Gila Bend FamCamp

This is the 4th season we have stayed at Gila Bend AFAF. There is NO camp host. If you check in after hours there are forms to fill out at bldg 4300. It will tell you how to pay also. It is still under developed as before and the same rules go for the water as before. Some campers have set up a small golf course. All you need is a sand wedge. I hope that those who stay and don't pay won't ruin it for the rest of us that follow all the rules.

This campground is as advertised, no frills. It is pretty much an open field. There are concrete pads for patio, with a nice concrete walkway to each. Each site has a picnic table. Parking for your rig/toad/towing vehicle is on dirt. There are a few small trees, but that is about all that can be said about the park. Laundry is free and that is always a plus. There are BBQ grills, but it seems you must share one with your neighbor. The grocery store in Gila Bend had a lot of empty shelves. So, closest grocery is in Ajo, about 35 miles away. Water hook up is OK, but you must use reverse osmosis units provided at each site for drinking water. As stated, some of the hookups are a little out of place for RV's, but nothing that cannot be overcome easily. If you just want a place to get away from everything and have alot of nothing to do, this is it.

A place to stop for the night. Unmarked spots that are confusing to navigate into. Hookups are placed (presumably) for the mobile homes that once were here, which is nowhere near where one would want them for an RV. I used to be able to say that I've never encountered a situation before where my 50' power cord wasn't long enough. I can't say that anymore. All those negatives said, it was cheap and quiet and the laundry was free, even though we didn't use it. There are no shower or restroom facilities available, so you must be self-contained. All in all, if I were going to do it again, I wouldn't.

We arrived at Gila Bend in the afternoon, shortly after a rain shower had passed through. We figured that was good because it would keep the dust down. No sooner had we checked into the c/g and gotten all hooked up, than the power to the base went out. We walked over to the billeting office and asked if this was a scheduled outage or some such. The lady there said it almost always happened after a rain, to be patient and they'd have power back before too long. Sure enough, in about an hour, all was well...or so we thought. While the electricity remained on for the rest of the night, Mother Nature threw her second punch about 7pm and through the rest of the night with extremely high winds with gusts well over 60 mph. It was a full-on desert sandstorm and visibility in the c/g dropped to a few feet at its peak. That earlier rain meant nothing because the winds were so fierce they were picking up not just sand and dust but large gravel as well. Fortunately for us, we were parked in the wind shadow of a 45 foot mother ship RV (we're just a little class B), which kept the sand blasting on our vehicle to a bare minimum. Others with unsheltered exposure took the full brunt of the sand blasting, I'm sure. By 3am or so, the winds had abated to a more normal 10 to 15 mph. We were up before dawn and outta there, so we didn't stick around to survey the damage to others. As to the c/g itself, it's just desert dirt with small concrete pads next to the parking places for use as patios. The hookups had 50 and 30 amp plugs. The water is NOT a hookup, but a cabinet in which a filtering mechanism allows you to put clean water into a container and bring it into your RV. Each one has a picnic table. The laundry room has several washers and dryers available, and was kept neat and clean. There's a book swap shelf available, and chairs to use while you wait for your laundry. The sign-in process is pretty relaxed and the woman at the billeting desk didn't know which sites were empty. She just assigned me one she though might be. It was full, so I moved on down the row to an empty one on the leeward side of the aforementioned mother ship. The grounds are regularly patrolled by security police. This is an adequate place to stop over for the night if the weather cooperates, but not a place I'd care to spend any time. ---- UPDATE: The brutal sandstorm I reported in the above review did some serious damage to the Visitors Quarters when it ripped the entire roof off in the middle of the night. The RVers faired somewhat better. None tipped over in the wind, but there was a lot of sandblasting of exterior paint and finishes. We're back eight days later, headed east, and all is calm. Now folks have some new tales to tell about the big wind in the desert. This time we spent a pleasant evening, and were on our way the next morning. As I said before, a good stopover place, but not a particularly great campground for an extended stay. I've also changed my star ratings to reflect further thought on the place.

A place to park for the night on the way to somewhere else is about all it's good for. The laundry is free and is worth the $7.00 for the night. There is no water at the sites. A windstorm of some sort kinda messed up the place. Lots of visible damage to many structures. OK for one night.

If you must have glitz and glamour - stay away. This is a great desert c/g. Many miles to walk, great place for bike riding. The people are all family. Free laundry. We spent Thanksgiving here and had a potluck dinner with some wonderful folks. For the price - it's a diamond. For the atmosphere - it's gold. We can't wait to go back. The little town of Gila Bend is fun, not much there but several good places to eat. A little ways out of town is a fresh water shrimp farm. A short drive to beautiful National parks. Loved it!

