TWIN PEAKS, Organ Pipe, AZ

TWIN PEAKS CG,  Organ Pipe Nat’l Monument, AZ

RUN BY:  Nat’l Park Service

LOCATION:  24 miles south of Why, AZ  (31.942863  -112.811363) 

UTILITIES:  NONE

COST:  $16/night

DISCOUNTS:  Senior/Access passes $8

OUR RATING (1-5): Class I.  Rating 4.5

NOTES:  This is a beautiful area and a fine campground.  Yes, there is some BLM land outside the park and you can get passes to camp on the Air Force Target Ranges, but if you want the best possible experience, I’d suggest shelling out the money and staying at Twin Peaks Campground.  It is clean, very well managed and very well laid-out. The bathrooms have showers but beware. The shower water is solar heated.  There is a no-generator section as well as a tent only section. There are giant Saguaro, Creosote, Ocotillo and magnificent Chainfruit Cholla (also known as Jumping Cholla) all around you in the campground.   There are some neat drives and good hikes.

Environment:   Beautiful desert

Amenities:  None

Dump:  YES

Public Water:  YES

Toilets:  YES

Showers:  YES

Laundry: NO

Phone Service:  Verizon  4G 2-3bars

Nearest Propane:  at the Why Not Travel Store in Why, AZ

Location:  31.942863  -112.811363  Follow AZ-85 south four about 24 miles. Turn right (west) at sign for Visitor Center and Campground. 

Proximity to shopping:  Why is closest community.

Camping Population:  Variety. Typical National Park.

Sites:   All paved pull through. Nicely spaced.  Two rows are no-generator area.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.