Picacho / Tucson NW KOA Journey - Picacho, Arizona

Klaire H.

We LOVED our stay at the Picacho KOA!! This campground is neat as a pin, and has a great desert aesthetic. You’re outside of town here, so the stargazing after dark is phenomenal (as is the bird and wildlife watching!) - but there’s plenty of nearby activities within 10-15 minutes like Picacho Peak State Park and a fun local farm where you can feed ostriches, of all the things! Felicia, the campground owner, and her family do an amazing job at making campers feel welcome and helping everyone have a great stay - right down to a Thanksgiving potluck for those of us who were away from home during the holidays! We really appreciated the well stocked store, where we could get firewood and even pick up some equipment we needed for our camper. The heated pool is also a wonderful amenity. We travel with dogs, so having a safe and enjoyable dog yard is really important for us, and Picacho KOA delivered!!! The spacious dog run has two entrance points for convenience and safety, is well lit for evening potty and play breaks, and our dogs had a blast on the agility equipment in the yard. This is a campground we would be thrilled to stay at again in the future!

Ronda R.

I'm writing this with mixed reviews. My biggest complaint is all the rules. The kids can't play at the park unless you are at the playground. My children are plenty old enough to play at the park with me 30 feet away and able to see them. The children were harassed all the time. One of the owners Ryan even told us that our kids can't ride their bikes in camp. They have cameras everywhere and we were reminded multiple times that they have cameras and are watching us. We weren't doing anything wrong but I don't like to be watched at all times. The train goes by all day and night and there is a rooster that starts making noise every morning at 4am. The bathrooms are locked with a code 24/7 the security is nice but I think having the bathrooms locked during the day way a bit much. The bathrooms were clean and the showers were warm. Staff walked around pretty much all day just "checking " on campsites. We won't be back. And the response back from the koa is a clear example of why you don't want to stay. Two of our children in the group are 13 years old. No one was neglected we could see our children at all times. Don't bring your children to this campground.

Nicole G.

So, we really wanted to love this place because of how conveniently located it is to where we live - and everything started off fine for us as far as reservations and check in goes - But our experience was quickly tarnished by the owners attitude towards our kids- all of whom are plenty old enough to be at a park that we can see and hear from our camp ground! The reason we pick a KOA to visit rather than any other camp ground is because it’s supposed to be geared towards families and kids. So to have our groups children be confronted on more than one occasion over a weekend just for PLAYING is ridiculous. We have good kids and even had babysitter aged kids that were part of our group. It’s just unfortunate. So parents be warned! This is not the place for you if your kids like to be out riding bikes and playing together without you being a stage 5 clinger helicopter parent your entire stay.

And in response to your asshole reply - we did not destroy a thing. But way to be a big bad boss man making kids feel bad for innocently playing. We have raised our kids to be sweet and polite and it was YOU who ruined the whole experience. You’re going to run your business right into the ground this way. Maybe make your park for 55+ if you don’t want to see kids having fun. And side note- your wife, her sister and your son were great- your wife was very understanding after we talked to her. This is just a you problem.

Diamante V.

No heated pool, very disappointed. It was literally the only reason we chose this KOA.

When we booked the reservation at the beginning of January, it said the pool was heated. We chose this location for my friends birthday and seemed like the ideal match but wasn't. We never received notice that it wasn't heated until we got there. I appreciate the website being corrected, but it still was extremely frustrating when we had plans for a heated pool side adventure.

Tracy R.

Super sweet and friendly check in person that was very personable. Clean, easy pull in, level spots that didn't require leveling for our 34 ft travel trailer. Easy in and out from I-10. We have stayed at dozens of KOAs across the country and those are all things we don't take for granted because all i mentioned above is very rare! We will definitely be back!

Nicole B.

We chose this campground due to its close proximity to our home and our past experiences with KOA campgrounds. Unfortunately not all KOA’s are created equal. Honestly I don’t know where to start with the complaints…You are being watched at ALL times, there are cameras EVERYWHERE (creepy)! Our children were scolded by the staff on multiple different occasions, not allowed to play on the playground unsupervised and we were also informed towards the end of our trip that they were also not allowed to ride bikes unsupervised. Also there are cactus surrounding the playground and basketball courts, not safe for children (supervised or not.) The powered make it known who they are and constantly mention their “power.” Ryan was especially rude to my children and husband on our last day of the trip.

Out of the campgrounds control, but I feel the need to mention. The road noise is loud and the train runs at all hours of the day. Also there is a rooster that presently wakes everyone up around 4:30am.

KOA’s are generally extremely family friendly and the staff are always so helpful and pleasant. Sadly this place is not created like the others. If zero stars was an option I would have chosen that.

D

Clean, well maintained place. The shower heads are great (rain shower) and they supply a bath mat. The grounds are well kept. They play the Star Spangled Banner in the morning for ALL to hear. The reason I gave less than 5 stars are the highway/train noise and the large cobble in the drive ways which is tricky for walking. Mostly, I felt uncomfortable with all the surveillance cameras plus the staff keeping an eye on everything (guests), from set up to check out. It was not a relaxing feeling.

Margaret M.

Really nice laundry facility and friendly staff! The grounds are well kept and they have the coolest cactuses! They even allowed my son to change his brakes in their front parking area. Kudos to this family owned business and their attention to detail and kindness towards their patrons!