Campground Overview:
Usery Mountain Regional Park is located on the Phoneix Valley’s east side, and includes 3,648 acres set at the western end of the Goldfield Mountains, adjacent to the Tonto National Forest. The park contains a large variety of plants and animals that call the lower Sonoran Desert home. Along the most popular feature of the park, the Wind Cave Trail, water seeps from the roof of the alcove to support hanging gardens of Rock Daisy. The Wind Cave is formed at the boundary between the volcanic tuff and granite on Pass Mountain. Breathtaking views from this 2,840-foot elevation are offered to all visitors.
Campsites:
Usery Mountain Regional Park offers a campground with 73 individual sites. Each site has a large parking area to accommodate up to a 45′ RV and is a “Developed Site,” with water and electrical hook-ups, dump station, a picnic table, barbecue grill, and fire ring. Usery Mountain Regional Park provides immaculate restrooms with flush toilets and hot water showers.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Developed w/ Shower |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Phoenix Valley |
Fishing: |
None |
Campground Website: |
Buckhorn Campground- Usery Mountain Regional Park |
Campground Map: |
Campground Map / Park Map |
Reservations: |
|
Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Usery Mountain Regional Park became a park in 1967. Pass Mountain, also known as “Scarface” to the local folks, is the geological focal point of the park. The mountain itself was named for King Usery (sometimes spelled Ussery). “King” was his first name, rather than a title. He was a cattleman who was running stock in the area in the late 1870’s and early 1880’s. He had a tough struggle to survive and, apparently losing ground, moved up into the Tonto Basin country where his activities, unorthodox, provided him a kind of unwanted security….. behind bars.
Usery Mountain Park is on the border of a mountain region. Nearby ranges are: the Superstitions on the east, the Goldfields on the north and northeast, the Usery Mountains immediately northwest, and the McDowell Mountains across the Salt River to the northwest. A broad basin lies west and south of the area.
Hiking Trails Usery Mountain Regional Park
Usery Mountain Regional Park offers over 29 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Park trails range in length from 0.2 miles to over 7 miles, and range in difficulty from easy to difficult.
If you are looking for an easy, relatively short hike, the Merkle Trail is barrier-free. If you are looking for a long more difficult hike, try the 7.1-mile Pass Mountain Trail. Another visitor favorite is the Wind Cave Trail, that reaches high onto the mountain side and allows hikers onto the adjacent Tonto National Forest.
The trails within the Usery Mountain Regional Park are very popular because they have enough elevation to offer spectacular vistas of surrounding plains. Whether you are looking across the plain, flat land, south of the recreation area, or to the west or north great distances or surrounding mountains can be seen and enjoyed.
Nearby Campgrounds:
Campground full or want to see what’s around? Try one of these campgrounds located nearby