This is a tricky campground. Be sure you pay with a credit card or request an immediate receipt. If you extend a day or two the guy wants cash, (what does he do with that you may wonder!!!!) and you don't get a receipt, nor do you get a receipt if you come in on Fridays. Most of the people come in Sep and stay until March or April. Many have NO military affiliation. It's friends of friends - taking up spots! And, hopefully you won't come in when the feuding is going on - the park is very divided; even though they all have been going there for years. The town of Gila Bend is practically non-existent; there is a fabulous Shrimp Farm nearby; with an Olive grove. Organ Pipe Nat'l Monument is 70 miles south and very worthwhile. The park is entertaining, with touch and goes daily and often 'bomb'drops.

It is very quite and peaceful. It is the perfect stopping point for a couple of days on your way to California. The rates are excellent. And the best thing, free laundry! The camp host is very friendly and so were all the other campers! You will not get any TV without satellite, but there is a lounge with cable. The sites do not have cable and have not for years. Or, you could just attend the nightly bombfire and talk with other campers. It was a short stay but we really enjoyed it. Oh yea, take bottle water with you. Each site has a water purfying unit for drinking water. It puts out 1-2 gallons a day. And buy the water before you head out because there is no major retailer in the direct area. The park used to be a mobile home park so the spots are very large, pull through, no problem areas with lots of space between sites.

What a wonderful, quaint no frills Famcamp. The camp host was very courteous and exceptionally helpful with our first visit there. We drycamped and enjoyed our night there very much. This Famcamp has alot of untapped potential for Luke AFB recreational fund. 8 campsites are closed off due to electrical problems. Cash outlay to repair those closed sites would be beneficial and pay off big dividends in the future. If you take a look at Davis-Monthan Famcamp and Yuma Proving Ground Travel Camp ,they understand the value and potential of expansion and park upkeep. This Famcamp has a lot going for it and could be even better.

Good price.. $7/nite. Friendly people.. clean camp. No grass.. hey, this is desert.. it's all sand and gravel. Secure, quiet place (other than the occasional JET take-off, from the airfield). New laundry facility.. new machines (2), but they're FREE and rarely full. Plenty of places to walk the dog. Full hook-ups W/S/E + RO-drinking-water machine, at each site. Free ICE. BIG-RIG friendly.. would handle four 40-footers in each site! It's a long way from big-city amenities.. 1-1/2hr to Phoenix (NOT a bad drive), 2-hrs to Yuma. Nice trip down to Organ Pipe Nat'l Monument.. about 3-hrs to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, and the beach resorts. If you want all the entertainment, stay in town, @ $25-45 a nite, but if you want 'boon-docking' with benefits, Gila Bend AFAF is like no other.

Hey, it's Gila Bend, but for $7.oo the price is right. Plenty of room since the snowbirds had left. Good power and a level site with concrete pad. No host after April 1st; so we picked a site, set up, and I wandered over to the Lodging office to check in and was told by the nice lady that she'd already closed the register and to come back tomorrow. I used the dropbox instead. Free laundy with pretty good machines. A good place to stage for visits to Organ Pipe National Monument, a truly worthwhile place to visit.

Campground was almost full with snowbirds. "Chuck", the camp host greeted me as I drove up. He works hard to have a decent FamCamp, but doesn't get paid or even a free site. Utilities are sometimes in awkward positions and some still have a few problems. We didn't have any problems with our 50amp site. Basically, an affordable, no frills place to spend the night or more. At $7 a night, it's better than many commercial places. Much more secure.

Not a bad place -- certainly several notches up from boondocking. Lots of space -- I'm guessing maybe 50' wide spaces. Nice and quiet. It's a good, safe place to stop for a few days and regroup. There are no military personnel stationed here. It is entirely a contractor operation, therefore, no bx, no shopette, no commissary, and no clinic. FamCamp does not have showers, but a restroom is available near the billeting lounge and is open 24/7. Gila Bend does have a very nice, clean laundromat that is FREE. Mostly 30 amp hookups, some 50 amp. Almost no trees, so sat reception is definitly not a problem. Town is 3.5 miles away. Sophi's Cafe has excellent Mexican food. I liked it and will go back, but not for long durations.

Most of the winter snowbirds had left by the time we got there. Famcamp is a disgrace by USAF standards, in that it is rundown, utilities not operating, garbage lying around, grass at least 12" high, etc, etc. The base CO needs to put some of the money back into the famcamp, instead of using it elsewhere on base.

Good thing: FREE coffee and Mocha is offered in the registration building.

Bad thing: Area is still very dusty and electrical hook-ups are not in the best condition.