. You won't hear them inside your camper, but if you're having a campfire, they'll provide a nice ambiance.

Firewood is easy to find and most of the spots have pre-made fire rings. If you want to go for a nice mini-hike, walk to the end of the road until you hit a turn around and a gate. You can go through the gate and walk down about 1/2 mile to a watering hole.

Saw lots of wildlife around the camp too. Coyotes, pronghorns, deer, jack rabbits, and cows, if they count.

Oh, and the best part is, this area is very dog friendly. There is 1, count 'em, 1 cactus that easy to avoid and nothing else spikey!

Water: Nearest potable water is only a mile from the camp area, at the Empire Ranch Headquarters. It's on the left as you drive in.
Dump station: Nearest we found was the Pilot near Tucson on I10.

Where we stayed for 7 nights: 31.763437, -110.632946

Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is a beautiful boondocking area. We followed all the directions from other posted reviews (Thanks Rv Chickadee and Dawn) and had NO problem at all getting in here. Highway 83 was a nice scenic road that mades some nice twists and turns along the way. Empire Ranch Rd. was easily marked and very well maintained, slow down for the cattle guards though. As we neared the camp area, the signs were turned facing E Yucca Farm Rd. but with absolutely no traffic we were going slow enough that it didn’t matter.

We found a larger turn-around spot near the entrance that fit our DP. As we found out from out walk down to the gate, there was a bit of mud in the road I would have preferred not to drive our rig through.

We were soon greeted by a wayward heifer that was making her way back to the herd. A nice welcome to our stay.

We spent most of our time hiking and mountain biking the area and I think we covered it all during our stay. We did finally find the the Prairie Dog Re-Introdution area the last day of our stay. So cool! If you take a left before the cattle guard just prior to the campground area you will find them. Empire Ranch is a "must see" while you are here. They have self guided tours through all the buildings that make up the Ranch. The history is pretty amazing with all the movies that have been filmed here.

Overall, a very nice place to spend a few days off the grid. Plenty of wildlife and scenery for anyone looking for that sort of thing. We would defiantly stay again if ever in the area.

It was not what I expected, but the savanna style grasslands were amazing. Totally quiet and lots of space to roam did the trick for me. The dogs fell in love with the tall grasses instantly, and had a blast all week long. Expect to be visited by the local cows, and be sure to go visit the Empire Ranch.

Word of warning - don't listen to your GPS. Come in from Empire Ranch Rd to the north of the marked camping. While it can be done from the south, the road it much tighter.

We REALLY wanted to stay here. The reviews made it seem like maybe we could camp here in our rig but NO WAY JOSE.

We made it all the way to the Empire Ranch Headquarters and quickly realized that we were in trouble. It had been raining and the dirt roads were not easily navigated by our rig, we got very muddy and slid around on the road, luckily we were able to make it out without total catastrophe. The road that led to the spots was TINY, we could barely fit our car down the road, much less our Class A motorhome.

Also every spot was full on a Sunday.

We are newbies and took a chance, maybe boondocking is going to be impossible for us? We had a good signal at the ranch, thankfully so I could find another place for us to stay.

It was indeed beautiful and it was a bummer we couldn't stay. We ended up at the Cochise RV Resort in Benson, thankfully they had room for us and after such a traumatic day we were happy to have full hookups and a hot tub to soak in.

Additionally we drove passed a closed Border Patrol checkpoint, just FYI

Access - once off the highway you have to drive 18 miles on a small two lane road to get here, then dirt roads. We did ok until the dirt roads.
Location - 18 miles off I-10, beautiful scenery
Cleanliness - Looked very clean
Site Quality - All were full, but muddy dirt road and spots
Noise - Middle of nowhere, so likely not bad

Even by boondocking standards this place is seriously quiet and peaceful. We stayed for a week in March and even though the 6 other sites here were taken each night, the distance and mesquite groves between sites made for a great feeling of seclusion.

The road in is not bad, although it is narrow and would be difficult for two rigs to pass each other, it is not long and this wasn't a problem coming or going (we took Empire Ranch road, the better way in). Everyone else's comments about the sign being small and facing the wrong way are accurate, but if you follow the gps and look out for the turn you really can't miss it. We stayed at a large site about half way down the road.

Lot's of cows here and prairie dogs, they are reintroducing the prairie dogs here so it was fun to go looking for them.

It is certainly a nice change of scenery up here compared to the Sonoran Desert of the surrounding areas. There are a handful of cacti here and there, but it is for the most part grasslands and mesquite trees.

Plenty of large rigs came through to camp, although we noticed someone camping in the turnaround where the road ends (is gated off), this caused a problem for a large class A that had no where to turn around after finding all of the sites full. We let them use half of our site since it was huge and our last day. The rules for this area state that gates can be passed through as long as you leave it how you found it (open or closed) and technically camping is allowed anywhere, they just asked that you not damage too much grass.

This is a beautiful spot with few cactus, mostly grassland and mesquite trees. We entered from the Empire Ranch Rd. side which is paved for 3 miles, then onto hardpack gravel. Taking a right at the "T" 1.2 miles on the right is the turn into the 6 or 7 sites for 3/4 mile back. The prior dirt road is narrow with mesquite trees and not it. It is open range, so cows may wander through changing pastures. Coyote, rabbits, hawks, hummingbirds, crows to name a few. Great ATV, OHV trail riding and horse riding. A group site on the airstrip was full of equestrian campers on the weekend and were seen several times out riding the range. There are also more dispursed camping on that side easily accessible for RV "Oak Tree Canyon".

Take time to do the self guided tour at Empire Ranch. The Foundation is working with the BLM to restore and preserve these historic ranch buildings. The information plaques throughout the property shares the history and days of old ranching and preserving the grasslands.

Sonoita is a small community with basic services 7 miles south, 1 gas station, general grocery store a couple restaurants, post office, propane fill was south of crossroads AZ 82 & 83 at High Noon Feed and Tack. Dumpsters are around town to drop your trash into. Drinking water available at the Empire Ranch HQ in front of the vault toilets for filling water jugs.

Tucson was getting extreme record breaking heat in the 90's. We were in the low 80's with a great breeze yet only 50 minutes south. If you must have a Walmart, there is one at the Houghton Rd. exit (S. Tucson - Pima Fairgrounds). Exit and take a right and it will be on the left, otherwise basics of bread, milk, ice, beer, small deli can be had at the store at Sonoita.