Campsite Review: Agave Gulch Campground is a military-only campground located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson Arizona. It is a very nice campground / RV park.
At the campground, there are six separate sections with 197 well-spaced large sites with full hookups. There are also 57 overflow – dry camping sites. Some of the dry camping sites are in an open field, others are similar to the full hookup sites – only lacking full hookups. Some of the sections have published names, others do not. Most sites are pull-thru and a few sites are back-in. All the sites are ample for all RVs, but some are bigger than others.
Nearly all the sites are very exposed with little shade except for the sites directly across from the office. These sites are back-in and a little tighter, but during the summer, any tree would bring welcome shade during the hottest part of the day. The sites directly across from the office have concrete pads to park on if this is a concern for you. Many, but not all of the sites have a nice concrete patio, parking is in the gravel.
Since nearly all sites are only available on a first-come, first-serve basis, you cannot really target a location. Really you have to pick from the un-occupied sites.
During the winter I would prefer the locations furthest south but they were all taken. My favorite site in the summer is not to be at Agave Gulch in the summer. It will be blazing hot and any shade you get won’t compensate for the temperature. It is very possible that your air conditioner will not be able to keep up with the heat while in direct sun.
Agave Gulch is a very nice campground.
Details
Website: Agave Gulch
Address: 6170 E. Quijota Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85707
Link to Google Map for the area: Agave Gulch
Phone Number: (520) 747-9144
Reservations: (520) 747-9144 No reservations accepted
Here is the link to an article on authorized patrons: Who can stay at military campgrounds?
The maximum stay in full hookup sites limited to 21 days when overflow is occupied and patrons are on the waiting list. When told to move, you have until noon to depart your full hook-up site and move to the overflow, then you can join the waitlist to get a new site with full hookups. In 2018 we spent our entire visit in overflow, never achieving full hook-ups before our scheduled departure.
Reservations are not accepted even for the extended 3-5 month stays, paying upfront for three months allows you to avoid the 21-day shuffle. Typically you would arrive in October, with your RV, pick your site when the park is still empty, getting something close to your desires. Then assuming you have paid for the site, you can take your RV somewhere else and expect your site will still be empty when you get back.
Dates stayed: February 11-18, 2019 in overflow; December 15 – January 5, 2020, full hookups
Comfort: Temperatures were nice. Mid-60-degree range. Cold in the morning and pleasant for the rest of the day.
Elevation: 2674′
Season: Year-Round
Price Paid: $24/ night full hook-ups, $11/ night dry camping, discounts in the summer are buying 6 nights and getting the 7th free.
Our Site: #245 full hookups, #P06 dry camping
Hook-ups: Full, Electric 50 amp, sewer, and water or dry camping
Dump station: Yes
Restrooms: Yes
Shower: Yes
Laundry: Yes
Potable Water: Yes
Water to fill your RV storage tank: Yes
Cell service: Verizon – Good Signal / AT&T – Good Signal
Observations
Campsite Review: Agave Gulch Campground insider info:
The entire area will be extremely hot in the summer. (not a secret)
In 2019 we stayed in the Phantom Loop dry camping section which was on packed gravel since it rained (infrequent) the low areas had standing water.
Arrivals after starting in mid – November can expect to spend some time in overflow camping. We were lucky that a few, maybe 15 full hookup sites were available when we arrived. When we arrived in February, there was no chance for us to get hookups in that we were only staying for a week.
My bet is that the staff hates telling people they have to move so that a person in overflow can have their site. We didn’t witness any movement from the full hookups to overflow when we were there.
There is also an inexpensive RV storage lot on the base. We met a couple that keeps their RV in the storage lot during the summer and moves to the park in the winter.
Avoiding the shuffle.*
After staying in full hookups for 21 days you may have to move to a non-hookup site to allow patrons on the waitlist to have a full hookup site.
This campground starts filling in October and typically will be full by mid-November. I fully expected to be in overflow on my arrival in mid-December.
Assuming you intend to be here for three (or five) months, the best option is to pay for the three months in advance, thus you will not be on the shuffle list until mid-January (March for the five-month list).
Assuming you want to have a full hook-up spot for the longest duration the ideal time to pay for the extended stay is not when you first arrive (and the campground is still rather empty) but rather sign up for the extended stay when the campground only has a few open full hookup spots. Thus anyone who arrived before you will have to shuffle before you do.
(*This plan is theory only and not tested.)
Caution
Don’t be late paying your fees — one day prior to the due date, the late fee is quite large.
No refunds are given for early checkout.
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