Patagonia Lake State Park Campground

If you want to camp, make sure you get reservations at least a few days in advance! There's some hiking, but the lake is really the centerpiece of the park. Nice way to cool off!

Pleasnt SP C/G not too far from Tucson or Norgales. Hidden in the hill country not far from the quaint town of Patagonia with their quirky eating places and taste of small town slow tempo life.

The park offers boat rentals, launch, fishing and lots of bird activity (especially Osprey ~ fish eagles). There are hiking trails and many time there are park activities. We were fortunate enough to have a Mexican Children's Dance Competition. What fun!

This is an ok state park tucked into the hills next to a large lake. It has fishing, a boat launch, boat rentals, kayak rentals, etc., as well a large day use area with a beach. Though it was very quiet when we stayed, I imagine with all those amenities it gets quite crowded on warm weekends. We found one nice hike, but nothing right out of the campground. The bathrooms were clean, if a bit tired. The ranger who checked us in was not very friendly, nor was the woman working at the store. The sites are all paved and very close together, but there are lots of trees around. I read all the reviews I could find on this campground, and I think every one of them said their site was not level. Sites 3,4,5 are pull throughs, but I can't even imaging trying to get level on any of them from looking at them. We had site 37 and using 3 legos were still not level. As I walked the campground, I think every camper was using some leveling. We had no ATT service (Ok, truth be told, I would randomly get 1 bar for about a minute at a time). I think if I had small children, this would be a fun park for a weekend get-away, but no for us.

We camped here mid-week in November. We had a wide choice of sites and actually moved from the site we'd originally reserved to something a bit larger and more level. Many of the sites are small and have some pretty steep slopes.

We camped here in an A frame. We had hookups for water and electricity up to 50 amps. There is a dump station.

On our stay the park was quiet and many sites were vacant. We were told that on weekends particularly during the summer the place is packed with large families, but during our stay things were nice a quiet.

The park is right on the lake. Fishing and boating are available. There is a small marina which rents boats and a store which sells fishing supplies. There is also a small grocery in the park with some expensive basics.

There are some nice walking trails on the north side of the lake with lots of birds to see. I'm not a bird watcher but we met several on our walk. The trails go through some open range grazing areas so we met a lot of cattle on our walk. Of course, the big hazard is what the cattle leave.

On the whole this is a nice state park. It had good showers with plenty of hot water. The bathrooms were cleaned daily. The park rangers were friendly and helpful. One ranger leads bird walks a couple of times a week. There's also a small museum which is open around the weekend so we were not able to enter.

My cell phone did work. I have a tracfone so I don't know who provided the service.

We stayed here for a few days to explore the area with a friend that was staying a week with us. The area is beautiful and we had a good time exploring on foot. The drive in was nice and hilly but the DP made it fine!

We are boondocking people so this was more of a luxury stay for us than most other stops on our journey. We unfortunately were parked down wind of the dump station (Unbeknownst to us at the time of reservation) but that was the only unpleasant part of our stay. We understood from others that this State Park is very busy during the summer months due to the beautiful lake.

We ventured into Patagonia one afternoon for lunch and some sightseeing which turned out to be pretty laid back. Kind of an artsy little town with prices to match. In contrast, we took day trip into Nogales, much better selection of everything and more down to earth prices.

Overall, we would stay here again but (for us) it wouldn't be top on our list. Still a great place for a quick stop and check out the area.

Let me start by saying that we’re regulars at Patagonia Lake State Park - having camped here at least a half of a dozen times - and we will continue to be regulars here. The sites are spacious, the sunsets are gorgeous, they have boats you can rent (motorized and non-motorized), lots of hiking, fishing, a tall bridge you climb over with more views of the lake, lots of birds to watch, a swimming area and a beach - what more could you need?!

The park is large enough that its a decent walk to get around the whole place, and it even has boat-up only tent camping spots that are secluded and awesome. The hikes are great for bird-watching fanatics, and the cows walk right up to you when hiking around the lake (a little creepy for me, ha - but they’re friendly!).

Most sites have a fire pit, picnic table, 20, 30 or 50 amps, and water hookups. We’ve seen deer and coyotes right at our site, which is also fun! The East campground is a lot more secluded than the West, we’ve stayed in site #12 on the end which looks great on the map, however, it’s at the entrance to a popular bird watching side and next to a small parking lot, so you have people coming and going 24/7 (including very early in the morning), so we were woken up pretty early each day - so I don't recommend that spot. Spot #14 has a nice little entrance to the water behind it, so if you’re a fisherman you’d be in heaven here!

Overall, this campground is a great little oasis in the desert! Easy access to boating rentals, swimming, fishing, hiking or just relaxing and watching the animals. You won’t regret stopping here!

If you found this review helpful, please help us grow our youtube campground review site by subscribing to us on youtube! Thank you! =)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmZqsaeydzPKNgZ3ilx_gA

I am a repeat camper to this State Park. Patagonia Lake is a beautiful man made lake. It was everything I remember from my last visit, last year. The best part was this MON - WED night trip and I only had one neighbor. I took my Mt. bike, canoe and fishing pole. Didn't catch any fish, but I enjoyed canoeing around the lake. Cycling was a breeze as well. There are trails from the east camp area, and campsites across the water accessible by watercraft only. I believe that electric is at all sites except one, water at all. Plumbed bath houses (shower & toilets). Most weekends are packed, reservations are recommended, and don't forget the Marina and the store. A variety of boat rentals and basic camp provisions are available. I do not have A/C on this unit, so the 95 degree heat was a bit much. Look for the weather forecasts in Patagonia or Nogales Arizona if that is a concern. Biggest negative, my site had the trash/recycle area in front, so I had a few extra flies and bees.

Really enjoyed my time here. Hiking trails near campground for birders. Also close enough to Madera Canyon for day hikes. Loved the east campground area as it seemed smaller and the sites were spaced nicely. Some sites may need leveling. I was in 3 different sites and one site needed 4 blocks under the tires but the site (#33) was marvelous.

This AZ State Park campground is located right next to a man made lake with plenty of recreation opportunities. We only had time to hike, but there are plenty of opportunities to kayak, stand up paddle, fish and bird watch. The sites are relatively spacious, but fairly close to each other. In the future I would try to get a spot on the east end which is a bit more secluded.

Dear Arizona State Parks.

I am taking the time to pen this review today in hopes of showing my gratitude. It extends to the cool waters that calmed the hot tempers of my wife and children as they tried dipping themselves underwater in an effort to quell the burning sun of April. It extends to the cleanliness of your bath houses and near frightening heat of your ample showers. How you have succeeded making havens for those of us who love to watch birds until we can call them by name. And your staff lean towards a cordiality that is ever most welcome from those who get to work in small paradises.

However, my issue primary arises from the trash. For $30 / night, can’t you convince the campground hosts to pick up the cascaronnes and water balloon scraps left at every campsite? Might it not be possible to build future sites a bit larger, that those in RVs might not need feel like they’re bumping elbows with their neighbors every time they open their door or roll out the awning. However, I would like to again thank you for site 50, in my opinion the most spacious and shaded in that loop.

Your friend and ally,

Nathan @ Wand’rly

PS. For those of you who require the cell service for the internet work scene, AT&T was not going to allow such possibilities. There was decent service at the pavilion & beach area, though it wavered. And the free WiFi was a welcome addition, though it’s lack of actually producing a connection made it rather novel at best.