Talk about a peaceful place , my goodness nature at its finest…read more The campground is pristine, spacious, full of nature sounds , wild life & water flowing. The camp host Loren... best camp host ever! He creates a super chill and friendly vibe, always there when you need fire wood , a good conversation, knows all about the surrounding area and is full of knowledge & hospitality. We are repeat guests , he makes you feel at home. I highly recommend this delightful spot to take some time and detach & find your center .. Please don't pollute!! Keep it beautiful. Pack in & pack out thank you Loren!

It's pretty cool in the sense that on a good day, a 90-minute drive from Phoenix can make you feel…read moremuch further away than you actually are. Just don't expect a complete change of scenery. This is "high desert", which basically means it's the same old scenery, but more shrubs because it's a good 15 degrees cooler. You are not entirely escaping the summer heat, so if you're that sensitive, move further north. The campground itself is pretty boring. There's not enough open space to do much of anything but sit around and stare into the distance. It is also relatively flat, with no real hiking trails. If you like walking up tall things or participating in open-field sports like soccer and flag football, you will be disappointed. What's cool about this is the stream that flows through. It was 100 degrees out, but suddenly manageable as long as you sat next to the surprisingly cold water under plenty of shade. Walk a little bit upstream and downhill and you'll come across a shallow watering hole that appears to be the main attraction. But if you walk a good mile upstream, braving the terrible, terrible footing that is the seemingly endless off-trail pathway of large rocks, you will be rewarded. There's another large area for swimming, and the majority of campers won't bother going there. At roughly 5 1/2 feet, it's perfect swimming for just about anyone. But yeah...that's cool, but about the only thing (besides making s'mores) you'll really do here. It was cool for a one-night, one-day getaway if you want everyone in your life to leave you alone.

Rude people working in the office. Mulberry tree at our spot made a mess everywhere inside and…read moreoutside our RV!

I feel 3 is being generous because the staff is great. They deserve 4 or 5 star. Dislikes, Timers…read morethat go off on your shower about every 30 to 45 sec, one temp, you cannot adjust. Lights are about the same, jump out while you're wet and wave your arms around. I have been here a week and haven't seen any activities like in the past. They used to have pool tournaments once a week it was a really enjoyable group of folks when I visited. Now if you want to play a game of pool. You have to call and have someone come and unlock the pool balls. They used to have corn hole bag toss get togethers as well. I don't see any of those gatherings and meeting new folks like in the past. Im sure it's a difficult task being kid friendly and trying to appeal to us folks that are here to have some adult time and relax. My over all experience this time staying here. I hope this helps future guest.

Admittedly I had come here doing less research than I should've. I read some reviews about it being…read moreclothing optional, hippie, dirt road drive - but that was about the extent of my knowledge. I started the drive and it took more about 1-1:30 hours along the dirt road to get to the hot spring. I would've expected that this isolation from humanity would yield less people. I had taken a Tesla and this was for sure a mistake. A good amount of the road was washboarded - a result of too many vehicles and a lack of maintenance. One way to minimize this was driving toward the edges of the road. Anyway, my car was able to make it most of the way perfectly fine. But at the last 5 minutes the road got really bad - just right above the campsite. There was a sign saying that 'Nudity prohibited' - I'm guessing a result of large tourism, but nonetheless a sad statement - especially when looking at the reviews it used to be a popular for nudists. A few people choose not to abide by that government overreach, myself included. Finally, I managed to get to the bottom with a few hits against the bottom of my car. The campsite was very full. I luckily managed to find a spot next to another car. I walked along the River using the coordinates of Google maps as my guide. I found a spot where I could swim across. The hot springs was not that big and you can barely see the river directly from it. There's also a bunch of algae floating around. Had some great conversations with the locals and went back to the camp. Many cars drove in late at night parking next to me. I generally got the sentiment that there was way too much demand for this hot spring. The next day I went to the hot springs again and there were so many people that there was no space and people were standing outside for a spot - that's how busy it was. So I give this an below average rating: decently cool spot, way too busy, and not that big/poor water circulation.

Horrible place, don't come here, it's too long and far. stay home. No need to try to make it hear…read moreif you are from out of town. stay in your hotel room. LOL If you decide to visit this paradise, please have a 4x4 or a high clearance vehicle. Ignore all these horrible reviews from these morons who have never been and can't appreciate working a little hard for something that is worth it. Had one of my best days ever here.

FYI: If you're planning to go during the government shutdown, you can't drive all the way to the…read moreparking lot -- it's about an 8-mile hike (a lot of it on gravel). But honestly, it's worth every step! Just when you think you've reached the falls... you haven't. Keep going! The road in is pure washboard -- about 13 miles of bump city -- so make sure you have a 4-wheel drive and that nothing inside your car is loose. Fossil Creek is absolutely stunning, and bonus -- no permit needed after October 1st. The other thing says this trail is easy. No, it's not to be careful if you're taking somebody elderly over that doesn't have good mobility because there's some rocks you had a climb and what not also make sure you take plenty of water to drink and a little snack everything you pack in your pack. I would also suggest leaving the house by three 330. No later you don't wanna be hiking in the pitch dark.

