Fortuna Pond

Don't expect a solitary experience here. Dirt agricultural road to the pond and then potholed dirt drive around the pond. Rigs park around the edges of the pond, kept from getting too close to the edges by fencing. Some sites would have good solar potential and a couple have reasonable seclusion. Some traffic daily with people coming to fish.

One bar of Verizon boosted to five bars with antenna and amplifier.

The larger your rig the less happy you'll probably be at Fortuna Pond—and probably the more annoyed others will be with you. Fortuna Pond is the antithesis of an RV park, which there are a ton of around Yuma, if that's your thing. That's what makes Fortuna Pond appealing to me (besides being free). I want to be in nature, not in a parking lot of mobile condos. There's wildlife at Fortuna pond—herons, ospreys, kestrels, kingfishers, coots, hummingbirds, roadrunners, raccoons, coyotes, bats... The pond is stocked with trout, perch, catfish and bass, so it's a fishing spot for locals and things can get crowded on weekends. Sometimes there are cropdusters buzzing overhead at night. Sometimes there are Marine jets. Sometimes there are train noises. Sometimes there are jerks and loud drunks. It's dirt, sand and dust. It's trees and water. It's camping. There's a dumpster and an uninviting chemical toilet. You might have trouble getting you rig level. There might be clearance problems along the south shore where trees overhang the road. Right now, in early November, Fortuna Pond is practically deserted. Very peaceful.

Someone's generator hums in the distance. A small campfire in the sand keeps me company as there is little other sound save for the occasional airplane soaring overhead. Or maybe it's a helicopter. Or I-8 headed to Yuma about 15 minutes away.

A pond separates us from the rest of the RVs parked here. The road in was dirt and bumpy, but not treacherous.

If we weren't heading out to meet friends across town tomorrow and Mexico bound in general, I could stay here much longer.

A great way to get out of the RV city of Yuma if you've had enough of the commercial side of things. Or seemingly an oasis for fisherman or bird watchers. Quite friendly, a little busy but it seems in Snowbird season there would always be room for one more. Access is through the agricultural roads so can be a little rough but not horrible no services to speak of but there is a garbage bin. Simple, plain with lots of birds and you would never know you are in the middle of the desert.

I like this place although a little crowded. Camping along the pond, so places have low branches, SW side but doable. Good pond to 'Yak in. Fish stocked so it's a fishing from shore pond. Great sunsets.

A wonderful spot.. luckily we came in from the west from yuma.. the road south has about 6-7 low hanging trees we pushed through without damage but not recommended.

The road from the west is rough.. had to drive 15mph for 4 miles in.

We had a 27ft rig. Bigger rigs might have a tough time getting around.

But a beautiful spot near Yuma.

What’s not to love? The weather was perfect and the fishing is good. Just an oasis in the desert. Close to town and there’s a weak signal for T-Mobile users.

I camped here over the Christmas holidays into the new year 2016/2017. I was alone in my small trailer at the time but met up with some new travel friends there. It was a quiet, relaxing warm and wonderful stay and we will be going back again one day. The "sites" are close to the access road which can create a little dust but they're only really used when someone new arrives and by the odd fisherman. The coots and other birds made for nice relaxing chill-out sessions but my favourites were the elusive turtles.

Not much in the way of amenities, the trash dumpster is appreciated as I'm sure is the outhouse for those tenting.

Last February I stayed in one of the nicest BLM areas imaginable. If your into camping, hiking, ATVs, dirt bikes this place has some of the best desert scenery and roads for exploring possible. I put a short video on You Tube: https://youtu.be/vnEuwL-LOmk Also watch for a video on ATVing in this area also.

Overall not super impressed, but I don’t think there’s anything better for free around Yuma. The location is a small pond where everyone lines up around the perimeter, so we didn’t feel like we had much privacy (we could hear conversations from people on the other side on the water) and your neighbors are close. There are a few spots in the trees which have a bit more privacy if solar isn’t needed, but we found that most of those spots were taken by people appearing to be homeless and were burning trash. Absolutely no turn-over, so I’m assuming everyone was planning on being there as long as possible, even in mid-November.
DO NOT ACCESS FROM SOUTH (Gila Gravity Canal Bank Rd) There are very low hanging branches. Instead, access from west on E County 7 1/2 St.