Customer Reviews

Southwest Camping Destinations: RV and Car Camping Destinations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah (Camping Destinations series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is another in the really well written series of western campgrounds by Mike and Teri Church. Previously, I had read their Alaska and Northwest books and as good as they were this may very well be their best and most comprehensive campground guide.

"Southwest Camping Destinations" guide provides just about everything one needs to form an opinion of whether a particular campground fits their needs. Unlike Trailer Life and Woodalls, this book has a narrative write-up that gives the reader a really good feel for each facility. The depth of coverage is comprehensive given its inclusion of boondocking, BLM, National Forest locations in addition to county, state, National and private parks.

The Church's books are the best value campground guides on the market today.

The idea of this book is great and it does have some good information, it is just poorly organized and horrifically edited with errors (some huge) throughout the book. If you can figure out the organization and can get past the erroneous dates, erroneous locations (on some entries) you'll find the book complete and useful in planning your trip.

I'm planning a trip to Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks, and this book is exactly what I was looking for to find campsites for the trip. The park entries are arranged by town and include commercial RV parks as well as government-run campgrounds like state and national parks and BLM lands.

The symbols on each entry let you skim over the parks quickly to find the ones that meet your needs. I was surprised to find that so many national parks don't have water/electric hookups or take reservations. RVers with big rigs will appreciate the descriptions of the sizes of the RV spaces. It's clear from reading the park descriptions that the authors have visited many (if not all) of these parks.

I liked the three suggested itineraries for travel in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. There's also a chapter on parks and campgrounds in northern Mexico and one on boondocking sites.

Any directory of this type will become out of date as park owners make changes, but it's a great starting point for identifying the best places to stay. I will check with my chosen parks directly for up-to-date details before making reservations.

I like that this book gives you 1 week (or longer) suggested excursions. After buying this book I also bought the PACIFIC NORTHWEST DESTINATIONS book by the same authors!

I'm disappointed in this book. The organization is maddening, possibly the worst I've ever encountered in a guidebook. Also, it's mostly aimed at people who want to park large RVs in ambitiously priced KOA-style private RV parks. The book has comparatively little for tenters or those with small camper vans who don't want or need electric/water/cable TV hookups.

Oh, and did I mention the tortuously bad organization?

This is one of the only "campground" guides that covers private, state, national and even county campgrounds. We have two really fine county campgrounds here in the Phoenix area, and they were included in this book, but I have never seen them in any other guides. Also, the pre planned trip routes are very interesting.

Based upon the negative comments I saw on this book, I guess they missed the word RV in the title. Aw well, can't please everyone.

I particularly liked the suggested routes that included miles and times. I was even able to work the routes in reverse with a little math. It is a great planning tool and I am using it for our RV club excursions.

This book has it all. It tells you if your big rig can fit in the RV Park. Valuable information for anyone who drives or pulls an RV. How many times have you pulled into a space only to find out your rig will not fit. These people have actually been to these parks and know what they are talking about. Great book!

This is more a cataloge of all the campsites.
I was looking for insightful information such as what campsite numbers to request. Or what made on campground different from another.