I didn't know anything about this place beforehand. If my boss had never been here and my cousin…read morehad never told me about the Permit, I would've made a wasted trip. I wish I knew more before going. I need to know more information about how things work at Fossil Creek. Even after going, though we enjoyed ourselves, I still don't know how it works. There were no signs telling you where you can access trails to get to the creek. You just had to guess. I found a trail at our Homestead parking lot, but it was very steep and a little dangerous. We found a spot okay in the shade but was very small for our party of 6. We worked so hard getting down there that we just made it work. After leaving we went up the road a little way in our vehicle to see what the other spots looked like, but I saw no bridge or easy access from The Bridge parking lot either, and the road was just way too bumpy. I hope my wife's suspension is okay on her Mazda CX-5. The information before going should've told us about the road and what to expect, basically how to plan. It's all a guessing game. I could've asked the Ranger lady more questions, but I didn't know what to ask. My boss made things sound different. Apparently you can't drive people to the waterfall trailhead anymore. You have to walk over 2 miles on a dusty dirt road in over 100 degrees with vehicles driving by kicking up dust. That makes no sense whatsoever. We enjoyed our time at the water. Everything else leading up to it and after it we could've done without. I don't see us coming back unless we have someone with better suspension and/or better knowledge of the area. Thank you.

RESCUED! Late…read moreafternoon on Sunday February 7th, we felt stranded... And then kept driving. I don't know what it is about this area - buuuuut, this lovely camp host was the ~only~ one to answer the phone, after calling nine others in the area, simply because they were on the way. Awash with relief, I thanked her profusely just for picking up the phone. She must have been surprised - I could hear the smile in her voice - she said "I always answer the phone." As it turned out, she was hosting in the RV Park, was ~already~ closed for the evening and had only one spot left, one! Yes, she'd save it for me. "Just call me as soon as you pull in - I'll meet you!" She was incredibly warm and welcoming, not put out at all to have met us after hours. You have no idea how grateful we were... after stewing over calling all the other places. We even had quite the disaster calling another place where we had stayed before... (read on - you can find it.) We were soooooooo tired from driving... The remaining spot was right up front, near the office and the shower, (which couldn't have been more perfect, since we got there in the dark) so we didn't have to hook up water. When we got up the next morning, we discovered it was landscaped and manicured beautifully, enormous spotless showers and paved. There were fabulous trees and picnic tables for all the sites. From reading the park map, I learned they're open year-round. We couldn't have custom ordered a nicer place! To have the host meet us after hours, essentially coming to our rescue, was nothing short of magnanimous. It's truly a thrill to share our adventure with others by posting. It's positively our privilege to have met her! We go through this area maybe once a year, and will certainly make this a regular visit. We can't wait to go back! Her sweet name was Geri!

Great people good price, water fill up is 5$ it's a great place to get water before camping.read more

Verde Ranch RV Resort is absolutely stunning, one of the best RV resorts I've ever stayed at…read more Super dog-friendly, two huge side-by-side dog park-like kennels to turn them loose in, a huge property to roam, rentable golf carts to get around in, a massive property, pond, access to the river, trails, and more, and it is incredibly clean. We will definitely stay here again if we are in the area or passing through again in the future.

This is our fifth year of traveling to the Verde Ranch RV for Memorial Day and every year it gets…read morebetter. The only problem is upkeep is not occurring. The pool is getting really run down and so are the bathrooms with the showers. The grounds are super clean and the online reservation system is very easy to use. Our neighbors took our picnic table and the fire pit we reserved was not complete and they stated they would refund us but have not done so yet. We love all the opportunities they give for activities but when I am paying hotel prices for staying there I really want everything to be super smooth.

Very beautiful and relaxing, we creek walked the opposite direction of The Crack, heading South…read moredown the creek, there still was pockets of people we encountered. Very tranquil place. Saw a few fish.

Parking - I highly suggest to get early because this is popular place and it quickly fills up…read more While they do have extra space at other lots for parking it just gets very jammed up. Hike- Put lots of sunscreen on, bring a hat, lots of water, some snacks of food, and the right shoes! The hike itself is not bad, it's pretty much flat for the most part. It does have some incline, but nothing an average person can't handle. I think the only reason people complain because the heat drains out a lot of energy and water in your body. If you do feel tired they do have a couple shaded areas by trees to rest. Keep following the signs that say Bell Trail. You do have options to stop and check out other smaller cliffs and little river pools but we chose to see the big cliff. Take it slow, enjoy the view and make it all the way to end of bell trail and jump of the cliff! It's amazing . You can spend basically the whole day there if you want but have what you will need in your backpack for that day.