RV Park Review – Root 66 RV Park, Sun Valley, AZ
A very basic, but convenient overnight stop to see the Painted Desert in Eastern AZ. Make sure you have Passport America.
Link to RV park info here: Root 66 RV Park, AZ
Link to map location here: Root 66 RV Park, AZ
- Site quality = 1.5/5
Very basic sites here. This park is basically a large, dirt parking lot with hookups and there isn’t much about site quality that stands out. There are 22 total RV sites consisting of a mix of back-in and pull-through. Most sites have 30amp/water/sewer with a few that have 50amp/water/sewer. Sites are all dirt, somewhat level, oriented side-by-side with very little separation and no privacy. No “sitting area” or other site amenities either. Main upside is full hookups and good water pressure. - Facilities = 2/5
Only one flush toilet on site, which was spacious & clean but no showers. No on-site dump. - Amenities = 2/5
Not much in terms of amenities here. There is a central building with a very old TV & a sofa and a small bookswap. On-site WiFi was free and worked slowly during the day (when the park was empty), but was completely unusable at night (when the park was full). Nicest amenity was two new laundry + dryer machines ($2 wash, $1 dry). - Location = 3.5/5
The main reason to stay at this RV park is to visit nearby Petrified Forest/Painted Desert and for that purpose it works well. It’s only 16 miles from the North Entrance of the park, making it the closest RV park in the area. Other that that, the park is somewhat in the middle of nowhere and located right off the highway, which makes it convenient for an overnight stay, but also quite noisy (constant car noise). Nearby Holbrook has basic grocery (Safeway) and Redbox. - Pet friendliness = 5/5
Good spot for doggie. Although there isn’t much space to hang outside of your campsite, the park is dog-friendly and there is a nice, long dirt road north of the park which is convenient for doggie-walking.
Overall rating = 2.8
Summary: Our goal was to see the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert and there are only a select few choices to stay around this area of AZ. Plus we needed hookups for the daytime heat. Root 66 was the closest (and most convenient) spot we could find off I-40 and for what we needed it worked out fine. The park is run-down and basic (just a big dirt parking lot, really) but it provides full hookups and it’s only ~16 miles from the North Entrance of the National Park. There are 22 sites with a mix of either 30amp/water/sewer or 50amp/water/sewer. Site quality is VERY basic -> tightly-packed sites with no real privacy or “sitting area”. Plus the closeness to I-40 (which is literally right next door) means you get constant road-noise day and night. On plus side the hosts were very nice & welcoming (they walk up to your rig to greet you on arrival), the on-site laundry was decent and there is an interesting little assortment of petrified wood on-site which is a nice compliment for the area. Plus the free-range chickens (one rooster & one chicken, both very inquisitive) provide on-going entertainment for both humans & cats. The park seems popular for overnight stays and filled up both nights we were there. Full site price is $33/night which is too expensive for what this park offers IMHO, but with Passport America (no restrictions here) it comes down to $16.50 which is much more reasonable. Overall I would say this is an convenient overnight to see the Painted Desert, but I would definitely want the discount and I wouldn’t plan to stay here longer-term.
Extra Info: Free on-site WiFi, which was slow, but somewhat usable during the day (when the park was empty), but completely unusable at night (when the park filled up). POOR Verizon signal (only 2 bars 3G) which was very slow. but very decent ATT (4 bars ATT 4G) which was nicely fast. 22 sites total with either 30amp/water/electric ($33/night) or 50amp/water/electric ($36/night). 50% discount for Passport America.
Extra, Extra Info -> OTHER CAMPING? BOONDOCKING? It was too hot to boondock while we were here, but there is actually a very decent free camping area just outside the South Entrance of the Petrified Forest by the Crystal Forest Giftshop. Basic dirt, but very nicely laid-out and super convenient for visiting the National Park from the south side. NO other boondocking that I know of around here since most of the land is either private or reservation.
We stayed there earlier this year for pretty much the same reason: pure convenience of location near the North entrance to the National Park. One point of clarification, when we passed through the Crystal Forest Gift Shop at the South enrance to the park has both free drycamping and partial hook up sites (30 amp, $10/night).
http://shellonwheels.net/2015/03/20/whirlwind-tour-of-petrified-forest-national-park-and-the-painted-desert/
Jack from ShellOnWheels.net
Ahhh…good to know about the hookup sites at Crystal Forest Gift Shop. I saw the free dry camping area, but didn’t see the hookups as we were passing through. Thanks!
Nina
Wonderful! We’re hoping to stop there in March on our Roswell, NM to Laughlin, NV route, and this little park sounds just fine for a couple nights so we can explore the area.
If you don’t mind driving a bit further to get to the Petrified Forest, I can’t recommend the Homolovi State Park in Winslow, Arizona enough (http://azstateparks.com/Parks/HORU/index.html). It is one of my favorite state parks of all time. If you do stay here, make sure you go into Winslow (while playing the Eagle’s song Taking It Easy) to stand on a corner….
