Saguaro National Park - Camping

A hiker packs his camp to a wilderness site near Manning Camp in the Rincon Mountains. Photo by Saguaro National Park Staff Rincon Mountain District- Backcountry Camping Area

Open All Year


Backcountry camping is permitted in the Saguaro Wilderness Area located in the Rincon Mountain District.This backcountry area consists of 59,930 acres and was designated as a wilderness area in 1976. Overnight camping requires a permit fee of $6.00 beginning March 1, 2003, which can be obtained through the mail or in person at the RMD visitor center. Permits are not available after noon on the day of departure. There are six wilderness campgrounds, which are only accessible by foot or horse. All of these campgrounds are a minimum of six miles from the nearest trailhead. Water is available seaonally in the wilderness area. Check with the RMD visitor center for a current water report. Manning Camp has a permanent spring, however, it may be frozen over during the winter months. It is stongly recommended that all water be treated before drinking. Saguaro National Park does NOT offer drive-in camping facilities on either district. Camping is available in nearby county and state parks and in the Coronado National Forest.

Pima County Parks and Recreation information is available at www.azstarnet.com/~pcrp/tmp.htm.

Information on Colossal Cave Mountain Park may be found at www.colossalcave.com/explore.html.

Information on Catalina State Park may be found at www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/catalina.html.

Campgrounds of the Coronado National Forest can be researched at www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/scrd/.

No camping is available within the Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park.