Alamo Canyon Primitive Campground

Beware o traveler, the intersection of Alamo wash rd with the N/S highway is dangerous. No signage alerts drivers driving north or south past the alamo wash intersection. Traffic is often speeding. Leaving from Alamo wash rd the view is partially obstructed from oncoming traffic.

Very nice, secluded campground. Quiet with wonderful views, wildlife, night skies, and excellent site layout.

Very nice, secluded campground. Quiet with wonderful views, wildlife, night skies, and excellent site layout.

Beautiful location. Three mile dirt road to the campground is easily doable by any vehicle. Hikers visit during the day to do the Alamo Canyon Trail, but are gone by late afternoon. Ajo Mountain Drive is fabulous. I did the Bull Pasture trail to the junction with the viewpoint, and then continued on the unmaintained trail to Mount AJo. It is marked by cairns but requires some backtracking anyway to stay on the path. The central section climbing up to the summit ridge is steep and loose. Harder coming down. I used GaiaGPS for navigation. Seven hours 10 minutes round trip, with 2.5 liters water consumed. Unequaled view in the park.

Beautiful location. Three mile dirt road to the campground is easily doable by any vehicle. Hikers visit during the day to do the Alamo Canyon Trail, but are gone by late afternoon. Ajo Mountain Drive is fabulous. I did the Bull Pasture trail to the junction with the viewpoint, and then continued on the unmaintained trail to Mount AJo. It is marked by cairns but requires some backtracking anyway to stay on the path. The central section climbing up to the summit ridge is steep and loose. Harder coming down. I used GaiaGPS for navigation. Seven hours 10 minutes round trip, with 2.5 liters water consumed. Unequaled view in the park.

Rating Scale of my visit to Alamo CG did not allow a selection

Rating Scale of my visit to Alamo CG did not allow a selection

Wonderful stay at this quiet campground.

Wonderful stay at this quiet campground.

Alamo Canyon CG is a more primitive and remote setting than the giant Twin Peaks CG. It might not suit everyone but my friend and I LOVED it.

We stayed five nights. Every morning I woke to the rich morning light of the green desert was a blessing. And the stars at night... a glimmering blanket. Go when the moon rises after midnight so that you get the darkest sky before bedtime and then when you wake in the night [you know...] you will be treated to moonshadows on the way to do your business. You hardly need a flashlight but it is dark in the toilet.

Lots of space between campsites and nothing much to block sound.
Don't be like us using our driving voices at first; you are not talking over any white noise here and your neighbors will hear you clearly! Don't make them come over and ask you to keep it down!

The campsites have stand up BBQ grills but not firepits. Worked for us as we use a campstove and rarely light a fire.

One toilet for all four official sites and we still never had to wait for a turn. The facility was clean and well-supplied with TP.

The centralized trash and recycling bins are critter-proof and secure so the campground is clean. The ranger's bulletin board has helpful info, updated regularly.

The reservation system allowed us to occupy our site without driving to the Visitor Center to check in first.
We hiked the trail up the canyon and were surprised to see the creek running. It was great but I wish the maintained trail extended further. Once you get to the social trail, travel gets pretty rough - navigating through the brush. Mostly we walked through the desert to photograph the cactus forest - splendid!

The commute to the Visitor Center is easy but driving back from the ranger talk at night made for a very late night.

We'll be back!

P.S. There are lots of warnings to stay alert and aware of people passing through the area. We saw no evidence of migration in Alamo Canyon as we did on the Baker Mine Trail (black jugs and trash).