Saguaro Skies FamCamp

This is the long-awaited Saguaro Skies FamCamp. It is all brand new and well-designed. There are 61 full-hookup sites, with guest lobby and laundry open 24/7. As of November 2020, the FamCamp does not offer WiFi, and be prepared for fighter jet noise.

The FamCamp is available to veterans with VA photo ID that includes the “Service Connected” disability designation. This review is from that perspective, and some administrative details can differ for active duty and retired military. We arrived for a two-day stay in November 2020. The following information pertains to that experience, and Base policies may have changed since then.

The reservation confirmation email from the FamCamp directed us to the Visitor Center at the South Gate. Be careful to follow signs to right side entrance for large vehicles. Having said that, I missed the big rig entrance and ended up a few feet beyond in the passenger parking lot. Fortunately, the parking lot was almost empty, and we were able to (barely) wiggle out our 40-DP after taking off our toad.

HOWEVER, after all of that, the MP at the South Gate told us we were at the wrong gate. Now, maybe the story would have been different if we were active or retired military. I just don’t know. But at this time, disabled veterans have to be credentialed at the North Gate, aka “Lightning Gate,” which is ¾-mile north on Litchfield Road.

As you turn into the Lightning Gate (North Gate), make an immediate right turn into the North Visitor Center, which is labeled on Google Map as the “Military and Veteran Success Center - West”. It appears to be only open 8-5 on weekdays only. The Center’s parking lot is sufficient to turn around a big rig. There is also an alternative exit to the sentry post, but it can be blocked by a public city bus. Beware: the Lightning/North Gate is open 6am to 11pm. Late birds might have to sleep in their toad.

At the North Visitor Center, I filled out a short form for a background check, which required my VA ID card (with ”Service Connected” designation) and driver license. That process credentialed me for 1-year, and indicated to the Luke AFB sentry that I was permitted access. My wife went through the same process, but since she is not a disabled veteran, her entry pass was only valid for one-day. She had to repeat this process at the North Visitor Center every time we reentered the Base, and remember that the Center is open only between 8-5. So, we made sure to get a new daily entry pass for her each morning.

Once you clear the sentry station, proceed down Lightning Avenue. Just past the Base gas station, turn right on Thunderbird St, and the FamCamp is on the left. Register at the FamCamp office, which also has a lounge and laundry.

You have arrived at your destination.

It was a great military campground. It pavement sites. It’s clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly and helpful. All spots are pull thru. They offer free laundry. Overall well worth it.

We arrived on x-mas (no fighter jet traffic). The camp is all new. The instructions in an e-mail said to use the south gate. That route took us on a acenic tour of the base, but with help of the signage it was not hard to find (on google maps it is the dirt field right behind -east- of the comissary. The first reviewer wrote about the gate run-around. That does not apply for regular DOD ID card holders aka active duty, retirees and their dependants. That is only for those that can use the facilitiy due to a service connected disablity VA card etc.
The campsites are all pull through and full hook up aka electricity (50/30/20 amps) plus water and sewer. They are all paved plus have nice big site numbers (only on one end). The price is great at $30. The free laundry (3 washers + 3 dryers) are much appreciated. The rest rooms are nice too.
The sites are kind of strangely set up with where the hook-ups are. The sewer is way at the end and the picnic table is way up front on the other side. We had a choice: close to the sewer and our stairs on the rocks/gravel or 3-4 sewer hoses and the stairs close to the picnic table. The pads are just wide enough for the rig, but pretty narrow. It seems to have been designed by a non-rv'er, but considering how nice and clean everything else is, this park is very nice. The park will be very pretty in a few years when the trees between the sites grow up to provide some shade. Being righr behind the commissary and BX complex aka close to shopping is also great.

Nicer new park with very friendly staff, but we would not stay in spot 28 again as it appeared to be one of, if not the only site with pad level issue & absolutely terrible sewer dump placement.