We looked at that one, and saw that it had really good reviews all-round but it was just a tad too far for us (for visiting the Painted Desert). We definitely want to stay there in the future tho’! It looks great!
Nina
I just stayed in Homolovi SP a few weeks ago and loved it. I would absolutely recommend it for a couple days of downtime. Nicely separated sites and wonderful place to wander around and explore. I’ll be staying again when I head back west after the new year.
I second Corinne’s recommendation of Homolovi State park in Winslow. But a bit far. We normally stay at the KOA in Holbrook. A relatively nice commercial campground with very friendly owners and staff.
We stayed at the very clean and very friendly Holbrook KOA as well when visiting Petrified Forest NP last spring. We were very pleased with its proximity to the park, which we saw in one long day, including stops to hike.
I have to admit I rarely look at KOA’s, but this seems like another good option for the area. Cheers for mentioning it.
Nina
If you belong to the KOA camp club they adjust the price down and give you points. So cost is about the same for other similar quality commercial park. In this case however the hosts are really nice. They cook food outside every day and have a pretty nice park. And one time we stayed there about a dozen years ago I was outside watching stars and I had a shooting star light up and fall within the park or right outside. And there are the dinosaurs right down the street too.
You hit the nail on the head. We stayed there last week. We also went into Holbrook to the visitors information center and museum. Nice little museum in the old courthouse and information on a walking tour. We did miss the Bucket of Blood saloon. Also there is a DQ in town.
Bucket of Blood Saloon?? That sounds awesome! We definitely missed that gem too. Next time!
Nina
Thanks for the review Nina! We will be here in about a month and I didn’t see anywhere great to stay either. Although I think the gift shop actually has some electric sites for $10/night.
Yup they do! Another blog commenter pointed out that the Gift Store offers 30amp hookups for $10 which seems like an excellent deal. I think either place would be perfectly fine as a base to visit the park.
Nina
Ive stayed at root 66 a few times, the price and management were very nice.Yep, it is basic. I also stayed at the KOA in Holbrook. Nice with lots of trees.
Thanks for another great review. Wish I could remember where we stayed when we visited the Painted Desert. It wasn’t there or the gift shop. Guess I’d better go look it up.
We were headed to the same park as we headed South from Mesa Verde, but pulled in to check out Canyon De Chelly instead. The Cottonwood Campground is visible from the Visitors Center and easy to get to. No hook ups, but water and Dump on site. $14.00 per night CASh, Self Pay. Big, nice sites. Not many other RVers here this week. I had read some negative reviews and was expecting to pass on this one, but it is great. We got an outside of the loop spot and satellite works great. 3g+ Verizon. We don’t have solar, but it would also work well here.
I’ve had that campground on my “list” for ages, but we just haven’t made it there yet. Good to know it’s a nice stop.
Nina
Earlier this year after visiting the Painted Desert at sunset we drove to Holbrook to spend the night at the KOA before we headed East again the next day through the South entrance of the park. Usually I do not look for KOA, but in this case it seemed like the best choice for the area – since getting to the Gift Shop would have been a longer drive The electric current was fluctuating and another RV lost their AC. The park manager was very nice and recommended a good Italian resturant for dinner – La Mesa.
Hey guys. We pulled off the freeway onto a side road and looked this RV park over, but weren’t too certain what we would find if we stayed there. While parked there a lady came along from the park and wanted to know if we were dumping our trash in the pull out. We assured her we were not and she went back to the park satisfied we only stopped to pee our doggy. That nixed any thought of staying there for us. We ended up in Flagstaff. Don’t forget to check the “Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona” tourist attraction.
Hi Nina, just letting your readers know that there is free dry camping just before the Southern entrance. There are two shops selling polished petrified rocks and other nick knacks. One of them told us that camping was $10.75 a night on both sides of the road, while the other one said it was free but there were no facilities. The actual sites were on the “free” side (on the right) and it was probably once a thriving business with shelters and tables on concrete pads. We stayed there two nights April 2014.
Hi-new commenter here! I have been reading for a long time, but just now commenting. As for staying near Petrified Natl. Forest-Lyman Lake State Park AZ is where we stayed. About an hour and a half away and you come up from the Southern Entrance. Very nice park, as AZ parks seem to be. We just got back from Canyon de Chey and staying in the Cottonwood Camp. A pretty basic campground, but fairly clean and when we went, during the 1st week of Sept. it was not crowded at all. There are some stray dogs (It is the reservation) and sometimes you get some solicitations to buy stuff from the natives at your campsite. It isn’t a big deal-just say no if you aren’t interested. The trees are beautiful! The canyon overlooks are beautiful, too, but you can only go in the canyon if you pay to have a guide to take you. Happy travels!
We stayed there on our way to Balloon Fiesta for the same reason. The best part was definitely the chickens!
I totally agree they were a HOOT! The rooster was most inquisitive, came right up to us and even tried to hop into our bin bay. Our Cats were going bananas.
Nina