Campground Overview:
With nearly 30,000 acres, White Tank Mountain Regional Park is the largest park in Maricopa County. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains on the Valleys west side. The range, deeply serrated with ridges and canyons, rises sharply from its base to peak at over 4,000 feet. Infrequent heavy rains cause flash floodwaters to plunge through the canyons and pour onto the plain. These torrential flows, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or tanks, in the white granite rock below, thus giving the mountains their name.
Campsites:
White Tank Mountain Regional Park offers 40 individual sites for tent or RV camping. Most sites have a large parking area to accommodate up to a 45′ RV and all are “Developed Sites,” with water and electrical hook-ups, a picnic table, a barbecue grill, a fire ring and nearby dump station. All restrooms offer flush toilets and showers.
Campground at a Glance
Level: |
Developed w/ Shower |
Season: |
Year-Round |
Nearby City: |
Phoenix Valley |
Fishing: |
None |
Campground Website: |
Family Campground- White Tank Mountain Regional Park |
Campground Map: |
Campground Map / Park Map |
Reservations: |
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Location: |
Nearby Attractions and Activities:
Eleven archeological sites, occupied during the time period A.D. 500-1100, are located within the boundaries of White Tank Mountain Regional Park. All of these sites can be attributed to the Hohokam Indians. The White Tanks were apparently abandoned by the Hohokam about A.D. 1100. There is no further indication of human occupation until the historic period, when the Western Yavapai controlled the area.
Ruggedness of terrain and scarcity of water restricted the sites to large canyons leading out of the mountains. In these canyons, the sites include seven villages, varying from 1 to 75 acres in area, a rock shelter in the face of a steep cliff overlooking the white tanks, and several sherd areas. Several of the villages appear to have been occupied for long periods by sizeable populations, while the sherd areas may represent temporary camps of hunters and gatherers.
Most of the sites in the area are concentrated around the White Tanks themselves. The Tanks probably held water the year-round and thereby drew people to the region. Petroglyphs on rocks indicate the Indians were more than transients. Pottery sherds along the Agua Fria and Hassayampa signify the presence of villages and a good possibility that an Indian trail connected the streams with the White Tank long before Europeans came into the area. The discovery of possible agricultural terraces or check dams indicates that farming may have been carried on in the various canyons of the White Tank Mountains, by utilizing seasonal runoff and rain water.
Hiking and Biking Trails:
White Tank Mountain Regional Park offers approximately 30 miles of excellent shared-use trails, ranging in length from 0.9 mile to 7.9 miles, and difficulty from easy to strenuous. Overnight backpacking, with a permit, is allowed in established backcountry campsites. Day hikes can provide some breathtaking views of the mountains and panoramas of the Valley below. Horseback and mountain bike riders are welcome, although caution is stressed as some of the trails may be extremely difficult. (Click Here for Trail Map)
In addition, there are 2.5 miles of pedestrian-only trails. These include two short trails that are hard-surfaced and barrier free. Waterfall Trail is barrier-free for 5/10 of a mile. The handicap accessible portion now ends about 1/10 of a mile past Petroglyph Plaza. The short loop of Black Rock Trail, which is about 1/2 mile long, begins at Ramada 4.
White Tank Petroglyphs:
Ancient Arizonans pecked hundreds of figures and symbols on the rock faces of the White Tank Mountains. Some may approach 10,000 years old. All have withstood sun, rain, and vandals for 700 or 800 years or more.
The Black Rock Trail circles through a Hohokam village site, though the pit houses and trash mounds are hidden to all but the trained eye of an archeologist. The largest group of rock-art panels is along the Waterfall Canyon Trail at “Petroglyph Plaza”. Another big group is near the entrance to the box canyon that gives the trail its name.
A rock drawing was serious business to its maker. While no one can say precisely what most of them “mean”, we know they had important functions in the lives of their makers. They were not simply stone-age graffiti. The symbols recorded events and marked locations. They were a magical way to control nature so rain would fall or mountain sheep would let themselves be caught. Some served as trail markers and maps. Others represented religious concepts.
Nearby Campgrounds:
Campground full or want to see what’s around? Try one of these campgrounds located nearby
