Craving adventure? Maricopa County residents can get up to 2 free nights of camping this fall

Maricopa County residents can receive up to two free nights of camping at select regional parks this fall as temperatures begin to cool.

The Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department is bringing back its popular camping promotion from Sept. 18 through Oct. 31.

Residents who book two to seven consecutive nights at a participating park will receive one night of equal or lesser value for free. Those who book eight to 14 consecutive nights will receive two free nights.

The promotion is available at:

• Cave Creek Regional Park
• McDowell Mountain Regional Park
• Usery Mountain Regional Park
• White Tank Mountain Regional Park

“We started the program back in 2008, and we’re coming up on almost 20 years of offering this program to the community,” Dawna Taylor, a communications officer with Maricopa County’s Parks and Recreation Department, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Why is Maricopa County offering free camping at certain parks?

Taylor said the annual offer is intended to welcome residents back to the parks as the extreme summer heat begins to ease.

“With the hot summer nights, nobody really wants to go outside and do anything nowadays and we’re hoping that the weather will continue to drop since we have some rain in the forecast coming up, and then people can get back out into nature, reconnect with their families, spend nights around the campfires and just enjoy visiting the parks again,” Taylor said.

The offer applies only to developed and semi-developed campsites reserved for stays between Sept. 18 and Oct. 31, 2026. It does not apply to primitive campsites, group campground reservations or unit fees.

To qualify, campers must provide an Arizona-issued ID showing a Maricopa County address. The offer is subject to availability, and rain checks won’t be issued.

Reservations can be made online at maricopacountyparks.org.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz McNair contributed to this report.

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