The utilities & and sewer drain were placed at the back third of the site instead of near the middle like most places have them. Your rv pad extension (where the picnic table & grill is located) is on 1 side of site drive almost to the end of the drive, while the hookups (& especially the dump drain) are on the opposite side of your driveway and located toward the entrance to the site i.e. in order to use your site's patio you could be 35-40' away from the sewer drain. Our rig's black & gray drain pipe location is biased all the way to the left rear of our coach (which actually helps to put the connection closer to the dump drain of the site) & yet the hose we always use with no issues at all other campgrounds ended up not being remotely long enough to connect here. This necessitated driving to Walmart & having to fuss with connecting 2 hoses together etc, at night, after a long day's drive.

No wifi covering the park, staff said only works inside the clubhouse.

We had to put leveling blocks on the right hand side of our rig at the site which is baffling given this park was brand new in 2020.

Noise at night & in the evenings was zero issue & for that matter we don't consider USAF jet noise a nuisance but rather 'the sound of freedom' anyway.

Convenient (walking distance) to commissary, BX, & ITT office. Most of those have banker's hours, but they're right there for your use if within their operating windows.

Very nice / new base gas station a stone's throw away. Combined Class-6, a Burger King, and tons of food/drink options contained within. The only drag is that we didn't see any RV supplies in this store or the BX.... kind of baffling given how big the RV park is & it's right near both the BX & the shoppette gas station. Pump islands are big-rig friendly & they have diesel.

Getting there: Must enter with your RV via the South Gate. Kind of a PITA as that gate is on opposite side of the base from the RV park which necessitates traveling north on the base & using the overpass to get to the other side of base where the RV park is (the base is split by a city street). We found the entry point kind of tight for RV stuff based on where curbing is located, but did make it thru the gate 'funnel' without scraping anything.

Tip: A handy gate during daytime / evenings with your truck or toad (not RVs) is the "Lightning Gate" which is on the opposite side of Litchfield Street & opposite the base's "North Gate". The Lightning gate takes you right into the base close to the base gas station & RV park. This is a great choice for in/out of Luke when you're going out & about in your pickup or toad car.

Can see where this base and the park itself would be a royal pain to deal with if one wasn't a .mil I.D. card holder (hassle factor) but it was ok for us as retiree I.D. card holders.

Other note: The base is a LONG way away from most things interior to Phx proper & even further away from places like Tempe & Scottsdale. It took us 50 min on average to transit from the base to these other areas within the greater Phoenix metro area. Ubering or such to anything outside of the football stadium (which is relatively close to the base) would cost an arm & leg. If you're going to be doing biz or recreating on the east side of the Phx area I would say this campground is not a good fit.

Clean sites. Quite at night, though you'll likely hear some jets practicing during the day (more cool than annoying). All utilities worked fine. No Wi-Fi at the time of the stay but it's supposedly coming. T-Mobile 5G was fast (over 200 down and 50 up). Close to the exchange, commissary, and gas station (which has propane fill-ups). Make sure you go extremely slow through the gates as the speed bumps could destroy something. Would recommend.

We lucked out and snagged a cancellation. This place was completely full! They admit they grossly underestimated the amount of interest in this park when planning for it. They could triple the size and still be full. So lucky to have access to this park given most in the area are 55+, making it very difficult for families to find a place to stay. Access to all base facilities. Only on-site facilities were office, a common area with books and games, a laundry room with free laundry, restrooms and showers. Easy, pull-through site that was almost perfectly level. Easy in and out. The jets will promptly wake you up, they are loud, but it is expected on an Air Force Base. Overall, nice park, grateful to have access to it.

Very nice campground, and one of the very few in the Phoenix area that allows people under 55. However it is very difficult to get a site in the winter. We did manage to get one night on short notice so it’s worth calling and checking on cancelations.

Extremely clean, well maintained campground. Paved sites, all pull through, incredibly friendly staff. Free wifi, free laundry. Not just a paved parking lot, but plenty of dessert plant life and trees. Some jet noise but it didn't bother us, and some loud music at night from somewhere outside the campground. 100% would stay here again. Not all sites will accommodate larger rigs though, some are designated for shorter rigs.

Outstanding park that looks like new. Friendly staff. All pull through sites with full hookups. Laundry available too. It's on Luke AFB so it requires military base access.